What do you think?
Rate this book
Upon This Rock #2
Glassing the Orgachine
Sound the Trumpet — Light the Signal Fires
From the alien’s point of view, its First Contact with earthlings (Book 1) is a bust, but at least it has survived the ordeal.
After executing an emergency landing on the nearest inhabited rock, the celestial being is captured by the Prophecy family and locked away in their doomsday mountain retreat. There it speaks to them in their natural language of fundamental Christianity and appears to them as Martha, a Seraph in the First Rank of the Ninth Order of Archangels. Archangel Martha bears the key to the “Pit of Hell,” a necessary component of God’s final victory over Satan.
But the angel has been grievously wounded in the War in Heaven and is unable to fly. So she pleads with Poppy Prophecy, the strict patriarch of the large Alaska family, to risk the family’s lives and resources to help her summon “heavenly hosts of angels to my aid” before Satan’s army of demons can locate her.
Poppy agrees to light a beacon capable of being seen from the Throne Room of Heaven. But the beacon’s radiance is too faint, and the Prophecys soon see through Martha’s subterfuge. They cast her out of their mountain keep, but not before blood is spilled.
What Do Reverse Cyborgs Want?
In Book 2, the heavenly visitor must quickly find a new human host to assist in its rescue plans. It reveals itself to park ranger Jace Kuliak as a stock Hollywood sci-fi space alien and pleads with him to help it “phone home.” By this time, the “War in Heaven” has spilled over into our solar system, and Jace must bear the burden of deciding the fate of humanity.
From the alien’s point of view, its First Contact with earthlings (Book 1) is a bust, but at least it has survived the ordeal.
After executing an emergency landing on the nearest inhabited rock, the celestial being is captured by the Prophecy family and locked away in their doomsday mountain retreat. There it speaks to them in their natural language of fundamental Christianity and appears to them as Martha, a Seraph in the First Rank of the Ninth Order of Archangels. Archangel Martha bears the key to the “Pit of Hell,” a necessary component of God’s final victory over Satan.
But the angel has been grievously wounded in the War in Heaven and is unable to fly. So she pleads with Poppy Prophecy, the strict patriarch of the large Alaska family, to risk the family’s lives and resources to help her summon “heavenly hosts of angels to my aid” before Satan’s army of demons can locate her.
Poppy agrees to light a beacon capable of being seen from the Throne Room of Heaven. But the beacon’s radiance is too faint, and the Prophecys soon see through Martha’s subterfuge. They cast her out of their mountain keep, but not before blood is spilled.
What Do Reverse Cyborgs Want?
In Book 2, the heavenly visitor must quickly find a new human host to assist in its rescue plans. It reveals itself to park ranger Jace Kuliak as a stock Hollywood sci-fi space alien and pleads with him to help it “phone home.” By this time, the “War in Heaven” has spilled over into our solar system, and Jace must bear the burden of deciding the fate of humanity.
- GenresScience Fiction
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2019
8 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
David Marusek
47 books117 followersAuthor David Marusek writes science fiction in a cabin in Fairbanks, Alaska. His work has appeared in Playboy, Nature, MIT Technology Review, Asimov’s, and other periodicals and anthologies and has been translated into ten languages. According to Publisher's Weekly, “Marusek's writing is ferociously smart, simultaneously horrific and funny, as he forces readers to stretch their imaginations and sympathies." His two novels and clutch of short stories have earned him numerous award nominations and have won the Theodore Sturgeon and Endeavour awards. “. . . Marusek could be the one sci-fi writer in a million with the potential to make an increasingly indifferent audience care about the genre again . . .”—New York Times Book Review. “Marusek is one of the relatively few contemporary sf writers who seems deeply responsive to the contemporary world”—Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. His current novel project, Camp Tribulation, is a tale of love, faith, and alien invasion set in the Alaskan bush.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 26, 2022
Three and half stars.
With this curious title David Marusek presents the sequel of Upon this Rock, and continues the adventure of the mysterious alien who contacts (or maybe abduces, who knows?) Some eccentric people (so to speak), in the Alaska of the governor Sarah Pa… I mean the governor Vera Tetlin.
The story is good, and I consider that David Marusek is a very competent writer too, so I enjoyed his style. I also enjoyed the characters, basically the same from the first book: the weak-minded ranger Jace Kuliak; the Prophecys, the fundamentalist christian family; and some other human (or not) beings. To highlight some hilarious moments.
This second novel losses some of the novelty but it continues offering some good surprises for the reader, and sense of wonder moments too.
Like the first book, this one ends with a cliffhanger, so I wonder if the next one will be the last in the series. Frankly, I prefer it because I don't know if these wonderful ideas will last for more than a third novel.
Note: the bookcover is horrible, but it makes sense in the story, and of course the same for the title.
With this curious title David Marusek presents the sequel of Upon this Rock, and continues the adventure of the mysterious alien who contacts (or maybe abduces, who knows?) Some eccentric people (so to speak), in the Alaska of the governor Sarah Pa… I mean the governor Vera Tetlin.
The story is good, and I consider that David Marusek is a very competent writer too, so I enjoyed his style. I also enjoyed the characters, basically the same from the first book: the weak-minded ranger Jace Kuliak; the Prophecys, the fundamentalist christian family; and some other human (or not) beings. To highlight some hilarious moments.
This second novel losses some of the novelty but it continues offering some good surprises for the reader, and sense of wonder moments too.
Like the first book, this one ends with a cliffhanger, so I wonder if the next one will be the last in the series. Frankly, I prefer it because I don't know if these wonderful ideas will last for more than a third novel.
Note: the bookcover is horrible, but it makes sense in the story, and of course the same for the title.
February 22, 2019
Das Buch ist ok, kommt aber nicht an die Genialität von Band 1 heran.
Schöne philosophische Ansichten über Biologismus, Religion usw. Erinert da fast ein bischen an "Echopraxia"
Schöne philosophische Ansichten über Biologismus, Religion usw. Erinert da fast ein bischen an "Echopraxia"
March 24, 2019
While Counting Heads remains my favorite Marusek book, the "Upon this Rock" series is all you would expect from this talented writer of Sci Fi books. The books are sophisticated, extremely creative, well written and funny. Second in this series about the adventures of good and bad aliens landing in Alaska is full of wacky characters and a humorous and wise take on today's America.
April 20, 2019
David Marusek tackles the unbreachable divide in our country between devout Christian and athiest, red state and blue. Living in Alaska it became clear to him witnessing the rise of Sarah Palin ( there's a character based on her in the book btw). Luckily, with the help of some alien technology (and Mr Marusek's humanity soaked writing) we may have the antidote that brings us together.
April 21, 2019
Bloody brilliant.
March 17, 2020
Glassing the Orgachine is the second book in the Upon this Rock series by David Marusek.
It's a first contact story set in wild and cold Alaska, and follows two character groups - The Prophesys, a family of Christian fundamentalists living out the pending end of the world in a shelter, and the Rangers (more specifically in this novel, one ranger Jace).
As with the first novel, it's a great character study of both what it's like living somewhere so remote, as well as living in a strict religious commune. We also read more about the alien and why it's on Earth, and that the future of Earth could hang in the balance.
There's plenty of interesting SF ideas, especially around AI, but I did think the pace was a bit slower than the first book - some of the novelty's worn off, especially with some of the daily interaction between characters.
But on the whole it was an intriguing read, and ends fairly abruptly to lead into the (yet to be
published) book 3.
It's a first contact story set in wild and cold Alaska, and follows two character groups - The Prophesys, a family of Christian fundamentalists living out the pending end of the world in a shelter, and the Rangers (more specifically in this novel, one ranger Jace).
As with the first novel, it's a great character study of both what it's like living somewhere so remote, as well as living in a strict religious commune. We also read more about the alien and why it's on Earth, and that the future of Earth could hang in the balance.
There's plenty of interesting SF ideas, especially around AI, but I did think the pace was a bit slower than the first book - some of the novelty's worn off, especially with some of the daily interaction between characters.
But on the whole it was an intriguing read, and ends fairly abruptly to lead into the (yet to be
published) book 3.
March 31, 2019
I really dug First Contact, and was looking forward to this second book for quite a while. Looking back at my review for that book, I said my desire for more of the story was leavened more than a little with wishing that something, anything was explained or resolved, and here, after 350 more pages, nothing has been explained or resolved. On top of that the book has a severe case of middle-itis; it is only concerned with moving pieces into place for the next volume, and it makes people act in stupid ways and not talk to each other just so it can do that.
I still liked it well enough to burn through it at a pretty good pace, and I still want to read the next book -- all that setup has to be for something, right?
I still liked it well enough to burn through it at a pretty good pace, and I still want to read the next book -- all that setup has to be for something, right?
August 19, 2023
This is a wonderful sci fi novel.
I won the first book through a giveaway and liked it so much I bought number 2 and 3 to continue the saga.
The author does a great job at recapping the first story before jumping into the action. A “previously on” if
You will.
Aliens, angels, crazy kooky characters, zombies. end of the world preppers, what more could you need?!?
A sci fi lover must read.
Can’t wait to continue the story!
I won the first book through a giveaway and liked it so much I bought number 2 and 3 to continue the saga.
The author does a great job at recapping the first story before jumping into the action. A “previously on” if
You will.
Aliens, angels, crazy kooky characters, zombies. end of the world preppers, what more could you need?!?
A sci fi lover must read.
Can’t wait to continue the story!
January 23, 2020
Fun, definitely if you love Alaska and Alaska politics and sci-fi. Not as good as the first book, but I definitely want to read the third one in the trilogy!! Hard to wait for it to come out. Lots of fun ideas, explores the science/religious mindsets in an interesting way.
September 20, 2019
Book #2 is great fun, just like the first.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews