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| St. Edmundsbury Cathedral Bury St. Edmunds, England |
The Science Fiction and Fantasy genres have always had an
uneasy relationship with religion. Usually, if religion is mentioned, it is
portrayed in a negative context, as in Kevin J. Anderson’s early novel Resurrection,
Inc. Some of this can readily be explained by the sad fact that the
proponents of religion and science so often feel opposed to each other. As for
the Fantasy field, if novels revolve around gods, usually the author pits the
mortal characters against these divine beings. While this approach stacks the
odds against our protagonists, it does nothing to enhance a reader’s spiritual
life.
In Kevin J. Anderson’s novel Spine of the Dragon, Key
Priestlord Klovus glories in destruction, and yearns to impose his will over
the entire world. He nurtures his godlings not only on small amounts of worshippers’
blood, but also drains all blood from wounded sailors and prisoners of war
before casting their corpses aside. His assassins brutally kill one another as
part of their regimen, so Klovus will always have the very best murderers at his beck and
call. And he does other things, too despicable to mention in this review.
Despite Anderson’s strong portrayal of villainy—or perhaps because of it--the
character never spoke to me. But Klovus is just one among a host of fully rounded
characters that won me over with their passions, their bravery, and their
all-too-Human foibles.
With such a strikingly negative portrayal of religion, it
would have been nice to see a more beneficial one practiced in the
Commonwealth. Still, Anderson throws out an interesting theological construct
here. Unlike the Wreths, who were created by a god, the Humans were fashioned
out of magic by the Wreths. Thus, like the featureless simpleminded drones that
now serve the Wreths, the Humans have no souls, and only what they do in this
life matters.
Perhaps it is unfair to suggest that the Isharan religion is
entirely negative. For when Queen Iluris tours her districts in search of a potential
successor, she discovers that all priests do not share Klovus’ lust for power
and death. A few call upon their godling only after they have exhausted every
other resource, and then only for protection and healing. Perhaps it is too
much to hope that Klovus might learn from their example, and become a more
sympathetic character in future volumes. But sometimes the blackest villains
end up surprising you.
Kevin J. Anderson may yet reveal more aspects of Priestlord Klovus, or his everyday life, that will help his features stand out amid the
darkness. For example, Kevin and his wife have several cats. Klovus could adopt a
white, longhaired cat, and stroke it in key scenes like another classic
villain.
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| Tamworth Castle Gardens Tamworth, England |
As flowers usually grace our sanctuaries, and gardens often beautify church grounds, Priestlord Klovus could take up gardening. With the way he can channel magic, and the aid of his Godling, it would be interesting to see what types of flowers Klovis could grow in the magic-infused Isharan soil. After all, he would like to marry Queen Iluris, who has a beautiful garden on the palace grounds. Perhaps planting and nurturing a garden would be the way to win her heart?
You can never know how the next volume of a Kevin J. Anderson series will go. As a longtime reader of his novels, he surprised me with the level of
originality he built into Spine of the Dragon. While charting the rising tensions between Ishara and the Commonwealth, as well as between the Humans and the Wreths, perhaps Kevin will devote a little time to showing a softer side to Priestlord Klovus. I look forward to seeing how
Klovus, and Anderson’s depiction of religion and theology, grow and evolve over
the course of the series.
In the meantime, perhaps I should devote a little more
attention to my own garden. Even unaided by magic, I’m sure if I worked harder,
I could make it more productive and beautiful. In this way, I could enhance my
house and my life, while also blessing the lives of those around me.
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| St Edmundsbury Cathedral Bury St. Edmunds, England |
As for the whole cat thing, well, I think I’ll leave that to
Kevin and his wife.
Dragon Dave
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