When I was young lurid book covers worked as well as anything.
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@Bad Alias
One of the better things about the books is that Jim will retcon if it makes the story stronger. Keeping too much technology out kills the story.
I didn't read a book once because of it's ridiculous cover art. Years later, my brother highly recommended the book. I ended up loving it.
Agreed. And he usually manages to do it well enough that the inconsistency can be explained away.
On Butters and such. I always assumed Shiro was Shinto.
Death Masks doesn't specifically mention what religion he was before he "converted." Shiro serves "Heaven. Or the divine in nature. The memory of my fathers past. My fellow man. Myself. All pieces of the same thing."
Sanya isn't an atheist. He's a Trotskiest. "Because it must be done. ... For the good of the people, some must place themselves in harm's way. some must pledge their courage and their lives to protect the community." That's what he believes in.
I don't know what kind of Jew Butters is. There are a lot of atheist Jews and a lot of pious Jews, but Butters faith is in stories.
Uriel: I must admit I never foresaw that particular form of faith being expressed under my purview.
Harry: Belief in a freaking movie?
Uriel: Belief in a story, of good confronting evil, of light overcoming darkness, of love transcending hate. Isn't that where all faith begins?
Harry: Huh. Lot of Star Wars fans out there. Maybe more Star Wars fans than Catholics.
Uriel: I liked the music.
For the Knights, it isn't about what religion they are; it's not about faces, skin, flags, membership lists, files. "God sees hearts." It's about what they believe in.
With that context, it would make sense for Butters to where a red cross. The imagery of a knight would appeal to Butters.