Customer Reviews

The Search for Fierra (Empyrion, Book 1)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Firstly, I should say that the omnibus version, containing both books, is available. It is humongous, but you can get it and save some cash. These books have a lot of depth to them and aren't the average sci-fi "lets see how many futuristic ways we can kill people" approach. Lawhead's character's are developed over time. Sometimes they will surprise you. The standard first chapter synopis of main characters is absent. You have to follow the development of the individuals throughout the books. Lawhead writes with a different sense of pace and buildup than you may be used to from his other series. I read this series as a kid and have always liked it for its uniqueness. The books create a believable world and a complex society while leaving the thinking reader plenty of mysterious clues and hints to ponder. Lots of fun elements of political science, anthropology and sociology undergird this first book,which takes place mostly in Dome. Don't expect everything to be spelled out right away, and don't expect wholesale slaughter and gigantic battle scenes. The great sci-fi epics like "Dune", and "Lord of the Rings" succeed because they give a reader a sense of reality. Events seem like real history. The "Dome" books don't reach the level of Herbert or Tolkien; few if any books do. However, they have an element of this same reality that allow the reader to become immersed and enter a new world and, after all, isnt that the point of sci-fi?

Take a colony on an alien planet, throw in a plague and a civil war, and cut off all contact from its parent organization for about three thousand years. Don't forget, they still have their atomic weapons. Result: Empyrion, split into Fierra and Dome, with a wasteland in between.
In Part One: After landing on Empyrion, the four companions Treet, Yarden, Pizzle and pilot Crocker are literally stunned. Apparently, the colony established four years ago (by Earth's reckoning) has somehow gone terribly wrong; a backward, almost Orwellian government has taken over and the society and technology have degenerated. Without the clear guidance of their earthly parent corporation (Cynetics), the humans reverted to a rigid caste system to keep order. Erecting their own form of religion came next - essentially a kind of demon worship. Paranoia ruled their leaders' decisions, and individual human welfare was not a consideration against the status quo. A true dystopia, the fruit of fragile human understanding untempered by love.

Orion Treet is our main interface to Empyrion. A historian and a writer, he is able to maintain some emotional distance from what is happening around him; his friends are not so fortunate. Yarden, a sympath, is traumatized by her stay in Dome . She is able to sense a malevolent presence that the others cannot. Pizzle, a genius, had a backbreaking, filthy job in the lowest caste and couldn't wait to leave. Crocker was severely injured at first contact, comatose for most of his stay, but even still there is a hole in his memory during which something sinister happened...

Part Two: the companions have somehow made it across the wasteland to the smaller human settlement. This is Fierra, a true utopia and a foretaste of Heaven in this life. Fierrans have relied on the Infinite (God) for guidance and wisdom for over a millennium, ever since the atomic Holocaust. The results were not only a beautiful city in harmony with nature but a beautiful people in harmony with each other. Their vow of non-aggression may now backfire on them as Dome turns a paranoid eye toward Fierra once again...

Empyrion was not perfectly plotted and written. The first half drags in areas, has a generally unsatisfying feel to it which I believe is because author Stephen Lawhead offers a hasty sketch of the main characters and then neglects them to explore the wonders of the alien world; their inner lives are largely unexplored until the second half. A pet peeve of mine surfaces in the form of a romantic subplot between Treet and not one but three knockout females, but don't get excited - I don't think I'm spoiling much by revealing that they come to nothing and serve no real purpose in the plot. Worse, the reader is left wondering what they saw in him to begin with; Treet seems to have the EQ of a jackrabbit. Finally, Lawhead resorts to some generic descriptions of what is by all accounts supposed to be an exotic and interesting world. He could have spent a few more imaginative words revealing the physical Empyrion to us.

All these flaws drop away from memory when the magic of this alien place becomes apparent in random moments of storytelling brilliance. I recall vividly the sensory weirdness Lawhead evoked with a narrative about a nameless disease that cocooned its victims in shells of their own flesh. The haunting loneliness of the desert wastelands and the quiet green crunch of the forests crept into my soul as I read. Lawhead chronicles the spiritual journeys of the travellers through sensitive inner dialogs. And finally, nobody does war strategy and battle sequences like this author. For such gratifying passages I am willing to forgive much.

So perhaps Empyrion was not a complete five stars in every respect. Since the whole added up to more than the sum of its parts, however, it may be read by sci fi fans without reservation.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

I am a big sci-fi buff. And with all the unbelievable sci-fi coming out now it is refreshing to see a good read like this. The Empyrion series is top notch. Be sure you have both volumes ready because as soon as you finish the first (The Search for Fierra) you will want to read the next (The Siege of Dome). Orion Treet is someone you can relate to as a person without all the usual Hollywood nonsense in books and movies that plauges us now.

I'll confess to being a Stephen Lawhead fan, but this book and its sequel would have intrigued me had I never heard of the author, just as they easily held my attention though I am hardly a science-fiction fan.

Lawhead weaves a tale of a jounalist trying to report on the growth of a new civilization, who finds that all is not as it should be. Orion's experiences as he attempts to unravel the mysteries and intrigues of Fierra mercilessly grasp the reader's attention, and Lawhead's typical weaving of the storyline insure that all the details of the story work together -- one casual observation in the first book's opening chapter comes into play partway through the second. The bittersweet ending and the characters' interactions both ring true to real-life credibility.

Overall, this is not my favorite book, but I certainly enjoyed reading it and would read it again. And that is one of the highest compliments one can pay a book, no?

I love Lawhead's Empyrion Saga. I have read it twice over because it's so incredible. I prefer this set to any of his other books. You feel the characters, you understand their pains, their frustrations. The settings are dynamic and captivating. Sometimes the plot was predictable, but not often. The ending is spectacular. I have not been so satisfied by a book in my life. Instead of leaving you asking questions at the end, he answers all in a summary of the rest of the characters lives. Apart from Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" books, Empyrion is the best reading you will probably have. A must.

Empyrion is a remarkable book. It will appeal to anyone searching for a great science fiction novel, a book with spiritual revelations, a story of the struggle between great evil and good, or someone just looking for a good read. No one aspect of the book is overbearing, and it is neither preachy nor heavy-handed on the science fiction front, making it a story that can be loved by just about anyone, at any time in their lives.

The story follows four travelers sent to check up on a four year old, other-worldly colony, set up by the powerful corporation Cynetics. On their arrival, they find two cities, and no sign of the original colony. One of the cities, Dome, is mostly corrupt, and vile. The other is serene, and peaceful. The presence of the travelers rekindles an ancient feud between these two civilizations, and sets in motion events that signal the coming of potentially horrible events. The leaders of Dome, some searching for complete power, and others fighting to keep Empyrion from spiraling into chaos, wage a war of information, secrecy, and propaganda, which teeters on the edge of full-scale destruction.

This story, like many of Lawhead's other books, has a slow beginning. The characters take shape gradually, and the plot initially moves at nearly a snails pace. Lawhead spends most of the early pages of the book describing the world of his characters. That done, though, the plot starts rolling. Because of the effort Lawhead takes in preparing the reader, you can't help but be totally engaged as events unroll. Simply put, you won't be able to put the book down. What Empyrion occasionally loses in pace, it gains in beautiful detail of the characters and surroundings. Through these descriptions, Lawhead makes the world of Empyrion real; you feel immersed in it. He brings to life the grandeur of Fierra, and the desolation of the great desert. The characters are complex, multi-dimensional individuals. They seem real, making it easy to connect with them. You can feel Tvrdy's desperation as he struggles, with his back to the wall, against an insurmountable enemy. It is these feelings that drive you forward to find out what happens next.

There are multiple plots, some beautifully subtle, that intersect and eventually weave together seemlessly as the end approaches. There is a psychological tieing together as well, giving the whole story an overarching feeling of the great and fierce battle between good and evil. Empyrion can be taken and looked at from so many angles and appreciated on so many levels that it makes it appealing to a wide range of people. Whatever way you want to look at the story, even if you just want a good read, you will not be disappointed. I was quite saddened when I reached the end of Empyrion, not because of what did or did not happen, but because it was over.

One of Lawhead's earlier works..but definitely one of his best. I was surprised to find this in my local bookstore...I thought I'd read everything Lawhead had written. What a pleasant surprise.

This is a story that will suck you in and leave you begging for more. The instant that I finished this volume, I had to read the second, so I immediately jumped on-line and ordered it from Amazon. You'll be glad you read this book.

in some ways lawhead has a style reminicent of CS Lewis. i would recommend for those who liked CSL's space trilogy to read this book. However SL can not compare to such greats as JRRTolkien or CSLewis but he comes closer than any other writer I've heard of. Check out the Song of Albion--definitely influenced by CSL and pretty darn good too. the pendragon cycle is also worthy of being looked at but not the Dragon King trilogy

I read these books more than 20 years ago, and decided to re-read them again recently. Originally two separate books, I was pleased to see them bundled into a single package here. As another reviewer has stated, and I quite concur, the first book leaves far too much unresolved, and the second book really cannot stand alone. It simply can't be read as anything other than one lengthy saga rather than two stand-alone books.

Elsewhere, Lawhead has been categorized as being in the "Christian fiction" genre but I must take strenuous issue with this. It pigeon-holes his work far too much and sends a message to non-christian readers that they needn't bother picking up this fine author's novels unless they share his faith. This would be a true shame. Lawhead's books are not at all typical of so-called christian fiction which is almost always written for a distinctly evangelical audience and culture. In contrast, although Lawhead's novels always contain a certain amount of spiritual subject matter such as the existence of evil and suffering, the existence of God and truth, and similar topics, they are neither preachy nor overbearing, and the material isn't really presented in a way that I would even consider to be indicative of organized religion. It's actually often presented in a much more mystical fashion that some Christians may even find mildly objectionable because it ocassionally mixes elements of paganism and Christianity.

Regardless, most Christian readers will find Lawhead's books enjoyable because the author's worldview will be largely consistent with their own and he tells a great story without resorting to profanity, gratuitous sex, and other salacious props (in that regard, he is similar to John Grisham). Non-christian readers: don't make the mistake of dismissing this and other Lawhead novels as suitable only for the shelves of the local Bible book store. It is a wonderful read regardless of your spiritual views and I seriously doubt any readers will walk away feeling preached to at any level...any more than readers would likely feel preached to by John Grisham's "The Testament."

To my knowledge, this is Stephen Lawhead's only foray into the sci-fi genre, and he does an admirable job. For those unfamiliar with Lawhead, he shines the brightest in Celtic historical novels, and I believe some of his best work is in the 5-book "Pendragon Cycle," a multi-generational saga that follows Merlin, King Arthur, and others from the famous "Knights of the Roundtable" lore. But, enough of advertisements for his other books.

In the 2-part "Empyrion" saga, we follow the adventures of Orion Treat, a sort of Joe Average from sometime in earth's non-specified future. Treat is offered 8 million dollars for reasons he cannot quite contemplate to journey to a distant planet where a manned exploratory vessel has found a planet that may support life. The vessel's crew sends several cryptic, partially intelligable messages back to earth, but then communications cease entirely. Treat's task, along with 3 fellow travellers, is to venture to the planet, find out what became of the explorers and their vessel, and report back.

--- Warning: partial plot spoilers here. Skip ahead if desired ---

To get to the distant planet, Treat's ship must pass through a wormhole, compressing a journey that would normally take years to just 10 months. However, upon arriving, the travelers eventually realize that they have travelled not just many lightyears from home, but also thousands of years into the future. They arrive at the planet not as it was when the first messages were sent back, but as it exists after hundreds of generations of people have lived and died since the first group of marooned humans arrived and began populating the place - almost like a cosmic Noah's ark. Like the first group of explorers, Treat and his companions find they've bought a one-way ticket. There is no way to get a message back to earth, and no way to return.

The novel takes us to two distinct civilizations of humans on the planet - those who chose to dwell beneath a gigantic dome in a rigid caste-like system, and those who split off to live outside the dome across an impassible desert in an Eden-like utopia. The novel chronicles the state of the decaying dome-dwellers' civilization, contrasted with the purity and ascendency of the utopian culture built by those outside the dome (the Fierri). An inevitable battle erupts as the two cultures that had remained separate for dozens of centuries poise to intersect once again, with Treat and his companions battling to prevent the repeat of a nuclear holocaust from the planet's distant past.

--- Plot spoilers over ---

It's a wonderful story that I thoroughly enjoyed, pitting the age-old ingredients of good against evil, while giving us numerous glimpses of what the world could be like if man would consistently choose good rather than evil.

My only critique is that some of the battle scenes are drawn out a little too long and this caused the story to bog down in places. Overall, the books come to a fine and highly satisfying conclusion. However, hard-core sci-fi fans who are looking for lots of cutting-edge science won't find it here. It's really a story of good and evil that simply uses science fantasy to carry us into a solar system thousands of years in the future where the age-old tale of hate and fear versus love and courage can carry itself out on a virgin planet. It's a story that could have just as easily been set thousands of years in the past as thousands of years in the future.

Empyrion is an epic science fiction story by Christian writer Stephen Lawhead. Originally two books, The Search for Fierra and The Siege of Dome, the first book ends with too much unresolved and the second cannot stand on its own. The two books of this volume are in fact one story.

All too often Christian fiction is second-rate fiction but this is not the case with Stephen Lawhead and Empyrion. This story is excellent science fiction. However, Empyrion is not just the story of four travelers to an Earth colony in the Epsilon Eridani system; it is the spiritual journey that explores the eternal battle between good and evil.

While Empyrion investigates religious themes, it is not overtly Christian. Another reviewer stated that the story is rich with Allegory. I agree. Dome represents evil, an authoritarian society of demon worship and hate. Fierra, is a utopian paradise, a city populated by people who have either fled Dome or were thrown out. After years of wandering, they have come to know and love the Eternal Father. Even the air of Empyrion and Dome become allegories for purity and death.

The best fiction writers present their stories through setting, action, thoughts, and description. Many Science Fiction stories suffer from lengthy paragraphs of telling. While Empyrion does have some telling, it is blessed with ample setting details that allow you to visualize the alien environment, the bleakness of dome and beauty of Fierra.

As a Christian and a lifetime reader of Science Fiction, I recommend Empyrion to fans of the genre. Don't let the spirituality or length of the novel deter you from sharing the adventure.

Kyle Pratt