The God Engines

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this — and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given.

Tephe knows from the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put — and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely....

Author John Scalzi has ascended to the top ranks of modern science fiction with the best-selling, Hugo-nominated novels Old Man’s War and Zoe’s Tale. Now he tries his hand at fantasy, with a dark and different novella that takes your expectations of what fantasy is and does, and sends them tumbling.

Say your prayers... and behold The God Engines.

©2010 John Scalzi (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

the humour is way, way under the surface

not your usual scalzi (well the ones i've consumed on audible anyway), however i did detect him smiling away behind the scenes.

i agree with others here, this universe should be explored, christopher baby does a good job of bringing the characters to light in this dark, smelly world.

all in all i enjoyed this, not his usual rumpole meets the games, more a serious dark drama which places the toe into religion.

Great Listen

What other book might you compare The God Engines to and why?

This is a different read from Scalzi's "Red Shirts". I enjoyed his style of writing this.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Lane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never listen to a book read by Christopher Lane. He has a great dramatic voice and is very good at giving different characters personality.

Worth the hard work

I actually had to come back 3 or 4 times to this book, before I could finish it. But When I did I was glad I had.

Ummmmm...Dark.

Not what I'm used to from Scalzi. No humor or quick repartee here. I could see this interesting concept being developed into a longer novel, but for me, this short(er) story was dark and left me feeling a bit empty - kind of icky, actually.

Has hints of "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Miller and "Origin" by Konrath, and several other books. Themes of conquest, religious zealotry...a bit of The Inquisition

This is *I think* kind of a horror story. There are a couple short, graphic, descriptive violent scenes, and a bit of torture. Not overly done (whatever that means, haha) so they are probably palatable for the somewhat squeamish.

Good writing; creepy narration.

No sequal coming!

Well crafted but more than a bit dark. Great performance. What if there really were gods? Not gods like the Greeks, Romans, Hindu, or Egyptians imagined. Gods nonetheless.

prelude and tease

the book felt more like a prelude to a book more than. a full story. I was left wanting a lot more store than I was provided.

Love Scalzi, this one not so much

Love John, usually always captivating and in this book he does keep attention but feels “weird” from the beginning which for John is saying something since most of the concepts are weird but this one had me going hmmm right from the beginning. Ultimately felt like I was always missing exactly what the point was, but still interesting enough to keep me going. Then the ending comes and you know sometimes there are endings that make you go WTF… this was one of those. Like bringing to a crescendo and then walking away with feeling empty.

Great twist on faith

Great story with a twist on faith. The way the Gods interact with the captains brings a lot of questions

I love Scalzi's writing but not this book

The reader is good but the book has a depressing and cynical ending. I have read most of Scalzi's other works and several have been excellent--wonderful characters, funny and sometime hilarious dialog, good story development and good endings for those of us that like morality tales. Not so this book. Some good ideas but a disappointing story. However, I realize that some readers/listeners might like the book. Just be prepared for a black black conclusion.

speechless

the first time I began this book I had trouble staying interested. the second time, having faith in John Scalzi, I gave it my full attention. I was not disappointed. in fact, at the end I had to sit in silence a while to absorb what just happened.

I highly recommend giving this story your full attention.