The Holy Land [Paperback]

Robert Zubrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2003

To save the Minervans from oppression in the central galaxy, the liberal Western Galactic Empire relocates the sect to their ancient homeland of Kennewick, Washington. But for the fundamentalist fanatics ruling the USA, the presence of pagans in the holy city is intolerable, and they launch an interstellar campaign of destruction in protest. A madcap role-reversed War on Terrorism ensues.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A satiric tour de force. After the Minervan people are nearly wiped out in a distant war, the Western Galactic Empire generously grants them sanctuary in the Minervans' ancient homeland-Kennewick, WA. Unfortunately, the United States, a "Christian" theocracy, does not welcome the "pagans." Government authorities round up the former American inhabitants of Kennewick, isolate them in refugee camps, and teach their children to be martyrs in a propaganda war, assassinating Minervans and carrying the terror to distant planets. The advanced galactic civilizations are not without faults of their own, including an inability to respect Earthlings as equals. When a Minervan captures an American soldier for scientific observation, she is surprised to discover promising "protohuman" traits, while he learns that the Minervans are not quite the monsters he had believed them to be. And this is just the beginning as Zubrin holds up a mirror to the perpetual Middle East crisis, the current "War on Terror," and many aspects of humanity and modern life. In less-inspired hands, such an extended satiric treatment might pall, but the author fleshes out this novel of ideas with intriguing characters, delightful twists, skillful plotting, and, above all, humor-all kinds, and lots of it. The satire bites as satire should, but the story also satisfies. This is an engaging romantic fable of interspecies misunderstanding and discovery, and a grand adventure that takes readers all the way to the galaxy's highest court and back home again to a planet much in need of a fresh perspective.
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From Booklist

Something like the subtlety of the Great Wall of China informs this satire on fundamentalism, the premise of which is that the alien Minervans, whose ancestral home is called Kennewick, have been relocated in the U.S. by the Western Galactic Empire, and the U.S. government is less than tolerant of these "pagans," who worship Minerva rather than the rest of the empire's triumvirate of goddesses. Ex-soldier Hamilton is a study specimen for Minervan scientist Aurora, who believes that earthlings might be protohuman. The U.S. government, with an eye to the highest profit, creates a huge refugee issue and recruits children as suicide bombers to create galactic sympathy for removing the Minervans. U.S. fanaticism doesn't make any friends, however, and when the U.S. blows up entire planets, the empire sends a fleet to deal with the Earth problem. The outcome could be disastrous, given superior empire firepower, but, fortunately, some earthlings (protohumans?) haven't fallen for the fundamentalist propaganda. Unfortunately, the yarn's satiric potential isn't always realized. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Polaris Books (September 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974144304
• ISBN-13: 978-0974144306
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,865,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious spoof about the Arab-Israeli war and terrorism, August 1, 2004

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Holy Land (Paperback)

Zubrin has come up with a great satire here. The story keeps readers alert and had me laughing out loud. And it makes the point that the majority of people who have much to say about the Arab-Israeli war or about terrorism show little genuine concern for human rights.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Holy Land is a satirical masterpiece..., November 11, 2003

By 

Scott Gill (Venice, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Holy Land (Paperback)

Bravo to Robert Zubrin for forcing us to see the world through alien eyes. In "The Holy Land", Zubrin gives us a brilliant parody on the war on terror by placing Americans in the role of religious suicidal extremists - a role we seem more apt to fulfill everyday - and the Western Galactic Empire in the role of benign but stupidly arrogant peacemaker.

There are parallels here to almost every aspect of our modern political world. The book pivots a zealous American President against a small group of space refugees (the Minervans) who have made a home for themselves in the Washington town of Kennewick. The religious war to expel these relatively peaceful "pagans" attracts the attention of the hugely powerful but inept Western Galactic Empire after Christian suicidal bombers, in a bid to get the galaxy's attention, destroys one of the empire's inhabited planets. The WGE, or Weegees as they are called, are unwilling to offend either side (mostly because they need to keep up their lucrative trade in "helicity" that was discovered under the soil of the United States,) and this just causes the bloodbath to get worse.

Caught in the middle is the story of POW sergeant Andrew Hamilton and his beautiful Minervian captor Aurora. Their growing admiration and respect for each other takes the book into some hilarious situations; Earthlings stink so horribly to Minervians and their minds are so chaotic that the idea of loving such a "savage" is repugnant. Aurora, however, can't help but fall for this proud, if primitive, soldier who tries so hard to prove to her that he is a "human being".

"The Holy Land" is a satirical masterpiece, a funny romp that uses science fiction to get it's points across while never ceasing to entertain us with lovable characters, despicable villains, and a compelling story of galactic war.

At times the book makes its readers teary-eyed with laughter, other times frustrated with the outrageous behavior of humans and aliens alike - it is in this frustration when Zubrin's brilliance most clearly shines, for we are forced to see the ridiculousness of our own world situation. What "Dr. Strangelove" was to the cold war, "The Holy Land" is to the war on terror and the clash of civilizations.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tour de satire force, July 8, 2004

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Holy Land (Paperback)

This wonderful book is a tour de force, in its startling accurate protrayel of the truth behind the conflict in the middle east. Here we are able to divest ourselves from the emotions sourounding the conflict by changing the names to protect the innocent and there bye we see how the conflict truly works. We see the truth behind the kinnewikans and how their 'brother' earthlings forced them into squalor and then conspired to make it seem like they were the victims when the truth is that the entire earth waged a fascist war against the Minervans only to be beaten back time and again, and yet in the end we see how propoganda and lies are able to twist the truth so that the true victims, the Minervans, become the oppressors, in the eyes of the media and the actual baby killers, the terrorists, are called heroes and 'human rights activists'. This book is so amazing that its actually true and it will make you shudder when you realize such injustice takes place daily in the press and the news and how events and history is twisted by lies and propoganda so that people no longer see the truth. A wonderful book, a must read.

Seth J. Frantzman