Review of Past Master by R.A. Lafferty

Christian apologetics and science fiction make for interesting bedfellows. One a be-all end-all explanation of how things came to be, the other a fantastical potential for things to come, they would seem to be at odds. And yet there have been books which make it work, notably Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz and James Blish's A Case of Conscience. Can R.A. Lafferty's Past Master (1968), a book which likewise features extra-terrestrial Christian shenanigans, join the list?

An exercise in utopianism, Past Master is set on Golden Astrolobe, an Earth colony famed for its high quality of life. But the story begins in the middle of a firefight planet-side. Robots attack a trio of men who have been tasked with finding the next leader for the colony. The three agree that special measures are required to solve the situation, and so they head into history and pluck Sir Thomas More out of time and space to bring him to Astrolobe. The trio hope his wisdom writing Utopia will be able to resolve their conflict. Can it?

Past Master sets two ideas in opposition to one another: an atheist utopia where freedom has been limited to practically zero in the name of safety against a Christianity-based ideology in which religious freedom is paramount. This juxtaposition is then plopped into the middle of a cartoonish planetary setting in which the automatons (never actually called robots) seek to enforce their colony's idea of utopia through slap-stick fights and almost satirical political maneuvering. Which is a good time to mention:

Beyond Christian apologetics, Past Master is a novel that doesn't understand its own identity—the mannerisms, quirks, and backdrop supporting the thematic thrust. The villains are cartoony, which would be ok if the occasionally satirical commentary were expanded upon and became the main tone. The way Lafferty presents the book's humanist angle squashes this, however. It gets serious at times, creating a juxtaposition with the cartoony bits. It feels like Lafferty went with a variety of styles and voices, creating a mixed bag, but would have been better off choosing a side.

At the macro level, it's clear Past Master would have been better as a novelette or short story. There is minimal meat on the proverbial bone outside the primary inflection points of plot and thematic undertones, all of which could have fit in a shorter length piece of fiction. There are significant moments the story indulges itself with little mind to pushing plot or underpinning theme.

Past Master presents an atheistic utopia as dystopia, then presents the only utopia worth considering is one related to the freedom to choose Christianity. But it doesn't seem to go further. Perhaps I missed something, but it doesn't address Christianity's established utopia (heaven after death) or it's relationship to mortality/suffering on Earth. In other words, it pokes several holes in the book's atheistic view to utopia, but doesn't propose a solution of its own.

Or does it? Let's take that a step further, as it's quite interesting.

Perhaps Lafferty's proposition is that utopia requires a semi-state of chaos which includes suffering and injustice? Or further still, perhaps utopia requires religion to inject that degree of chaos, i.e. a situation that legitimizes the choice people make to believe—to have faith in things unseen? After all, if everything is perfect on Earth, where would the desire to go to heaven be? A thought milieu, to say the least.

To get back to the question in the intro: is Past Master worthy of comparison to novels like A Canticle for Leibowitz and A Case of Conscience, I think the answer is a 'no'—not a definitive 'no', but the gap is clear. The novel asks interesting questions about the relationship of Christianity to utopia, but beyond that Lafferty struggles to find a consistent tone, can't hone in on the identity of the story he's telling, and only occasionally shows flashes of prose. The book is quite straight-forward technique-wise and overall feels like a novelette streeeeeeetched into a novel, the interstices lacking value. Lightly stimulating, but ultimately lacking consonant substance.