SummaryAn underutilized strength of science fiction is that it is
an ideal vehicle for satire. The Holy Land is science
fiction satire in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., John
Sladek, and James Morrow, effectively using wit and humor
to frame important social issues. Author Robert Zubrin -- a
renowned expert on the planet Mars, whose only prior novel,
First Landing, concerned a manned mission to Mars -- tells a
story of the future to skillfully illustrate the absurdity
of events transpiring in the world today.
The Holy Land is a science fictional retelling of
circumstances in the Middle East, from the creation of
Israel through the current War on Terror. This is a
sensitive topic to make light of, with painful memories of
9/11 still fresh in our minds, but it is a subject that
richly deserves to be satirized. ...In The Holy Land, Robert
Zubrin makes his points by making us laugh. The Holy Land begins with humanoid aliens called Minervans
occupying the town of Kennewick, Washington, which they
claim as their ancient homeland. ... The Minervans are
looking for a quiet place to escape the persecution they
have suffered at the hands of other space-faring
civilizations, including a recent attempt by one of the
major galactic empires to exterminate them completely. The United States government, largely controlled by
Christian fundamentalists, finds the presence of these
pagans on American land intolerable. It launches a military
campaign, which the Minervans defeat with their
technological superiority. American Sergeant Andrew
Hamilton is captured in the attack. We see much of the
ensuing culture clash through Hamilton and his captor,
Priestess Aurora. Unable to evict the Minervans by force, the U.S. government
turns to guile. It forces former residents of Kennewick,
most of whom had already settled in other parts of the
country, to live in squalor in refugee camps outside
Kennewick, then trains the refugees' children to carry out
attacks on the Minervans. The government knows these
attacks will be ineffective...and will result in the children
being killed or maimed when the Minervans' defensive
systems destroy the guns in their hands. All of this is designed to generate bad publicity for the
Minervans and sympathy for the "Kennewickian" refugees. The
other galactic races, including the largest galactic power,
the Western Galactic Empire ("WGE"), are shocked by the
Minervan mistreatment of the Kennewickian refugees and the
atrocities against the Kennewickian children. Matters are complicated when Earth is found to possess huge
reserves of helicity, a valuable resource necessary for
space travel. The proceeds of helicity sales soon begin to
line the pockets of corrupt American officials. Some of the
funds are used to purchase anti-telepathy devices. These
devices facilitate suicide attacks against the WGE,
beginning with the hijacking of four spaceships, three of
which succeed in destroying WGE planets. The WGE knows full well that Earthlings carried out these
attacks, but is reluctant to take action that might
interrupt its supply of helicity. The Americans, aided by
an extremely friendly galactic press, try to persuade the
WGE to place the blame on the Minervans, on the theory that
their mistreatment of the Kennewickians caused the whole
situation. Failing that, the U.S. tries to divert WGE
reprisals to Peru and Mexico, where the terrorist training
camps were located. Never mind that the terrorists were
Americans, funded by Americans. If this has not yet started to sound familiar, you should
go find some newspapers to read before trying The Holy
Land. As you may have guessed from the above, Zubrin's outlook is
generally pro-Israeli. He does not exempt the Israelis from
criticism, however, as shown by his Minervans' attitudes
toward Earthlings, which range from condescending to
racist. Prejudice against Earthlings, whom Minervans'
refuse to acknowledge are even human, is the main barrier
to the relationship between our main characters Hamilton
and Aurora. Through the WGE and other galactics, Zubrin shows disdain
for Western attitudes toward the Middle East. The
galactics' outrage over the plight of the Kennewickian
refugees does not reflect any real concern for the
Earthlings. ... The galactics are motivated instead by their
desire to keep the helicity flowing and by their dislike of
the Minervans -- whom they despise because the Minervans'
religious beliefs differ from their own in ways that are
almost as trivial as the differences between Christianity
and Judaism. Most contemptible of all are the American leaders. The
American president is depicted as entirely self-interested,
making use of religion and religious fanatics as tools to
further his own ambitions. It was a deft choice for Zubrin
to have the United States stand in for the sponsors of
today's Muslim terrorists. Hopefully this will prompt
readers eager to find fault with America to consider how
they would react if the U.S. began to behave like most Arab
governments. Early on, Zubrin busies himself setting up his bizarre
version of the Middle East to the exclusion of much
characterization. In the second half of the novel, however,
Zubrin warms to his own characters. Aurora is forced to
travel incognito across America with Hamilton, and their
interactions with each other and with other Americans they
encounter work well, particularly a moving conversation
between Aurora and Hamilton's bigoted father. Still, the social satire is the main attraction. In the
course of the novel, Zubrin makes fun of nearly every
aspect of the Middle East situation. His barbed humor
reaches much further than politics of the Middle East,
however, hilariously lampooning topics as diverse as
religion, the military, gender differences, and political
correctness. Many of the funniest lines have nothing at all
to do with the Middle East, but simply play off mankind's
innate goofiness. Zubrin is always careful not to take
himself too seriously, and at times the story seems rather
silly, but that's what makes it funny. Like a funhouse
mirror, the reflection it shows us is outrageously
distorted, but it's still pretty easy to see ourselves.
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