I'm a sucker for short speculative fiction, and this is a great little collection. It was published in the early 1970s, containing mostly stories from the 50s and 60s, all religious themed. It contains 2-3 terrific stories, some generic ones, and the ones that aren't so great at least still have cool concepts that only left a little to be desired in their execution. All of the stories however, are worth reading and finishing. I really enjoyed it and ended up finishing the collection in a few sittings.



The Cunning of The beast, Nelson Bond 4/5

Fun concept, great execution. I would've liked a little more info on these non corporeal beings that authored man though.


A Cross of Centuries, Henry Kuttner 3/5

Good/Evil internal struggle. A little formulaic, relied too heavily on a reveal toward the end that was entirely predictable. Posed some nice philosophical questions though: Does the end justify the means? What power to facilitate change toward peace does a peaceful person really have?


Soul Mate, Lee Sutton 4/5

I liked this concept a lot, but really disliked the protagonist. I am fairly sure that his fevered misogyny was written as a negative character trait, and not so much as the author's voice. You never know with some of this old sci-fi. Different times, etc...


The Word to Space, Winston P. Sanders 3/5

The idea of contacting an alien race and having their sole pursuit be proselyzation is such a hilariously juicy concept. The exposition was terribly clunky, and the resolution seems a bit idealistic (breaking up a theocracy simply by illustrating it's flaws and logical problems). Having this suggestion come from Catholicism of all sources! I hope that was supposed to be subversive (for the time) irony.


Prometheus, Philip Jose Farmer 3/5

This is the longest story in the collection. A planet where birds seem to be the dominant species, nearly capable of audible speech. A monk is sent to observe their development and begins to interfere. I think that this would work a little better as a full novel, or even a series of novels. The birds progressed much too fast to be believable. The ethical and theological concerns that monk has over this group that is eventually following his lead, is the core of the story, and was handled decently.


The Nine Billion Names of God, Arthur C. Clarke 2/5

A cautionary tale of sorts. The lesson? Don’t look down on those who seem less intelligent than yourself. Cliche story, but Clarke’s writing style is worth a couple stars on it’s own.


The Vitanuls, John Brunner 5/5

Amazing. Stop what you're doing now and just read it.


Judas, John Brunner 5/5

Okay, I have to read more John Brunner. This story was incredible and exactly the type of thing I was looking for in this book. Easily my favorite of them all.


The Quest for Saint Aquin, Anthony Boucher 4/5

A catholic priest and a robot donkey ("robass" really? Couldn't think of a better name for it?) ride in search of a miracle in a future where Christians are a persecuted minority. It's not actually as bad as it sounds.


Balaam, Anthony Boucher 2/5

The only thing that really saves this story for me was the multisided POVs. Again, Boucher found a way to work in a "Mule" character, this time on Mars.


Evensong, Lester del Rey 4/5

A desperate God on the run from Man's vengeance. The idea of man slowly becoming more and more powerful, until God fears Man is really intriguing. Nice prose.


Shall The Dust Praise Thee?, Damon Knight 3/5

God's vengeance may have been a little bit more than he bargained for. It seems that man could only take so much torment. This could've been executed a lot better, but I liked the concept.


Christus Apollo, Ray Bradbury 3/5

Poetic speculations into a slightly differing Christ mythology on other worlds. ( )

A book of SF short stories with religious themes written between 1940 and 1970. It has one of my favourite of such stories, Arthur C. Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God". All of the stories were interesting enough to hold my attention without being too demanding. Just what I was looking for. ( )