The Great Journey - Keith Allan Shields - Bog

The Great Journey is a novel in the tradition of both science fiction and spiritual fiction which seeks to inspire
the imagination and encourage readers to wrestle with concepts such as colonialism, grace and forgiveness,
deconstruction, Terra Nullius, the Doctrine of Discovery, military conflict, peace, ethics, technology, the
brokenness of humanity, and faith in a higher power. Readers have appreciated the fact that the book can be
read as either light-hearted science fiction or serious spiritual discussion. It will appeal to both young adults
and adults.
It is the story of a ten-year-old boy named Opie, whose father works for NASA in the 1970s during the
Apollo program. Opie stumbles upon a workshop where he finds that he suddenly has the ability to build a
spacecraft and then fly it to the Trappist-1 solar system. Once there, he is greeted by an intelligent race of
people that teach him about the nature of cultural interaction and their simple ways of life. Opie finds that he
must wrestle with how his culture and the people of this new world will interact and work peaceably together
without the problems associated with previous culture clashes.
Because of the time dilation involved in Opie's travels, life on Earth moves forward quickly and he must
come to grips with these changes and how they affect his sense of identity. As life on Earth becomes more
militaristic and chaotic, Opie and his new-found friends must race to save both Earth and the new world.
Opie is a humble, fallen hero who struggles with his own mistakes and tendencies while seeking to be the best
version of himself.