Customer Reviews

The Holy Land

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4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
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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.

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.

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

A willing suspension of disbelief, the pre-requisite for reading fiction, quickly gives way to amazement and delight as Robert Zubrin leads us through a really fun look at terrorism in the parallel universe of "The Holy Land." Rallying behind the high-flown credo "For Reason, Love and Justice - Everywhere and Forever" the Western Galactic Empire is forced to literally come "down to earth" to deal with the pesky Earthlings who threaten their vital energy supplies. The flash-point for conflict is a colony of stubbornly monotheistic Minervans, rescued from extermination and resettled by the WGE in their ancient homeland, which just happens to be in the territory of a reluctant, but opportunistic, host... the United States of America!

This is no-holds-barred satire, wherein no sacred cow escapes un-gored, trillions are slaughtered for no good reason and an earthling meets a priestess... and takes her home to meet his folks. Amid theological disputes fueled by pride and greed and fought with sci-fi weaponry, we catch a tragi-comic glimpse of ourselves in all our naked (and smelly) humanity. A real treat!

The space wandering Miniervans claim that Kennewick, Washington is their ancestral holy land that they still own. They hope to finally live in peace after a galactic empire tried to exterminate them. Instead of finding a land of milk and honey, the American government begins a campaign to kick the Miniervans off the continent partly because the "outsiders" behave with an attitude of superiority and racism towards others.

The ensuing war fails to evict the Miniervans from their new home. Frustrated the Fundamentalists running the American government force the dislocated Kennewickians into squalid camps where the young are trained in guerilla tactics and hatred towards the usurpers. The other galactic races are appalled by the constant deaths of the Kennewickians at the hands of the technological superior Minervans though the latter merely defend themselves from suicide assaults encouraged by the US government. The superpower the Western Galactic Empire demands human rights for the displaced. That changes when helicity is discovered on earth as that valuable resource is more important than an individual's dignity.

THE HOLY LAND is a powerful science fiction political satire that relocates the players in the Arab-Israeli dispute inside a galaxy filled with plenty of nations and one superpower. The story line cleverly rips all sides in the real world maelstrom though the Miniervans come off a bit less shredded. Fans who appreciate a strong lampoon of the inanity of the United States, Israel, Palestine, and the other Arab nations for what they have done to people in the invoking of an ism (ideologically stupid morons) will enjoy this tale that feels like Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal placed in a future context.

Harriet Klausner

Robert Zubrin's new book, "The Holy Land", satirizes the conflict in the Middle East, specifically the troubles between Israel and the Palestinians.

How, one would think, can a person make fun of this particularly sensitive subject? Zubrin succeeds by turning it into a darkly humorous science fiction tale of an alien race who settle in the town of Kennewick, Washington, stating that this is their promised land and theirs by right because it is written in their holy scriptures.

The US administration is understandably perturbed by these events, and led by a crusading fanatical Christian President, go to extraordinary lengths to have the plight of the displaced Kennewickian residents brought to the attention of the Galactic media, while also plotting their own gains from the situation.

Zubrin has created a story which can switch from amusement to disbelief to shock and back again in a single page. He parallels the methods and events which have so defined the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to degrees which even in the satirical world could be considered disturbing, but somehow manages to keep the reader at a safe distance, mirroring the sanitization of such horrors as suicide bombings which today's media have learned to do so well.

This distancing of the reader to the events is achieved in Zubrin's style of writing. I am, in this respect, reminded particularly of The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard, a story which was so fantastic, and yet written with a childlike simplicity which made the abnormal seem normal and didn't allow the reader to pause and think enough to stop believing in it. Zubrin gets the same results - his Ballard-like storytelling sets the pace and "The Holy Land" plays out like a well oiled machine.

I am also reminded of a satirical television mini-series from the U.K back in the early 80's, called "Whoops! Apocalypse". The storyline was ridiculous, the acting was over the top, but somehow you could imagine that things could really be that way - the insanity of crazed politicians and an over zealous military steaming full ahead with utter righteous conviction towards annihilation.

"The Holy Land" takes satire to a new extreme, giving the reader the opportunity to be both amused and horrified, turning the tables on a far away conflict and bringing it close to home, not just physically, but socially and psychologically as well, at times begging the question "is this really how things are?". The story is sufficiently different to be fiction, sufficiently the same to hit home.

Congratulations Mr. Zubrin, you stepped over the line in the sand and drew another one for everyone else to try and cross.

Where else can you get witty satire, political attacks, brilliant symbolism, and futuristic aliens all in one place? Reading this book, you will laugh, you will cry, you will want to read it again. Well, maybe not cry, but definitely say "Ouch," as Zubrin points out a not-so-flattering view of our own society. Regardless of your political standpoint, however, you are likely to be both insulted and laugh your behind off, as Zubrin makes fun of everyone. The book is also chock full of symbolism beyond the obvious, things that do not seem amusing to the characters, but are brilliantly amusing to the reader -- "Inside jokes" of our own society. The most brilliant thing of all is that he exaggerates moderately little, but enables us to laugh at the ridiculousness of our own society as it is. The cover says it best -- "A world crazy enough to be our own." Cleverly conceived and sharply hilarious, The Holy Land has a little something for everyone who enjoys a good satire.

What George Orwell did for (or to?) the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm Robert Zubrin does to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in this very clever satire. When the Western Galactic Empire relocates the unpopular race of Minervans to their original homeland in Kennewick, WA, the Americans take it poorly. The corrupt Christian fundamentalist administration in Washington, DC first tries to expel them using force, but when that fails they decide to make a play for galactic sympathy, so people are herded into "refugee" camps around the new Minervan land, to live in ostentatious misery. From these camps they launch suicidal terrorist assaults on the Minervans. Later, when the vital energy source helicity is discovered in America, the administration uses its wealth to set up training camps in far flung locales in order to have plausible deniability when it launches a spectacular 9-11-style attack on the Western Galactic Empire itself.

All of the elements of the conflict in our own Holy Lands are present here and there's great pleasure to be had in seeing how Mr. Zubrin draws the parallels. Likewise, the absurdity of these tactics is even clearer in a fictional setting than it is in real life. The Americans have no chance against the Minervans, who are decent folk and just want to live peacefully in the land that is rightfully theirs. The American political leaders cynically manipulate their own people and the galactic press and they engage in truly criminal behavior. But, something seemingly unintended does happen--even with the deck so stacked--this reader, at least, found his sympathies ultimately did lie with the Americans as against the Minervans. Sure, one would wish the leadership less corrupt and their means less vile, but tribalism/nativism is a powerful force and, in the end, it seems only natural to prefer Christian Americans who are rather similar to us, even if flawed, to the quite different Minervans. And, realistically, imagine that the Native Americans, who have a not un-Minervan claim to American soil, set up a state for themselves--how do you think we'd all react, no matter the abstract justice of their case?

As I say, I'd assume this reaction is not what Mr. Zubrin intended, but in a way it makes the book even more powerful. Once you recognize that you can abhor your own leaders methods but still find their cause somewhat compelling, you gain a genuine insight into the insanity that has infected the Palestinians. This insight can in no way justify terrorism but does suggest why more moderate and ordinary people are reluctant to disavow the extremists in their midst.

The Holy Land

Do you think you have a clear understanding of the situation in the Middle East? Do you think you have the Arab/Palestinian/Israeli conflict finally understood? Perhaps you need to test your assumptions b y reading Robert Zubrins new book, "The Holy Land."

Writing a social satire within the Science Fiction genre seems a tall order, but Robert Zubrin pulls it off. Zubrin uses Science Fiction with satire to make his points about the insanity that is our current Middle East reality. Space aliens have been resettled to Earth by a powerful Galactic empire and are the centerpiece of this novel. The Minervans are the relocated alien, and their home is Kennewick, Washington, USA their ancestral home and "holy land."

Opposed to this resettlement is a U.S. government that is presented as a Christian theocracy. Fundamentalist but totalitarian, this twist in the novel is jarring, but makes Zubrin's satire work. The U.S. President is presented effectively, and often comically, as a man who has hijacked a faith for personal power and control.

The Western Galactic Empire is backing the Minervans, and it is through the WGE that Zubrin takes on our Western societies attitudes toward the Middle East. The WGE is motivated primarily by the desire to keep the Helicity (read Oil) flowing, and that desire fuels the reaction to the Minervan-Kennewickian conflict.

All of this sounds familiar?

There is much in "The Holy Land" that will seem familiar, yet don't think for one second that you will find your familiar good guy in this. Zubrin is exceedingly even-handed in skewering all sides for their failings.

In the end "The Holy Land" provides at least one answer that may serve us all well in looking beyond the satire to the reality of the Middle East. Basically we need to reevaluate our assumptions about that region. And there is nothing better then a hard hitting and amusing satire to bring a far away and little understood conflict close to home.

This is a novel well worth the read.

Imagine if you would a place where there is no separation of church and state. Imagine also that in that place young children are martyred - in exchange for a "handsome cash bonus, guaranteed, within 10 business days of the event." Imagine now a place where the sound of a blaring siren fills the air as the inhabitants of that place drop to their knees and chant in the direction of a place perceived as "the Holy Land." Now I must ask you to imagine that this place is - the United States of America!

This is a story primarily about two peoples, the inhabitants of Kennewick, Washington and the Minervans. The Kennewickians are earthlings that simply reside in or come from Kennewick and the Minervans are "refugees" from a distant planet who claim that Kennewick is their ancient homeland - and they want it back!

In this struggle, both sides are equally repulsive in many ways to each other. The Politicians from the United States, who are driven by greed and media image, cannot defeat the Minervans through forceful military means, mainly because the Minervans are telepaths and are well aware of the soldiers thoughts as they engage in combat. Therefore they use the Kennewickians as pawns in this despicable "chess game". The American politicians send the Kennewickians off to a refugee camp to make the Minervans feel remorse for what they are doing. They also send in children as martyrs, again to make the Minervans feel bad.

The Minervans hail from the Central Galactic Empire - which is part of a conglomerate of planets organized to monitor and sometimes regulate the activities of their subjects, with the liberal Western Galactic Empire in the lead role. The Western Galactic Empire, although they are technically advanced and able to control the thoughts and actions of the Kennewickians, ultimately controls the Minervans. They too become pawns in this battle for Kennewick.

As the two political battles are waged, enter our two main characters. Sergeant Andrew Hamilton, a POW from a failed attempt to defeat the Minervans and Priestess 3rd Class Aurora, she is the Minervan who captured this Army Ranger to keep as a "study specimen" with the hopes of making him "human".

Can these two individuals stop the decay that threatens the galaxy? Well, the ending will definitely surprise you and the journey from the first page to the last will be enjoyable. This book captivated me and took my thought process to a higher level. Robert Zubrin's book should find a place at the top of your "Must Read" list. Written in a way that can satisfy a multitude of genres, target audiences and age groups, "The Holy Land" has something for every one.