Book Review

[Cartoonist]

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi



I believe this book would be of great amusement to those who often give thought to the religious aspect of life. I think it is safe for readers of all faiths as it written with tongue in cheek and does not insult religion head on. The overly sensitive may disagree, but their skin would have to be microscopically thin.

It's title is clearly taken from Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This is the novel that was made into the excellent film Bladerunner. There the similarity ends.

The story involves a completely made up religion called The Church of the Evolved Lamb. The church has no deities and readily admits it is of human construct. It has prophecies, but instead of waiting for the rapture of their fulfillment, its members actively work to make them come true. Since the Church has nothing in common with those we are familiar with, it is not a mockery of any of them.

I wouldn't recommend this if it was just any novel with religious elements, I recommend it because it is hilariously funny. My humor threshold is rather high, but this novel clears it with ease. The book came out in 2006 so I don't know if it is still available at your local bookstore. Amazon has it. I found the copy I read at the library. John Scalzi has become very popular in the SF field. This novel is one of the reasons why.