Paradise Passed

by Jerry Oltion

All of the colonists aboard a spaceship bound for Alpha Centauri long to find a habitable planet at the end of their journey. Finding one planet would be cause for celebration, but finding two could tear the crew and its families apart.

310 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Jerry Oltion (pronounced OL-tee-un) has been a gardener, stone mason, carpenter, oilfield worker, forester, land surveyor, rock 'n' roll deejay, printer, proofreader, editor, publisher, computer consultant, movie extra, corporate secretary, magazine columnist, and garbage truck driver. For the last 37 years he has also been a writer, with 15 novels and over 150 stories published so far.

Reviews

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book that takes the classic SF theme of a colony ship arriving in Alpha Centauri system where it finds two worlds that humans can inhabit but with a catch--there is an intelligent species on one of them. Oltion takes a frank look at how colonists on board for 20 years could be tempted to "find religion" in the hope "God" will ensure a habitable world for them upon arrival. The issue of "what is God's intent?" versus "science offers a simpler answer to reality" is handled very well here, with a group of great characters, real alien biology-based conflict, and an ending that does not take the easy way out. Nor is religion demonized. Oltion does deal with the dangers of blind faith to religious dogma, but his starship community of 107 people come across as folks you could find in any college-town neighborhood. The religion-questioning content is probably what kept the mainstream publishers from printing this book, but they missed out big time. This novel is one of the most creative and original takes on star colonization, ethics and religion in a long time. It echoes with the tones of Classic SF from the 40s and 50s. Highly recommended. Tom.

[John (JP)]

310 pages. I enjoyed this story. Its worth buying. Oltion writes a story about how after a generation long journey , crew and colonist decide to colonize a planet. If given a choice between an Eden like planet where you might interfere with a possibly intelligent life form or a harsh planet free from intelligent life which do you chose. Does hardship promote innovation? Will living in Eden make you and your kin soft? How does religion factor into the equation? Oltion does a good job of exploring the role of religion and ethics in this decision making process. This is author worth watching.