The Gospel of Matthias has everything: thrills, action, love, horror, coming-of-age, satire, and science fantasy. It's a space opera that has diverse characters on a stage of a vast scope of time and distance. And it's a story that connects with us. The fears and passions of Julie and Selene on their life's journey become our fears and passions. Written with the feeling of a poet and the vision of an architect, this epic has strong characterization, a well-developed plot and plot twists, and relishes the romance of ideas. It echoes the futuristic nostalgia of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and the horror of H.P. Lovecraft or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. This book takes us to the stars. But this story is mainly about our inner world, as dark and as dangerous as anything we could imagine on some distant planet. Science fiction often omits that which is integral to our humanity. That Star Trek or Star Wars has villains or heroes who are atheists or follow Krishna, Allah, Buddha, or Jesus is inconceivable. It's strange that writers of science fiction strive to try to make their fiction as realistic as possible while often ignoring this core dimension of the human condition. In the words of the protagonists are deeply-held and clashing world views. But this book is no battle of straw men. It shows that faiths are dishonorable only in how they become weapons for crusades and conquests. Those wanting a tract for or against religion must look elsewhere. Faith gives us identity, solidarity, and hope. But it also marshals ignorant armies that foster hate and death. These are facts of our existence that gee-whiz inventions cannot negate. Extremists who are drawn to aberrant organizations are the essence of what Eric Hoffer calls the true believer. "The fanatic is perpetually incomplete and insecure," he notes in his book by the same name. "He cannot generate self-assurance out of his individual resources-- out of his rejected self-- but finds it only by clinging passionately to whatever support he happens to embrace. Though his single-minded dedication is a holding on for dear life, he easily sees himself as the supporter and defender of the holy cause to which he clings." No one who is a cultist or a terrorist thinks of himself as a cultist or a terrorist. He is one of the faithful or a freedom fighter. The same is true with the great man of science toiling in his lab. No one who is working on fission, germs, or human-animal chimeras has any doubt about the righteousness of his efforts. The capacity of the human mind to justify any means is limitless. The noblest values and virtues of humanity, including love, honor, and country, pave the road to hell. The road to serfdom is just as subtle and attractive. "When fascism comes to America, it will wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross" is a statement misattributed to Sinclair Lewis. His 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here makes it clear that the fruits of organized fanaticism whether it is of the left or the right can indeed happen here. And that's why The Gospel of Matthias isn't just an entertaining book but an important book. The Gospel of Matthias is the abridged version of The Luna Cult Chronicles trilogy.