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revbeckett 's review for:
Halo: Silentium
by Greg Bear
In Cryptum, we read from the Forerunner Bornstellar’s perspective. In Primordium, we read from the human Chakas’ perspective. Now here, Bear changes it up a bit as we read about the close to the Forerunner saga through “a translation of thirty-nine strings of Forerunner data,” which journeys us through the experiences of multiple characters—some new, some familiar. We finally find out who the Precursors are and the origin of the parasitic lifeforms called the Flood.
SPOILERS:
The Precursors say they are “legion”—a biblical reference to the demoniac in the Gerasenes. The Flood are what remains of the Precursors—legions of parasitic forms, arguably demonic in their behaviour as the mercilessly infect every living thing. The Forerunners wiped out the Precursors because they wanted to bequeath the Mantle to humans instead of Forerunners. The Flood is their recompense for such treachery, demons that have haunted the galaxy for tens of thousands of years. The way they fight and defeat these demons of the past leads to controversy, civil war, and conflicting desires of how to achieve victory. On one side of the Forerunner debate, some believe the Flood should be defeated through total annihilation at the risk of destroying all other sentient life in the galaxy. For others, Shield Worlds are the best option where organised, focused attacks can be administered while protecting all life in the galaxy.
How do we fight the demons of our past? How do we annihilate them and shield ourselves from them? Of course, this is not possible of our own power, but of the power of Christ. There is no space in this review for a full discussion on exorcism, but Lutheran orthodoxy has dealt with it in the past. Suffice to say that the defeating and the shielding are done by the power of Christ through His Word with a regular diet of the Gospel on the part of the former demoniac. Insofar as these demons are proverbial—past temptations and decisions that haunt us—again, the regular diet for the Christian is the Gospel, by which all guilt is driven out and shielded by the innocence of Christ.
My true rating is 4.5 stars.
SPOILERS:
The Precursors say they are “legion”—a biblical reference to the demoniac in the Gerasenes. The Flood are what remains of the Precursors—legions of parasitic forms, arguably demonic in their behaviour as the mercilessly infect every living thing. The Forerunners wiped out the Precursors because they wanted to bequeath the Mantle to humans instead of Forerunners. The Flood is their recompense for such treachery, demons that have haunted the galaxy for tens of thousands of years. The way they fight and defeat these demons of the past leads to controversy, civil war, and conflicting desires of how to achieve victory. On one side of the Forerunner debate, some believe the Flood should be defeated through total annihilation at the risk of destroying all other sentient life in the galaxy. For others, Shield Worlds are the best option where organised, focused attacks can be administered while protecting all life in the galaxy.
How do we fight the demons of our past? How do we annihilate them and shield ourselves from them? Of course, this is not possible of our own power, but of the power of Christ. There is no space in this review for a full discussion on exorcism, but Lutheran orthodoxy has dealt with it in the past. Suffice to say that the defeating and the shielding are done by the power of Christ through His Word with a regular diet of the Gospel on the part of the former demoniac. Insofar as these demons are proverbial—past temptations and decisions that haunt us—again, the regular diet for the Christian is the Gospel, by which all guilt is driven out and shielded by the innocence of Christ.
My true rating is 4.5 stars.