Review: Orders of Magnitude

Reviewing the forthcoming novella by Yuval Kordov

Editor’s note: When we launched Incensepunk Magazine, we were excited about this movement inspiring authors to write more faith-driven sci-fi. Little did we know how quickly and directly that inspiration would occur.

Shortly after The See of Tranquility released, Yuval asked for my blessing to write a sequel to it, set on the evacuated moon in the aftermath of the events of the story. I gave my extremely enthusiastic approval and he started work on the then-short story, with the intent for us to publish here.

But it soon became clear that the story he was telling was much more than a short story, and evolved into a full standalone novella.

Read the first chapter here for free next week, so stay tuned if you’d like a preview of Incensepunk’s first second-generation story!

For now, enjoy this review of the book by Andrew Gillsmith.

-JJ

Orders of Magnitude by Yuval Kordov releases January 7. Pre-order here.

Yuval Kordov has become one of my favorite writers, not just of speculative fiction but of any genre. I still remember the first time I read his debut novel, The Hand of God--it felt like encountering a friend and fellow traveler. And sure enough, that is what he has turned out to be.

Kordov is at the forefront of the Incensepunk movement in science fiction--basically an attempt to portray authentic struggles with faith and doubt in near future settings. Mainstream sci-fi tends to dismiss religion altogether, either pretending that humanity has outgrown it or that it never existed as a meaningful part of the human experience. So-called "religious" sci-fi tends to get preachy and too frequently eschews the darker side of faith--the doubt, the loneliness, the estrangement, the difficulty in reconciling scientific understanding with the notion that the universe might, in fact, have some purpose. The former offers little more than nihilism and an aesthetic of existential dread. The latter, comforting half-truths persuade no one but those already convinced.

The beauty and wonder of Orders of Magnitude, like Kordov's larger series (Dark Legacies) is that it sticks to the perilous, narrow path between these two extremes. The story centers around Samuel, a converso Catholic space marine, as he carries out a mission on an abandoned lunar colony. The pace is thrilling, and there are plenty of extraordinarily well-done action scenes. But the real meat of the story is in Samuel's interior struggle and his past.

One of the most remarkable things about the book is how accurately Kordov has managed to portray a future Roman Catholicism. Because I know him, I know that he is a devout and committed Jew. And yet I see in his writing my own faith depicted so artfully and in such loving detail, that it takes my breath away. It takes not only great imagination to do this, but a generosity of spirit that is all too rare.

As in all of Kordov's other books, the prose itself is wildly inventive and original. He is an artisanal writer, and his craftsmanship with the English language perfectly complements his gifts as a storyteller.

Anyone who enjoys classic, metaphysical science fiction will love this novella, as I did.