The Word Reclaimed by Steve Rzasa Published by: Marcher Lord Press (2009) 449 pages Rating: 6/10 Buy it Now:

In this latest sci-fi from Marcher Lord Press, Steve Rzasa explores a distant future where tolerance rules all. Religion has been effectively banned while humanity has spread out from Earth to a number of other worlds. This realm of worlds is ruled by a king on Earth who depends heavily on the secret police to keep him informed - and also to stamp out any of that trouble-making religious stuff.

In the midst of ongoing schemes, plots from within the realm and apparently without, a teenage boy named Baden has made an intriguing discovery. In the wreckage of a destroyed spacecraft, he finds a Bible. At first, he's only interested in what he can get for it - after all, despite being banned (or because of it), a Bible is worth an incredible amount of money to the right buyers. But then he begins reading it, and it begins actually speaking to him. The secret police are not far behind...

Rzasa has definitely worked hard on creating a massive "world" here, as is always a steep requirement for fantasy or sci-fi. He's carefully outlined a variety of planets, individuals, politics and technology. And all of it seems to fit together very well.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems. First of all, the dialogue needs work. Rzasa tends to overuse certain colorful expressions in place of the simple "said." Chief among these is "smirked." As the story progressed, I begin to expect "smirked" to show up in every single conversation. And it almost always did. Using these words is not a problem in itself, but when a reader notices the use of these words, it becomes a clear distraction from the story itself, as well as cheapening the characters.

There was also one key element to this world that did not sit right, and that's morality. If this society has virtually eliminated religion, then what restrains fallen man? We're led to believe that virtually no one has even read a Bible, Koran, Torah, or anything like them in generations. And yet almost every single character, from the rebellious teenager to the rich elites to the pirate captain comes across as honorable and pretty moral. In fact, they're far more moral than people today! When your teenage boy blushes just because he realizes he's been staring at a girl... well, where did he learn that staring was wrong? There's hardly any mention of entertainment of any kind, yet surely it would be vastly pornographic by then? In any case, this book seems more suited to somewhat younger readers based on this factor alone.

On the other hand, Rzasa shines when it comes to the combat sequences. From battle suits to starships, he excels in describing their abilities and executing them. The final battles are truly exciting.

This is the first book of The Face of the Deep, and I'm not entirely certain how many books will be a part of it (though I read somewhere that it would be only two). Things end on a somewhat tense note, and things have definitely been established for some major action in book two. Mildly Recommended.