CONVERSATIONS is clearly satire, humor, and borderline science fiction, although the satire is relatively soft, the humor is somewhat subtle, and the science fiction is completely consistent with what you'd expect from two eternal beings, one of whom is supposed to have created the universe. Instead of dealing with the age-old, and quite frankly rather hackneyed, subject of God and Satan discussing Job, Conversations is a highly modern version that addresses a wide range of subjects. God has taken the form of a young National Merit Scholar male pre-med from Rapid City, South Dakota; Satan has selected the body of a very secular humanist female writer and English major from Omaha. They agree to meet at one of the most serene, gentle, and poetic places available, namely, the Crescent Moon Coffee House. During the course of their two-week "vacation," they deal with every hot-button issue of the culture wars. Although their conversation is meandering, it does eventually address one of the central questions of our time: Why are people killing one another in the name of God? About the author:John Janovy, Jr. (PhD, University of Oklahoma, 1965) is the author of seventeen books and over ninety scientific papers and book chapters. These books range from textbooks to science fiction to essays on athletics. He is now retired, but when an active faculty member held the Paula and D. B. Varner Distinguished Professorship in Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interest is parasitology. He has been Director of UNL's Cedar Point Biological Station, Interim Director of the University of Nebraska State Museum, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, and secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Parasitologists.His teaching experiences include large-enrollment freshman biology courses, Field Parasitology at the Cedar Point Biological Station, Invertebrate Zoology, Parasitology, Organismic Biology, and numerous honors seminars. He has supervised thirty-two graduate students, and approximately 50 undergraduate researchers, including ten Howard Hughes scholars.His honors include the University of Nebraska Distinguished Teaching Award, University Honors Program Master Lecturer, American Health Magazine book award (for Fields of Friendly Strife), State of Nebraska Pioneer Award, University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creativity Award, The Nature Conservancy Hero recognition, Nebraska Library Association Mari Sandoz Award, UNL Library Friend's Hartley Burr Alexander Award, and the American Society of Parasitologists Clark P. Read Mentorship Award.
