scottishben's review
4.0
A very entertaining and funny satire that manages to tap in nicely to the nostalgia of 50s SF whilst still having something fresh to say. Do not want to say too much about what happens as that could spoil the plot of what is a very short and amusing book.
It reminds me a bit of Adam Roberts' Yellow Blue Tibia but is very different.
Along with Annihilation this is one of my favorite genre releases of the year.
It reminds me a bit of Adam Roberts' Yellow Blue Tibia but is very different.
Along with Annihilation this is one of my favorite genre releases of the year.
wunder's review
5.0
As I read further, I kept thinking of more people I should tell about it. First it was anyone who wanted a lightweight SF romp. Then it was anyone who enjoyed the pulp era in SF. Then it was anyone who'd done live radio or TV. Then it was anyone who'd taken philosophy and/or religion in college.
What the heck, read this book.
What the heck, read this book.
kittykult's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. The review was not required to be positive. The views and opinions expressed below are entirely my own. This review also appears on NetGalley, Amazon, and my blog, Mediatron (under construction)
I did not expect to like The Madonna and the Starship as much as I did. I judge books preemptively by the covers no matter how much I try not to, and this one struck me as "self-published," a controversial topic I have definitely picked my side in (while there are some good ones out there, I generally believe that publishers reject a work for sound reasons). I am always up for science fiction and satire, good or bad, however, so I entered the giveaway. Turns out, this book isn't self-published and the juvenile cover was misleading.
The book follows Kurt Jastrow, who writes science fiction stories for pulp magazines and runs a children's science fiction show (which reminded me a bit of the early Doctor Who serials). He uses his love of knowledge to ensure that there is as much science in his fiction as possible, much to others' chagrin. When aliens arrive and take offense to a religious program, Kurt must team up with his love interest and fellow producer to save the world.
The book is very well-written and a lightning fast read at 192 pages, and the book manages to be both ridiculous and sort of profound (as profound as a book featuring ginormous talking crayfish can be). In the vein of the genre, the ending is tidy and polished, although I felt some of the issues were brushed over (more of that on my blog).
As an intellectual atheist, I'm someone who enjoys a good bout of religious satire, but I also have a "live-and-let-live" complex that makes it difficult for me to handle anything too offensive or sacrilegious, as I realize I don't have any definitive answers either and thus am in no position to judge. However, Morrow manages to find a working balance and I feel even an open-minded Christian could find this story amusing. The book discusses a lot of philosophy and ideology and shares the moral of tolerance even as it is mocking those beliefs.
I did not expect to like The Madonna and the Starship as much as I did. I judge books preemptively by the covers no matter how much I try not to, and this one struck me as "self-published," a controversial topic I have definitely picked my side in (while there are some good ones out there, I generally believe that publishers reject a work for sound reasons). I am always up for science fiction and satire, good or bad, however, so I entered the giveaway. Turns out, this book isn't self-published and the juvenile cover was misleading.
The book follows Kurt Jastrow, who writes science fiction stories for pulp magazines and runs a children's science fiction show (which reminded me a bit of the early Doctor Who serials). He uses his love of knowledge to ensure that there is as much science in his fiction as possible, much to others' chagrin. When aliens arrive and take offense to a religious program, Kurt must team up with his love interest and fellow producer to save the world.
The book is very well-written and a lightning fast read at 192 pages, and the book manages to be both ridiculous and sort of profound (as profound as a book featuring ginormous talking crayfish can be). In the vein of the genre, the ending is tidy and polished, although I felt some of the issues were brushed over (more of that on my blog).
As an intellectual atheist, I'm someone who enjoys a good bout of religious satire, but I also have a "live-and-let-live" complex that makes it difficult for me to handle anything too offensive or sacrilegious, as I realize I don't have any definitive answers either and thus am in no position to judge. However, Morrow manages to find a working balance and I feel even an open-minded Christian could find this story amusing. The book discusses a lot of philosophy and ideology and shares the moral of tolerance even as it is mocking those beliefs.
verkisto's review
4.0
The Madonna and the Starship is about a group of actors, writers, and producers working together to try to fool a group of potential attacker from going to war. That's a premise that sounds remarkably like the one in Shambling Towards Hiroshima, Morrow's other novella that I read about a week before. I'll admit I didn't notice the similarity until I was more than halfway through, but when I did, I wondered if these were written this was intentionally, to serve as two sides of a coin. Knowing Morrow and how clever he is, I'm going to guess that's the case.
Instead of satirizing and skewering monster movies and World War II, Morrow focuses on early television shows and religion. You know, to keep things light. What happens is a television writer and actor receives a message from extraterrestrials who want to give him an award on his science show, but once they land and prove themselves to be who they say they are, they reveal that they also want to exterminate anyone who watches another show about religion and faith. In their eyes, anyone who discards science for the supernatural are too stupid to live, so it's up to this writer and his friends to come up with a scheme to prove that those viewers are worthy, too.
It's a hefty premise, but one that should be familiar to Morrow's readers. This is the man who wrote the Godhead trilogy, after all. What's interesting about this tale is that he flips the story a bit, going after the die-hard scientists instead of the die-hard religious. The motivations of the main character isn't to save religion, but to save the millions of people who would be killed over it, but the end result is the same: Leave the religious to do their thing, even while you believe something different.
I haven't read the Godhead trilogy (yet), but they were the first books of his that drew my attention. At the time, any book that looked at religion from an outsider's point of view piqued my interest, and I'm surprised I've had the books for so long and they're still unread. These two novellas -- smart, engaging, full of real characters, and plot-driven -- remind me that I need to move them up the priority. I still have a soft spot for that kind of religious fiction, so I expect I would like them.
Instead of satirizing and skewering monster movies and World War II, Morrow focuses on early television shows and religion. You know, to keep things light. What happens is a television writer and actor receives a message from extraterrestrials who want to give him an award on his science show, but once they land and prove themselves to be who they say they are, they reveal that they also want to exterminate anyone who watches another show about religion and faith. In their eyes, anyone who discards science for the supernatural are too stupid to live, so it's up to this writer and his friends to come up with a scheme to prove that those viewers are worthy, too.
It's a hefty premise, but one that should be familiar to Morrow's readers. This is the man who wrote the Godhead trilogy, after all. What's interesting about this tale is that he flips the story a bit, going after the die-hard scientists instead of the die-hard religious. The motivations of the main character isn't to save religion, but to save the millions of people who would be killed over it, but the end result is the same: Leave the religious to do their thing, even while you believe something different.
I haven't read the Godhead trilogy (yet), but they were the first books of his that drew my attention. At the time, any book that looked at religion from an outsider's point of view piqued my interest, and I'm surprised I've had the books for so long and they're still unread. These two novellas -- smart, engaging, full of real characters, and plot-driven -- remind me that I need to move them up the priority. I still have a soft spot for that kind of religious fiction, so I expect I would like them.
sarah_the_bold's review
5.0
When I saw this book in the library, I thought it was something I had already read, but it turns out I was confusing it with [b:First Contact-Or, It's Later Than You Think|7055654|First Contact-Or, It's Later Than You Think (Parrot Sketch Excluded)|Evan Mandery|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327975065s/7055654.jpg|7306959]. They have similar premises, and they both have yellow covers, so it's an easy mistake to make. As it turns out, if you liked [b:First Contact-Or, It's Later Than You Think|7055654|First Contact-Or, It's Later Than You Think (Parrot Sketch Excluded)|Evan Mandery|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327975065s/7055654.jpg|7306959], you'll probably like this book a lot too.
Uncle Wonder, the star of a children's television show about science, is about to receive a prestigious award - the Zornigorg prize from the inhabitants of Planet Qualimosa, who are avid lovers of the show. But when they arrive and discover that Uncle Wonder's Attic is filmed next door to a religious program called Not By Bread Alone, they resolve to cleanse the earth of this metaphysical claptrap (Qualimosans, as everyone knows, are ardent Logic Positivists.) Now Uncle Wonder and the whole NBC team have to work together to convince the Qualimosans that Not By Bread Alone is actually religious satire, or its 2 million viewers will get the death ray this Sunday morning.
The result is irreverent and pretty hilarious. I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud quite a few times while I was reading. The entire thing reads like an improve game, where every question has to be answered with "Yes, and." As in, "Can you distract these lobster-shaped aliens while I go round up 2 gargoyle costumes for my TV show?" "Yes, and they can help me edit my science fiction magazine while we play poker with 2 insomniac writers." So if you're looking for a ridiculous read, complete with gratuitous product placement, wisdom from the periodical The Catholic Anarchist, and useful tips for disguising aliens so they fit in Manhattan, this is the book for you.
Uncle Wonder, the star of a children's television show about science, is about to receive a prestigious award - the Zornigorg prize from the inhabitants of Planet Qualimosa, who are avid lovers of the show. But when they arrive and discover that Uncle Wonder's Attic is filmed next door to a religious program called Not By Bread Alone, they resolve to cleanse the earth of this metaphysical claptrap (Qualimosans, as everyone knows, are ardent Logic Positivists.) Now Uncle Wonder and the whole NBC team have to work together to convince the Qualimosans that Not By Bread Alone is actually religious satire, or its 2 million viewers will get the death ray this Sunday morning.
The result is irreverent and pretty hilarious. I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud quite a few times while I was reading. The entire thing reads like an improve game, where every question has to be answered with "Yes, and." As in, "Can you distract these lobster-shaped aliens while I go round up 2 gargoyle costumes for my TV show?" "Yes, and they can help me edit my science fiction magazine while we play poker with 2 insomniac writers." So if you're looking for a ridiculous read, complete with gratuitous product placement, wisdom from the periodical The Catholic Anarchist, and useful tips for disguising aliens so they fit in Manhattan, this is the book for you.
theartolater's review
3.0
This is a pleasant, short novella that attempts to answer the question of how some might react if aliens came in the 1950s and threatened to death ray a bunch of people for watching religious programming due to its irrationality.
Yes, that's the premise. As an atheist, I might just notice this stuff more, but there's been the push in the last decade or so to really kind of push this line of thinking, and then the questions arise as to why the movement feels like it's treading water instead of making significant progress.
Morrow's oeuvre is largely this sort of fictional, yet critical, examination of society's relationship with religion (predominantly Christianity), and, while I enjoyed much of this book, I couldn't help but sit and shake my head, thinking to myself, "We get it, Morrow, we get it. You don't like religion." It's arguably too over the top at times even when it's still enjoyable.
As a short tale, though, it's pretty good. As someone who's read his share of Morrow, it's a quality read. Just don't expect it to change your mind.
Yes, that's the premise. As an atheist, I might just notice this stuff more, but there's been the push in the last decade or so to really kind of push this line of thinking, and then the questions arise as to why the movement feels like it's treading water instead of making significant progress.
Morrow's oeuvre is largely this sort of fictional, yet critical, examination of society's relationship with religion (predominantly Christianity), and, while I enjoyed much of this book, I couldn't help but sit and shake my head, thinking to myself, "We get it, Morrow, we get it. You don't like religion." It's arguably too over the top at times even when it's still enjoyable.
As a short tale, though, it's pretty good. As someone who's read his share of Morrow, it's a quality read. Just don't expect it to change your mind.
ryuutchi's review
4.0
A weird satire of science fiction and religious thought, set during the 1950s, with obligatory headnods towards McCarthy and Buck Rogers. A science fiction writer for a Buck Rogers-type show learns that logical positivist lobster aliens really really like his show, and then has to conspire to pull the wool over their eyes when they decide to vaporize the two million viewers of a religious drama on the same channel. The dialogue feels a little too snappy at times-- it's very hyper-stylized. But once I started reading it I didn't really want to stop even when I rolled my eyes at some of the author's phrasing. Also, this book read to me as very Jewish at times, despite the fact that the plot revolves around a Christian soap drama.
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