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Fuse is the second installment in Julianna Baggott’s Pure trilogy, and like any good second installment, the world expands, the stakes get higher and the characters sink to depths that make us fearful for them. In my review of Pure, I highlighted the religious overtones of the book. In Fuse, Baggott continues to weave reflections on faith, fundamentalism and our future into a story where these elements are an organic part of the world.

Fuse isn’t a morality tale about the dangers of religion, but we’d do well to heed its warnings.

As Bradwell comes to understand the Fundamentalist character of Willux’ worldview, he reflects on the nature of our world – his ‘Before’.

During the Before, the box we stored God in kept getting smaller and smaller. On the one hand there was science. And with all that science, Willux thought he could play God. And then on the other hand, there was the church invented for their own purposes— where the rich knew they were blessed because they were rich. Once one person’s better than another, it lets people get away with all kinds of cruelty.

Bradwell’s words ring true as a prophetic description of the Modern world.

As Science pushes God further and further out of the public discourse, humans can more easily play God. Continue Reading…