Review: The Heretic by Lucas Bale
The future isn’t so bright in Lucas Bale’s The Heretic. A brutal new regime rules humanity called the Magistratus. The mysterious regime leaves most in poverty spread across dozens of worlds. But revolution is coming. Smart, gritty, and well-written, The Heretic is the best space opera I’ve read in a while.
The protagonist, Shepherd, is a smuggler on his way to the remote planet of Herse where he is to make a delivery to an unknown client. Herse is a cold, sparsely populated world on the edge of colonized space. As he arrives, the local government begins exterminating a small religious sect that challenges its authority. Shepherd reluctantly finds himself entangled with the tiny sect and its leader, a man known only as the Preacher. The Preacher promises them freedom from the oppressive Magistratus government that dominates the human race.
Herse is reminiscent of a failed state, with an impoverished population brutally oppressed by a tiny and advanced elite. Some may be disappointed to read about farming villages when there are supposed to be spaceships and all sorts of neat futuristic gadgets. I for one appreciated the stark realism of Bale’s future.
There have been numerous dark times in human history where our civilization regressed for decades, sometimes centuries at a time. The Heretic‘s future has some continued technological advancement but also appalling inequality. It is really not much different than the contemporary status of humanity. A middle class American family earns $50,000 in annual income yet nearly half the world’s population earns less than $1,000 a year. In addition, over two billion people on Earth live under some form of tyranny.
The Preacher is part of a growing religious movement that intends to defy the secular Magistratus. The Preacher claims they’ve been lied to about their past, in an effort to keep them docile and subservient. They aren’t really religious fanatics but rather a non-secular group living in an era when all organized religion is banned. They wish to reconnect with their past, one that valued freedom and knowledge.
It is interesting to read another story that emphasizes the role of religious liberty in the struggle for political freedom (Shameless Plug: my own novel, The Fifth World, has a similar theme). America’s Founding Fathers saw it much the same way, which is why protections of religious liberty were codified in the First Amendment. Most stories about rebelling against oppression tend to shy away from the importance of religion due to its divisive and controversial nature. The general trend is to place organized religion behind the evil totalitarian state, similar to the theocracies of Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is difficult for many in the modern era to see religion as playing any role in liberation.
It is ironic considering that most oppressive regimes of the past century were nonreligious: Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Chinese Communist Party, and Khmer Rouge.
One should expect science fiction to be a little hostile towards religion. For most of human history, religion has been at odds with science. While the tension has receded lately, it is a common theme to place religious zealots as the antagonists at odds with rational men of science. Naturally most protagonists in science fiction are rational beings who are guided by scientific reasoning. Bale decided to reverse their common roles, placing secular authorities as the antagonists, and religious factions as the protagonist.
Unfortunately, the conflict between secular authority and religious freedom is not explained fully. One gets the impression it will be at the center of the conflict as the series continues. The Magistratus bans all organized religion, censors information, and ensures all individuals are monitored and tracked by a device inside their bodies. Its dominion shares a lot in common with the Soviet Union, which took power upon the collapse of Czarist Russia.
Parts of the novel are strikingly familiar. The story structure is similar to Star Wars Episode IV and Firefly. There are definitely the beginnings of a hero’s journey. The key difference is that the protagonist is the Han Solo character (Shepherd) rather than the Luke Skywalker character (a small boy named Jordi). The Preacher fulfills the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Shepherd has a close attachment to his ship, similar to Firefly’s Malcolm Reynolds. Bale included several drawings of the ship. There is a resemblance to the Serenity.
The demise of Earth is the result of numerous man-made catastrophes including global warming. Post-apocalyptic movies have been using the climate change disaster for a while. The self-inflicted apocalypse clashes with the Preacher’s idealized conception of human rights. Why should people be free? Last time they were at least partially free they killed a whole planet. How the truth about Earth factors into their revolution is unclear.
Herse is also the name of a mortal woman who defied the goddess Athena. As punishment, she was driven insane until she committed suicide. The symbolism doesn’t bode well for the rebellion.
When I finished the novel I was a bit disappointed. The Heretic does not reveal enough of the full story arc, leaving a lot for the sequel. It is like Star Wars Episode IV ending right after the heroes escape from the Death Star. Shepherd doesn’t make the full turn from antihero to hero. His support of the religious sect is largely done because he is being blackmailed. There is also no glimpse of the antagonist, or the Darth Vader. The leaders of the new government, known as the Consuls, do not make an appearance in this book.
The Heretic is a decent start to what could be a great series. There is a much larger conflict on the horizon but you don’t get to see much of it yet. The resemblance to Star Wars also makes a bit predictable but I doubt that will bother readers. There are a lot of novels that resemble Star Wars.
Overall, The Heretic is definitely worth picking up. It is smart, exciting, and well-written, especially for a self-published novel. Lucas Bale definitely has something.
This review is also posted at http://www.prescientscifi.com.
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