EIFELHEIM by Michael Flynn

Narrated by Anthony Heald

     Do Alien Insectoids Have Souls?

This is a wonder of a novel. It has many different elements that combine to make it grand. There is a bit of the First-Contact story here, of the clash of two races, and their quest to learn how to communicate with each other. A large portion of the book is set in the medieval period, and the ethical considerations of the devout Catholics encountering an alien race are insightful and respectful to the Christian faith. Michael Flynn’s familiarity with scripture is evident in the number of direst and indirect references throughout. The characters of the Middle Ages are well formed and are good examples of the lofty philosopher combined with the earthy people of that gritty and grungy time of history. People of that era took their religion seriously and the characters of this book do the same. Even when confronted with the threat of the Black Plague and the arrival of strange beings from another world they proceed according to the revelation from Holy Writ. It is refreshing that modern atheistic sensibilities are not imposed on these medieval fictional characters.

Other sections take place in the present and so we are treated to the biases and prejudices of modern Einsteinian physics. Even in these contemporary sections other scientific opinions are presented, not merely to be laughed at, as is so common in much of Science Fiction, rather they are explored as viable alternatives, as any utilization of the oft quoted but even more often maligned “scientific method” would require. The exploration of the nature of space and time, and especially the accurate portrayal of the subtle considerations on the problem of Variable Light Speed and Quantized Red-Shifts are well integrated into the story and compelling.

Eifelheim is another installment in the curiously well-populated sub-genre of Religious Science Fiction where Sci-Fi authors—who are exemplary students of the human condition despite being materialists—delve into the conspicuous human, and completely foreign, need for reverence to a higher power. Other note-worthy examples of religious-themed Sci-Fi: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell, Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer,  A Case of Conscience by James Blish, and Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the Long Sun.

Anthony Heald gives a portrayal that is well-nigh flawless, handling geeky female scientists, fourteenth-century Catholic priests, and insectoid aliens with equal aplomb.

This is another title that I acquired based solely on the recommendations of Audible reviewers. I am, once again, in their debt. Eifelheim was my first exposure to the fiction of Michael Flynn. I think his work warrants further investigation.