Lee Stephen's Dawn of Destiny

I kept meaning to come back and talk about Lee Stephen’s Dawn of Destiny, but with all of the holiday stuff going, I never had the chance.

Dawn of Destiny lies at the intersection of faith and science fiction. Science fiction may have characters who subcribe to a particular creed, but rarely in the genre is theme of faith so integral to plot or character development. Don’t let that scare all of you secular humanists out there. Underneath this theme is a tightly plotted military science fiction book that provides a glimpse of a future Earth under the constant threat of attack by one of three extra-terrestrial groups. The characters are memorable, the world building maintains the right pace of mystery and revelation, and the writing is easily digestible. In fact, I would say that Lee Stephen and John Scalzi have a lot in common in terms of style, belonging to the group of the “New Comprenhensible” that Scalzi sometimes prattles about.

I won’t go into too many details in order to avoid spoilers, but Stephen does provide a definitive answer about why men and women fight that may be as valid as the answers provided by Ambrose, Heinlein, or Haldeman. Let the unshakeable faith of his main character begin to catalyze your thoughts and you might be surprised at your destination.

If you’re interested in more details, I’d encourage you to check out the Web site devoted to the universe that Lee Stephen has created. There’s some really good information on there about the world and the author.