Kevin's Watch

Just finished The Killing God. No spoilers here, but suffice to say Donaldson has outdone himself. What a great read! One of the things I've wondered about through the whole trilogy is the prominence of Christian symbology in the Great God's War. Rile, our villain, is a tyrant, desperate for control and intent on silencing other forms of knowledge by destroying the Last Repository. He uses persuasion to manipulate followers to further this aim. My question is this. Why is the symbology of Christianity used rather than an original or generic religious belief system? The cross and crucifixion struck me as being artifacts from our world, and thus slightly out of place. I'm sure Donaldson has a good reason for their inclusion. Hoping someone on KW has some insight.

I noticed the symbolism as well, at least in the latter two books. Not sure any such appeared in Seventh Decimate, but that volume is essentially table-setting for the story told in the rest of the series.

No particular insight to offer; looking forward to what others have to say.

I assume the Xian imagery is intentional, negative, and a comment on current events in the states. Steve is pulling no punches here.

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Here I pointed out that Donaldson's interview with Storymen provided some very interesting insights into what Donaldson was trying to get at.

Alas, I don't think you can find the original podcase interview any longer.