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88th out of 111 books
—
256 voters
That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made
by
Eric James Stone (Goodreads Author)
"That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" is a nominee for the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, awarded by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette, awarded at the World Science Fiction Convention.
Harry Malan is the president of a Mormon congregation on a station located at the center of the Sun, where humans can inte...more
Harry Malan is the president of a Mormon congregation on a station located at the center of the Sun, where humans can inte...more
ebook, 20 pages
Published
February 25th 2011
by Eric James Stone
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Jun 13, 2011
Nihonjoe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
religion-related,
science-fiction
I really enjoyed this novelette. I thought the topic of religion (in this case, the LDS faith) was handled well and worked in the context of the story. It wasn't preachy, but more part of the setting (as the main character was a leader of a local congregation).
I also really liked the swales (the aliens in the story). They were quite alien, and well developed.
I should mention this story won a 2011 Nebula Award and is up for a Hugo as well. It's well worth the $1.00 on the Kindle
I also really liked the swales (the aliens in the story). They were quite alien, and well developed.
I should mention this story won a 2011 Nebula Award and is up for a Hugo as well. It's well worth the $1.00 on the Kindle
This novella took me completely by surprise. Immediately, I was caught up in the author's description of common Mormon experiences--although related to a futuristic society--such as, his speaking in church since he was eight years old, this branch of six "human members, including me and two missionaries," his calling as branch president in a society near the sun, followed by the introduction of swale members, "beings made of plasma," three gender personages who couldn't meet in the chapel becaus...more
This is a story about mormon space whales who live in the middle of the sun. It's clearly either a big winner or a big loser. And by “space whales,” I mean “swales,” which is the actual, incredibly creative term for these alien beings.
A human congregational leader moves to this base in the center of the sun (not my ideal prowling grounds, but whatever), where he has to get to know this new congregation that's about 33% alien space whale. He has to reconcile his understanding of Mormon doctrine w...more
A human congregational leader moves to this base in the center of the sun (not my ideal prowling grounds, but whatever), where he has to get to know this new congregation that's about 33% alien space whale. He has to reconcile his understanding of Mormon doctrine w...more
Often, you will find in Science Fiction stories that attempt to change the readers' mind about some profound thing, such as religion, but often those stories will be written by people not of that community.
This story is not like that.
Written by a Mormon about a Mormon, it makes no apologies about being a story about a Mormon, and therein lies its strength. It is not a story in which a Mormon loses faith or sees the light. It's a story in which the characters stay true to themselves. It's a sto...more
This story is not like that.
Written by a Mormon about a Mormon, it makes no apologies about being a story about a Mormon, and therein lies its strength. It is not a story in which a Mormon loses faith or sees the light. It's a story in which the characters stay true to themselves. It's a sto...more
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While the relationship between the Mormon Branch President and the Scientist was a bit contrived and took away from the story, the ideas of what would happen when a sci-fi universe meets modern religions (and how modern religions have to deal) is fascinating. I wish there was more in this book, honestly, but what was there was very thought provoking. I'd love to see a full novel or novella dealing with the issues presented in this story (human religion amongst aliens, preaching God to beings old...more
Jan 27, 2012
Weasel
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
short-story
When a "swale" member of the LDS branch on a sort of space station inside the sun confesses a "sin" to recently arrived branch president it leads to an encounter with a much larger and older swale. [Think "solar whale" for swale.]
I'm not a very regular reader of short fiction, SF or otherwise, but I enjoyed this. I think the author does a good job of making the religious elements work as the belief set of particular characters, which are counterbalanced sufficiently by another character's viewp...more
I'm not a very regular reader of short fiction, SF or otherwise, but I enjoyed this. I think the author does a good job of making the religious elements work as the belief set of particular characters, which are counterbalanced sufficiently by another character's viewp...more
Wow. What a book! Although That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made is a novella, it does a great job of setting up a whole new world. It is one of the most imaginative books I've read in a long time. It doesn't take long to read. If you have a few minutes, it's worth spending the time to acquaint yourself with Eric Stone's creative genius.
Nov 27, 2011
Jeff Raymond
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own-on-kindle,
read-sci-fi
A really neat short story about religion in the future, in a way. About one's position in the universe. About how beliefs may be in severe conflict if we ever meet an alien race. About a whole bunch of things. A small story with a lot to think about, extremely well done.
I've never been a fan of short stories, but this one was decidedly fascinating because it felt more like one of the historical "first contact" documents I study for my Early Modern Europe/Colonial America/Exploration & First Contact classes--each culture KNOWS they're superior to the other (and in many ways are right), but eventually has to make significant changes in its worldviews to accommodate the others' existence. But instead of the French and Indians trying to figure each other out, t...more
A short story about the president of a branch of the LDS church on a space station inside the core of the sun and his interaction with the strange culture of recent alien converts. Do I really need to justify my four-star rating any further?
A believable, somewhat insecure LDS character, with LDS beliefs and culture being central to the problem and the solution of a science fiction story without glorifying the religion, yet still being positive. Awesome.
A Mormon missionary at a solar research station has his faith tested by an ancient race of alien beings. An interesting discussion of the role of religion in the development of human and alien thinking.
The story was trite, it was boring, and the whole thing was told, not shown. Oh, and the random mentions of being attracted to the scientist - why? What on earth did that add to the story? I don't get why this was nominated for the Hugo.
Picked this up and read it on the same day. I haven't done that for any type of story in more than 15 years. I loved this story.
I downloaded this free to my I-phone. I thought it was a cleverly written short story. I enjoyed this quick read.
Entertaning, clever, thought-provoking read. Especially for people familiar with the LDS Church.
I found this utterly forgettable. Hm.
Simply magnificent and clever.
This story was fantastic. I was hooked right from the start and didn't put it down until I was done, which didn't take long anyway. It was very well written and handled the religion topic very well, even showing us that men of the church are just regular folks. I loved this story very much and I highly suggest anyone interested in this genre take an hour or two and read this. You won't regret it.
Aug 17, 2011
James
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
2-stars,
i-own-a-copy,
read-in-2011,
read-in-teenties,
short-story,
ebook,
reviewed
Science Fiction short stories tend to be too short I find. This one struggled not to be a Mormon morality tale and seemed to fail.
May 02, 2013
Sunny
marked it as to-read
Feb 25, 2013
Igraine
marked it as auf-gar-keinen-fall
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