The Mansions of Space

Embark on a pilgrimage among the stars in search of the Holy Shroud. I've read this novel something like ten or twelve times. It's that good! Firstly, as a Protestant Christian, the subject of religious faith in space has always fascinated me. One disappointment of much modern sci-fi is that it either downplays religious faith or treats it as little more than outdated superstition. That trend began to change/is changing with TV shows like "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Firefly," the new "Battlestar Galactica" and movies like "The Chronicles of Riddick" taking a rather more serious, even sympathetic view of religion, even though these shows often approach religion from a post-modernistic viewpoint (all religious faiths are equally valid). John Morrisey's 1983 "The Mansions of Space" was thus ahead of its time. It portrays a realistic scenario explaining mankind's journey to the stars and the reasons the human race exists in a diaspora of different worlds. Plus it offers a convincing explanation of how Earth-based religions such as Roman Catholic Christianity might survive and adapt after such an exodus to the stars. The science is believable, and one nice twist to this book is the fact that there is no warp or faster-than-light drive to make travels between far-flung worlds near instantaneous. Due to time dilation, occasioned by the vast distances between worlds, journeys between those worlds take a matter of weeks or months for those aboard ship, while generations pass planet-side. Whole cultures flourish and die in the meantime. Yet the medivalesque Roman Catholic-based monastic society of the obscure, forgotten colony world known as Peter's Rock, with its humble, trusting faith endures, awaiting its chance to send forth priest-voyagers to spread the gospel to the intelligent races of the galaxy, all the while patiently and faithfully trusting in the eventual return of its most sacred and precious holy relic-the Shroud of Turin, carried off-world in the colony's only starship by schismatics centuries ago. Led by a succession of abbots, Peter's rock survives discovery by a free-trader named Jod Enskeline, with less-than-pure motives, who agrees to train and transport the priest-voyagers off-world in exchange for several of the monastery library's rare and priceless books from ancient earth, as well as by the quasi-militaristic trading association known as the Sternverein, led by Cmr. Cormasson, who wish to bring Peter's Rock under their iron-fisted control. Cormasson learns of the Shroud and sets off to find it. On his travels he learns of a mysterious figure known as the Pilgrim who also visited numerous worlds in a quest to find the Face of God. Before his journey is over Cormasson will be changed in ways he could never have imagined before, but will he learn the identity of the Pilgrim and the fate of the schismatics and the Shroud? This novel takes Christianity seriously and actually raises some thought-provoking theological questions.

This is one my favorite sci-fi books of all time. The story is set in Morressy's stark and fragmented Sternverein universe, where space flight is possible but relativistic effects makes sustained communication between worlds all but impossible. The shroud of Christ gets stolen from a monastary world and pilgrims, pirates, and Sternverein troopers try to track it down over several centuries.The book is a light read, but epic in scale. The characters are believable and you end up really feeling sympathy for the protagonist. The ending has a nice twist to it. Highly recommended!

Read this book upon a friend's recommendation back in 1984 and loved it.