NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258
Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/
May 22, 2013
The Isle of Estillyen Enters The Mythosphere
A Review Of
William E. Jefferson The Point: The Redemption of Oban Ironbout (Port Estillyen Productions, 2013)
291 pp $16.95 ISBN: 978-0-9856621-2-7
Reviewed by: Forrest W. Schultz
It is difficult to know how to classify this novel. In fact, even considering it to be a novel is questionable. Although there are two main characters -- a husband and wife -- who do and say and think certain things (centering especially on their interaction with the third main character, Oban Ironbout), most of their time is spent telling us what they heard in several meetings they attended in each of which they listened to a speaker give a lecture on a passage of Scripture into which is interjected, at designated times, comments from selected members of the audience which are composed for them. Although it appears to be a dialogue between speaker and audience, it isn't because The Voice people only say what is written on the script they receive, so that it is more like a play, with The Voice serving as a sort of chorus. The session ends with a harangue from a monk claiming to be the Devil, which, I guess is what is being referred to in the description on the rear jacket which notes a certain similarity to Milton (presumably "Paradise Lost"), although the Devil here lacks the Miltonian elegance; he comes across as a modern day smart-alec. There is also a lot of allegory because the various reader-speakers are given names such as Plot, Saga, Narrative, Story, and this presumably is how the book is supposed to be like Bunyan. And, here and there are discussions of such matters as the relationship between the medium and the message, which reminded me of the 60s when there was a lot of discussion about the theories of Marshall McLuhan, who, surprisingly, is not named by the jacket as one of the influences. His "The Medium Is The Message" concept is taught in this book with respect to Christ, who is both Medium and Message. Because of its usage of various literary elements, this might be regarded as a "multi-media" or "multi-literary" story, in this way resembling the Bible, which, of course, is written using many literary forms.
Although the jacket regards this book as a "unique presentation of the Gospel", what is said about the Gospel by the speakers is no different from what you typically hear in a sermon or Bible study in church. The only real difference is the addition of a time in which someone pretending to be the Devil makes a counter-presentation. And there is nothing new about liturgical tinkering -- that has been going on for a LONG time. There was a lot of hoopla about liturgical renewal back in the 60s. So, although this book is not identical with any other, there really is little that is new in it. What is new is that instead of writing a theology book or a "how to" book on liturgical revisions, it shows those revisions by means of the experiences of two main characters in a novel. Thus, it bears comparison with B. F. Skinner's attempt to teach his psychological theories by means of his novel "Walden Two".
Since the tale takes place on a fictional island, Estillyan having a kind of atmosphere typically found in depictions of Elfland, it can be regarded as fantasy, in particular an almost utopian bright rural fantasy, in contrast to the dystopian dark urban fantasy now in vogue! Adding to the fantasy atmosphere is the inclusion of a medieval sort of milieu featuring abbeys and monks and nuns, which clearly are there for that purpose, rather than a theological one, since the author is a Protestant, not a Roman Catholic. Ditto with the discussions of the beauties in nature on this island and the beauty in the architecture of and paintings in the buildings.
The concern for the arts in this book is commendable but I am not convinced that it will have much of an impact in spiritually revitalizing the Christian community, which is the stated goal. The purpose stated on page 109 is a worthy one -- living more effectively in society. How much help this book will have in achieving that goal remains to be seen. It would be nice if it did, but I am not going to make any predictions. Read it and then draw your own conclusions. As for mine, I doubt if it will usher in the Millennium. Oh, and if you want to read some really good speeches by a devil, read The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. The speeches in this book are not even in the same league!!
For more information go to http://www.estillyen.com/
