Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
One of my favorite authors is Terry Pratchett. That being said, I have not read all his books. I set about to rectify that a few years ago by reading the whole of the Discworld in publication order. As you can see, it's been slow going. Here we are, though, with the thirteenth book in the series, and I vow to finish them all before they finish me. My gods did I enjoy reading this story about religion and a solid case against its organization while allowing for individual faith.
The Great God Om has found himself in a pickle. Well, a turtle. His power has diminished with his believer count so he makes his way in reptile form to the main city of his followers. Turns out, though, only one man, Brutha, is a true believer and can hear his godly words. The two of them go against the institutionalized religion and its head priest Vordis as well as an unforgiving desert and the many, many nations that wish to destroy Omnia. They are less prepared than the usual Pratchett protagonists.
As the books have gone on, I have gotten used to the densely packed jokes and wacky plots. Characters stop to have asides at the strangest times to hilarious effect, but for those uninitiated Pratchett's world can feel jarring. There's few rules on the Discworld, so in this medieval landscape technology can blossom that might be possible but feels silly. Small Gods is set in a fantasy middle eastern-lite land with steam power popping off randomly and a new area of the Discworld that even someone who has read twelve plus of these books took a second to catch up to. The playfulness worked around the fantasy tropes is often less here as the usual witches and dragons are dropped for just a lot of walking and turtle talk.
That being said, there's a boat load of humor and deep exploration of faith here. Pratchett uses every type of humor on every single page, calling back parts of not only this book but other Discworld books with sly style. There's gags and wordplay and slapstick and all number of jokes that match the heavy theme almost perfectly. There's a real deep look here at faith and religion. The narrative does not mock any one "real world" belief as wrong or incorrect. Instead it points out all the flaws in a human made construct of belief and how the institution itself becomes the religion rather than the gods themselves. The corruptive forces humans bring to cause others to "fall in line," such as torture and demeaning tasks, are mocked hilariously by the god itself baffled at the presentation. "I never said that," is almost Om's catchphrase as he sees his "followers" doing acts and following scripture he cannot remember starting.
Pratchett's gift is his humanizing of the characters while balancing the wacky hijinks they get up to. In Small Gods, we have one of his best villains who gets the best villain end. Vorbis is a hateful man you will find yourself rooting against as he gets his comeuppance, then later pitying. His end is heartbreakingly simple and hopeful at the same time.
If you are open to fun and silly with a side of deep existential exploration, check this book out. Honestly, there's not a Discworld novel I cannot recommend (the first two have a bit of a learning curve, though). See you next time with Lords and Ladies.