Czarna msza
Czarna msza is an anthology of Polish science fiction stories in the klerykal fiction genre, published in 1992 by, edited by.
History
In the introduction to the anthology, Sedeńko mentioned that the theme of the anthology emerged as the main topic of the second volume of contemporary Polish science fiction stories at the convention in Gdańsk in 1990: "A group of writers decided that this should be a mono-thematic collection, with God, religion, and the church serving as the leitmotif". The title was proposed by Andrzej Sapkowski.The editor noted that "with the exception of three, all the stories were written specifically for Czarna msza".
Table of contents
- – Raj utracony
- – Interregnum
- Jacek Inglot – Umieraj z nami
- – Rzeka
- – Dopust Boży
- Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz – Źródło bez wody
- Eugeniusz Dębski – …więc chyba to był On…
- Jacek Dukaj – Korporacja Mesjasz
- – Spotkanie na końcu drogi
- Jarosław Grzędowicz – Dom na Krawędzi Światła
- Jacek Piekara – Dom na Krawędzi Ciemności
Analysis and criticism
In the introduction to the anthology, Sedeńko noted that "I chose that I considered the best; when selecting, I avoided like the plague the pro or anti criterion", and also that "this anthology serves as a reliable test of the condition of Polish science fiction and may bring it the scouting efficiency of an ‘early response system’. That was goal".Marcin Zwierzchowski wrote that the publication of the anthology confirmed the existence of "a phenomenon characteristic only for Poland, klerycal fiction, meaning stories referencing matters of faith or the church".
Jacek Dukaj analyzes that the anthology was intended to present "the tendency of a strong church involvement in politics, which provoked anti-church sentiments and movements". However, science fiction "did not go in that direction".
assesses that the anthology distinctly reflects the "diversity of aesthetics and ideological proposals significant for the beginnings of religious science fiction . From a retrospective perspective, it can be regarded as a summa of authorial proposals for presenting religious themes in science fiction literature; this is how the editor perceived it".