Escape from Aradeen

The Tuloriad, by John Ringo and Tom Kratman, is the twelfth entry in The Legacy of the Aldenata series, and perhaps the most controversial, which is really saying something given the furor that arose in the wake of Kratman's first contribution to the series, Watch on the Rhine. The story begins in late 2009. After five long years the Posleen invasion of Aradeen (what the Posleen call Earth) has failed, and the once mighty clan of a Posleen God-King named Tulo'stenaloor lies in tatters, facing imminent destruction at the hands of vengeful humans who have seen their world ravaged and five-sixths of their species wiped out.

However, Tulo'stenaloor (Tulo, for short) and the remaining Posleen under his command are unexpectedly rescued and spirited away by a Himmit and an Indowy who believe that Tulo might be able to redeem and renew Posleen civilization if the God-King and his confederates can rediscover the origins of their people and rebuild their civilization far from the reach of mankind.

But not all of the human survivors of the devastating Posleen onslaught are intent on revenge. More than a decade after Tulo's departure, the Pope commissions an expedition to the stars - led by a Jesuit priest and naval officer named Dan Dwyer - to bring the word of God to what benighted Posleen remain across the known universe. As it turns out, Tulo and Father Dwyer have a date with destiny which unfolds in a way that neither they nor Kratman's readers will quite expect.

So what makes this particular novel so controversial? Well, it seems that some of Kratman's detractors - a few of whom have been posting negative reviews over at Amazon - aren't really comfortable with his inclusion of religion in his latest entry in the Aldenata series. Such critics - most of whom are self-described "brights" no doubt - are horrified by the notion of Christianity, particularly that of the Roman Catholic variety, being portrayed as a positive civilizational attribute even in a purely fictional context. After all, isn't religion a scourge upon humanity? Wouldn't Earth be a paradise if, as John Lennon imagined, there were no religions at all?

Tell that to the tens of millions of victims of godless Communism.

But I digress. This latest novel of Kratman's is quite unconventional, deftly written, and well worth your time to read. And as always, Kratman's afterword to the novel - part of which I posted on this blog several months ago - is a joyful pleasure. Check it out.

Update:

Tom Kratman's entire afterword to The Tuloriad has now been posted.