For Us Humans by Steve Rzasa

I grew up reading science fiction and love to return to it from time to time. Imagine, a good science fiction novel from a Christian perspective!

Rzasa imagines a world where aliens orchestrated a corporate takeover of the earth some fifteen years previously. Our hero is Caz, a fellow who is good at orchestrating stings for the FBI, retrieving stolen items. He's called into service when a microscopic alien piece of art is stolen from a display on earth. He's happy to do it until part of the deal is that he works with a four armed alien.

While there are lots of amazing space ships, phasers, and other technical stuff, the character of Caz makes the novel. I had a little trouble liking him at first but I grew to appreciate him as the novel progressed. He's cocky and a smart aleck. He's also a lapsed Christian.

And that makes for an interesting novel from a Christian perspective. When the aliens took over the earth, many so-called Christians lost their faith. Beings from other worlds just did not fit into their theology. Caz reluctantly learns from his four armed partner that some aliens have a similar belief in God and a means of salvation through the death of One.

I liked Rzasa's writing style. The narrative was easy to follow. The dialogue was sort of a combination of sarcasm, humor, and tough guy talk. It really added to my enjoyment of the novel. There were times when I would have liked a little more description, especially of some of the alien equipment.

I recommend this novel to readers who like science fiction and would appreciate the thought provoking concept of aliens embracing a saving faith. You'll have a good adventure and have some issues to think about. I'll be looking for more from this author.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Steve Rzasa is the author of several novels of science fiction, steampunk, and fantasy. His third novel, Broken Sight, received the 2012 Award for Speculative Fiction from the American Christian Fiction Writers. Two of his novels have been nominated for the Realm Award. He received his bachelor's degree from Boston University and worked for eight years in newspapers. He's been a librarian since 2008. He is the technical services librarian in Buffalo, Wyoming, where he lives with his wife and two boys. You can find out more at www.steverzasa.com.

Enclave Publishing, 384 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.