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After Such Knowledge #4
A Case of Conscience
The citizens of the planet Lithia are some of the most ethical sentient beings Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez has ever encountered. True, they have no literature, no fine arts, and don't understand the concept of recreation, but neither do they understand the concepts of greed, envy, lust, or any of the sins and vices that plague humankind. Their world seems darned near perfect. And that is just what disturbs the good Father.
First published in 1959, James Blish's Hugo Award-winning A Case of Conscience is science fiction at its very best: a fast-paced, intelligent story that offers plenty of action while at the same time explores complex questions of values and ethics. In this case, Blish has taken on the age-old battle of good vs. evil. Lithia poses a theological question that lies at the heart of this book: is God necessary for a moral society? The Lithians are nothing if not moral. Not only do they lack the seven deadly sins, they also lack original sin. And without any sort of religious framework, they have created the Christian ideal world, one that humans would be eager to study and emulate. But is it too perfect? Is it in fact, as Father Ruiz-Sanchez suspects, the work of The Adversary? And what role does Egtverchi, the young Lithian raised on Earth, play? Is he an innocent victim of circumstance, or will he bring about the Dies Irae, the day of the wrath of God, upon the earth? The fate of two worlds hinges on the answers to these questions, and will lead to an ancient earth heresy that shakes the Jesuit priest's beliefs to their very core.
A Case of Conscience is a brilliant piece of storytelling, and it packs a lot into a scant 242 pages. Most readers will probably finish the book in one sitting, unable to stop until the spectacular denouement. But the questions posed by this little-known gem will stay with you for days afterward. --P.M. Atterberry
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
486 people are currently reading
7025 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
457 books323 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 667 reviews
September 17, 2012
This review contains spoilers for several of James Blish's novels
I discovered James Blish when I was about 10 (I believe the first one I read was The Star Dwellers), and I have returned to him many times throughout my life. I don't think I know any author who is quite as frustrating an example of Kilgore Trout syndrome. Wonderful ideas, but in most cases terrible execution: for every novel or short story that succeeds, at least three are left butchered and bleeding by the side of the road.
Blish had a clutch of fascinatingly heretical theories about the relationship between Man and the Divine, and if he'd been able to write properly you sometimes feel he could have been another Dante or Nietzsche. In Black Easter, a surprisingly good novel about black magic, an insane arms dealer joins forces with a sorcerer to release all the major demons from Hell for one night; the book's terrifying conclusion has Satan appearing in person to announce the death of God. The sequel has another fine idea, but it's ruined by hasty and shoddy writing: it turns out that this is also part of the Divine Plan, and the Devil is unwillingly forced to take God's place.
In his longest work, the four-volume Cities in Flight, Blish developed an even more grandiose and imaginative concept. The first volume depicts the Second Coming of Christ, and the concept is once again excellent. Christ confounds the expectations of the world's faithful by incarnating as Bliss Wagoner, the U.S. Senator for Alaska (this was well before Sarah Palin was born, in case you're wondering). He delivers on His promise to give eternal life in the heavens to His people, but does so in an unexpected way, by diverting federal funding into research programs which result in faster than light travel and an immortality drug. One of the most agreeable conceits of the novel is that Christ is not recognized by anyone, and is never explicitly identified; it's only when you get to the book's final sentence that Blish comes clean, and even then he phrases it cryptically. Alas, this brilliant idea is again spoiled by poor writing. And the same goes for the fourth volume: despite coming up with one of the best end-of-the-universe plots ever devised, in which the meaning of God's Creation is triumphantly revealed on the last page, the greater part of the book is boring and flat.
So it should be no surprise that A Case of Conscience is more of the same. We have discovered a planet peopled by an apparently gentle and civilized race, the Lithians, who are gradually revealed as being literally a creation of the Devil, intended to delude and ensnare humanity. The protagonist, a Jesuit priest, too late recognizes the Lithian ambassador to Earth for what he is, and is powerless to oppose him; this scenario, it occurs to me now, is rather like that in Black Easter. And then, after what everyone here agrees is a fantastic buildup, the whole book falls apart, leaving the reader frustrated over yet another disappointment. It's genuinely tragic.
Poor Blish always seems to have been in a hurry; except in a few short stories, and perhaps in Black Easter, he never had time to sit down and get it right. And he died quite young, at the age of only 54. He's probably been sentenced to a few thousand years in Purgatory for all those spectacular missed opportunities. But when he finally gets to Heaven, I expect he'll have figured out how to stop doing it and he'll be able to settle down to his long-term job as one of God's favorite jesters. It's clearly what he was meant for.
____________________________________
I just looked up Blish on Wikipedia and discovered that he's buried near Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows. I hope they are now collaborating on a joint project, though I must admit I'm having trouble imagining what it would look like...
I discovered James Blish when I was about 10 (I believe the first one I read was The Star Dwellers), and I have returned to him many times throughout my life. I don't think I know any author who is quite as frustrating an example of Kilgore Trout syndrome. Wonderful ideas, but in most cases terrible execution: for every novel or short story that succeeds, at least three are left butchered and bleeding by the side of the road.
Blish had a clutch of fascinatingly heretical theories about the relationship between Man and the Divine, and if he'd been able to write properly you sometimes feel he could have been another Dante or Nietzsche. In Black Easter, a surprisingly good novel about black magic, an insane arms dealer joins forces with a sorcerer to release all the major demons from Hell for one night; the book's terrifying conclusion has Satan appearing in person to announce the death of God. The sequel has another fine idea, but it's ruined by hasty and shoddy writing: it turns out that this is also part of the Divine Plan, and the Devil is unwillingly forced to take God's place.
In his longest work, the four-volume Cities in Flight, Blish developed an even more grandiose and imaginative concept. The first volume depicts the Second Coming of Christ, and the concept is once again excellent. Christ confounds the expectations of the world's faithful by incarnating as Bliss Wagoner, the U.S. Senator for Alaska (this was well before Sarah Palin was born, in case you're wondering). He delivers on His promise to give eternal life in the heavens to His people, but does so in an unexpected way, by diverting federal funding into research programs which result in faster than light travel and an immortality drug. One of the most agreeable conceits of the novel is that Christ is not recognized by anyone, and is never explicitly identified; it's only when you get to the book's final sentence that Blish comes clean, and even then he phrases it cryptically. Alas, this brilliant idea is again spoiled by poor writing. And the same goes for the fourth volume: despite coming up with one of the best end-of-the-universe plots ever devised, in which the meaning of God's Creation is triumphantly revealed on the last page, the greater part of the book is boring and flat.
So it should be no surprise that A Case of Conscience is more of the same. We have discovered a planet peopled by an apparently gentle and civilized race, the Lithians, who are gradually revealed as being literally a creation of the Devil, intended to delude and ensnare humanity. The protagonist, a Jesuit priest, too late recognizes the Lithian ambassador to Earth for what he is, and is powerless to oppose him; this scenario, it occurs to me now, is rather like that in Black Easter. And then, after what everyone here agrees is a fantastic buildup, the whole book falls apart, leaving the reader frustrated over yet another disappointment. It's genuinely tragic.
Poor Blish always seems to have been in a hurry; except in a few short stories, and perhaps in Black Easter, he never had time to sit down and get it right. And he died quite young, at the age of only 54. He's probably been sentenced to a few thousand years in Purgatory for all those spectacular missed opportunities. But when he finally gets to Heaven, I expect he'll have figured out how to stop doing it and he'll be able to settle down to his long-term job as one of God's favorite jesters. It's clearly what he was meant for.
____________________________________
I just looked up Blish on Wikipedia and discovered that he's buried near Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows. I hope they are now collaborating on a joint project, though I must admit I'm having trouble imagining what it would look like...
July 17, 2016
Weird book.
But good.
First of all this is first rate science fiction, reminiscent of Samuel Delaney, John Brunner, Frank Herbert and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. All the more remarkable is to appreciate that this book was first published in 1958, before most of the other works mentioned. He was well ahead of his time.
In a nutshell, a Jesuit priest is a part of an advance party reconnaissance mission to scout out whether an alien world is suitable for human colonization. The team will also determine if human settlement is conducive to the pre-existing native life and to issue a recommendation.
The planet is the home of a highly intelligent race of tall kangaroo like lizards called the Lithians. Their world is a utopia of reason with no war and only minor conflict. Their world, and the circumstances surrounding the Jesuit’s investigation, presents startling consequences.
And the premise for a damn fine science fiction novel.
The similarities with Mary Doria Russell’s 1996 novel The Sparrow will make most readers of both realize to what extent Russell patterned her work after Blish’s 1958 book. The Christian, specifically Catholic, themes will also remind some readers of Walter M. Miller Jr.’s 1960 post-apocalyptic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. A Case of Conscience also contains mythic symbolism that further deepens the narrative tone.
Finally, this 1959 Hugo Award winner is yet another classic science fiction work that clearly influenced the producers of the James Cameron film Avatar.
A must read for sci-fi / fantasy fans.
But good.
First of all this is first rate science fiction, reminiscent of Samuel Delaney, John Brunner, Frank Herbert and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. All the more remarkable is to appreciate that this book was first published in 1958, before most of the other works mentioned. He was well ahead of his time.
In a nutshell, a Jesuit priest is a part of an advance party reconnaissance mission to scout out whether an alien world is suitable for human colonization. The team will also determine if human settlement is conducive to the pre-existing native life and to issue a recommendation.
The planet is the home of a highly intelligent race of tall kangaroo like lizards called the Lithians. Their world is a utopia of reason with no war and only minor conflict. Their world, and the circumstances surrounding the Jesuit’s investigation, presents startling consequences.
And the premise for a damn fine science fiction novel.
The similarities with Mary Doria Russell’s 1996 novel The Sparrow will make most readers of both realize to what extent Russell patterned her work after Blish’s 1958 book. The Christian, specifically Catholic, themes will also remind some readers of Walter M. Miller Jr.’s 1960 post-apocalyptic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. A Case of Conscience also contains mythic symbolism that further deepens the narrative tone.
Finally, this 1959 Hugo Award winner is yet another classic science fiction work that clearly influenced the producers of the James Cameron film Avatar.
A must read for sci-fi / fantasy fans.
May 9, 2015
A Case of Conscience: A Catholic priest faces aliens with morality but no religion
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Great A-side, dreadful B-side. This is James Blish’s 1959 Hugo-winning SF novel, expanded from the1953 novella. Part One (the original novella) is set on planet Lithia, introducing a race of reptilians with a perfect, strife-free society and innate sense of morality. However, to the consternation of Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, they have no religion of any kind. Their morality is inherent, and they have no need of a religious framework to direct their actions.
As a Catholic, Ruiz-Sanchez cannot make heads or tails of this. Without religion, do the Lithians have souls? If so, are they fallen into sin like humans, or still in a state of grace like Adam and Eve? He struggles with this conundrum, as well as the purpose of the expedition to Lithia, which is to determine whether the planet should be exploited for its lithium or quarantined since the Lithians are clearly created by Satan to undermine the need for faith to form the basis for an ideal society. It’s very unclear whether Blish thinks this is a legitimate debate or not, and while it’s good for the author to let the reader decide (I’d like to see Heinlein hold back on judgment, for example), this Part ends inconclusively with Ruiz-Sanchez receiving an egg from his Lithian friend Chtexa to bring back to Earth.
Part 2
Part 2 must be the most incoherent and poorly-written second act ever in SF. It’s about Egtverchi, the Lithian born from that egg, as he grows up in human society. He quickly learns about the world, and starts to question why humans are living in underground shelters brought about by earlier nuclear conflict. In the process, he causes a massive rebellion among the stir-crazy people of Earth, who are suffering from the psychosis of living underground.
At the same time Ruiz-Sanchez is brought before the Pope fore heresy, since his suggestion that Satan created Lithia to undermine God is a form of Manichaeism, a religion that posits a struggle between equally-matched good and evil. The Pope points out that Ruiz-Sanchez may have been deceived by the Lithians (and by extension Satan) and that he should have performed an exorcism of the planet! That wouldn’t have been my conclusion, but…
Then the story does another sudden about-turn and we discover that a scientist from the initial expedition has gone back to Lithia and is trying a dangerous experiment that may destroy the planet. As Ruiz-Sanchez performs his exorcism, Lithia explodes. Was it his exorcism that did it, unraveling Satan’s illusion, or merely the mad experiments of the scientists who destroyed an innocent and perfectly moral society? The story provides no answers, and furthermore no basis to form an opinion.
Part 2 was so badly-constructed and garbled that I wonder what happened to James Blish when he wrote it. It’s just a complete mess and actually got me fairly irritated. I really cannot understand how this book won the Hugo Award that year.
A Case of Conscience is truly dated in every sense, and it would almost certainly never be written or gain any following today. The wooden characters and dialogue wouldn't withstand scrutiny, and a philosophy-centric story almost certainly would seem irrelevant in our information-drenched, hyper-realist world.
While I consider the book a failure as a piece of SF literature, it certainly deserves credit for its unlikely storyline and refusal to wrap things up neatly at the end. However, the deplorable quality of the latter half really makes it hard to take seriously. It's clear that back in the 1950s authors often wrote good short stories and were then pushed by publishers to expand them into less satisfying longer works. Of course the pendulum has swung too far the other way now, since any genre work that wants to be taken seriously has to be at least 800 pages long. But it is unfortunate that some early classics feel poorly constructed, and that reflects the tenuous state of the genre back in the Golden Age of Astounding and Galaxy before full-length SF really hit its stride.
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Great A-side, dreadful B-side. This is James Blish’s 1959 Hugo-winning SF novel, expanded from the1953 novella. Part One (the original novella) is set on planet Lithia, introducing a race of reptilians with a perfect, strife-free society and innate sense of morality. However, to the consternation of Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, they have no religion of any kind. Their morality is inherent, and they have no need of a religious framework to direct their actions.
As a Catholic, Ruiz-Sanchez cannot make heads or tails of this. Without religion, do the Lithians have souls? If so, are they fallen into sin like humans, or still in a state of grace like Adam and Eve? He struggles with this conundrum, as well as the purpose of the expedition to Lithia, which is to determine whether the planet should be exploited for its lithium or quarantined since the Lithians are clearly created by Satan to undermine the need for faith to form the basis for an ideal society. It’s very unclear whether Blish thinks this is a legitimate debate or not, and while it’s good for the author to let the reader decide (I’d like to see Heinlein hold back on judgment, for example), this Part ends inconclusively with Ruiz-Sanchez receiving an egg from his Lithian friend Chtexa to bring back to Earth.
Part 2
Part 2 must be the most incoherent and poorly-written second act ever in SF. It’s about Egtverchi, the Lithian born from that egg, as he grows up in human society. He quickly learns about the world, and starts to question why humans are living in underground shelters brought about by earlier nuclear conflict. In the process, he causes a massive rebellion among the stir-crazy people of Earth, who are suffering from the psychosis of living underground.
At the same time Ruiz-Sanchez is brought before the Pope fore heresy, since his suggestion that Satan created Lithia to undermine God is a form of Manichaeism, a religion that posits a struggle between equally-matched good and evil. The Pope points out that Ruiz-Sanchez may have been deceived by the Lithians (and by extension Satan) and that he should have performed an exorcism of the planet! That wouldn’t have been my conclusion, but…
Then the story does another sudden about-turn and we discover that a scientist from the initial expedition has gone back to Lithia and is trying a dangerous experiment that may destroy the planet. As Ruiz-Sanchez performs his exorcism, Lithia explodes. Was it his exorcism that did it, unraveling Satan’s illusion, or merely the mad experiments of the scientists who destroyed an innocent and perfectly moral society? The story provides no answers, and furthermore no basis to form an opinion.
Part 2 was so badly-constructed and garbled that I wonder what happened to James Blish when he wrote it. It’s just a complete mess and actually got me fairly irritated. I really cannot understand how this book won the Hugo Award that year.
A Case of Conscience is truly dated in every sense, and it would almost certainly never be written or gain any following today. The wooden characters and dialogue wouldn't withstand scrutiny, and a philosophy-centric story almost certainly would seem irrelevant in our information-drenched, hyper-realist world.
While I consider the book a failure as a piece of SF literature, it certainly deserves credit for its unlikely storyline and refusal to wrap things up neatly at the end. However, the deplorable quality of the latter half really makes it hard to take seriously. It's clear that back in the 1950s authors often wrote good short stories and were then pushed by publishers to expand them into less satisfying longer works. Of course the pendulum has swung too far the other way now, since any genre work that wants to be taken seriously has to be at least 800 pages long. But it is unfortunate that some early classics feel poorly constructed, and that reflects the tenuous state of the genre back in the Golden Age of Astounding and Galaxy before full-length SF really hit its stride.
May 28, 2025
The idea at the heart of this terrible novel is so bananas that it needs to be stated as clearly as possible so that we may contemplate its several unhappy truths simultaneously, so that we can relish its horror and bask in its grotesqueness like a salamander catching some rays in Death Valley, and be grateful that they don’t write ‘em like this any more.
Here it is.
A planet is discovered called Lithia. It’s paradise! The intelligent Lithians are giant lizards.
The Lithians had no crime, no newspapers, no house to house communications systems, no political parties, no public amusements, no nations, no games, no religions, no sports, no cults, no celebrations
But still they have fun! And they are brainy. And sweet, as far as a towering powerful talking lizard can be sweet.
Some time after the planet has been discovered and contact made – the Lithians naturally are gracious hosts – a four-man team arrives to figure out if it would be beneficial to invite Lithia into the galactic federation or not. One of the Earthmen is a biologist but more importantly a Jesuit priest, and it’s his Christianity which gets the spotlight treatment here. It’s the whole paradise-without-the-slightest-notion-of-God thing that truly freaks him out. Here’s the problem - if God creates an intelligent race he will provide them with some way of gaining knowledge of Himself so that they can be saved, because everyone needs to be saved, because everyone is in a fallen state, right, because we all got kicked out of the garden of Eden, right?
But the Lithians don’t need to be saved, they are still living in Eden and they have no concept of God. Therefore, thinks the priest….. wait for it, it’s a good one…. since such a situation simply cannot happen, what we must have here on Lithia is the work of the Devil! Yes! So he reasons thus -
The whole of Lithia, and in particular the whole of the dominant, rational, infinitely admirable race of the Lithians, had been created by Evil, out of Its need to confront men with a new, a specifically intellectual seduction
What was so seductively bad specifically? 1) That paradise could exist without God – but more importantly – 2) that Satan can create something (in this case a Godless planet) all by himself. Because Catholics believe that only God can create, and Satan only can destroy. This is because you can’t have two creative forces in the universe, one good and one evil, that is the heresy of Manichaeism, which was squished by the Inquisition in the 12th century, as everyone knows.
Oh what a theological migraine!
So our priest hotfoots it to the Vatican City to confer with Pope Hadrian VIII. The Pope says well buddy, I do guess you be right to say this Lithia planet is the work of the Evil One, So you gotta exorcise it.
”Then… is Your Holiness truly proposing that… that I should have attempted to… exorcise a whole planet?”
“Why not?” Hadrian said.
Why not indeed.
Anyone who agrees with this line of thinking is welcome to James Blish’s farrago of nonsense. The rest of us can avoid, as I should have done. I see now that I was lured into reading this by the Evil One!
Here it is.
A planet is discovered called Lithia. It’s paradise! The intelligent Lithians are giant lizards.
The Lithians had no crime, no newspapers, no house to house communications systems, no political parties, no public amusements, no nations, no games, no religions, no sports, no cults, no celebrations
But still they have fun! And they are brainy. And sweet, as far as a towering powerful talking lizard can be sweet.
Some time after the planet has been discovered and contact made – the Lithians naturally are gracious hosts – a four-man team arrives to figure out if it would be beneficial to invite Lithia into the galactic federation or not. One of the Earthmen is a biologist but more importantly a Jesuit priest, and it’s his Christianity which gets the spotlight treatment here. It’s the whole paradise-without-the-slightest-notion-of-God thing that truly freaks him out. Here’s the problem - if God creates an intelligent race he will provide them with some way of gaining knowledge of Himself so that they can be saved, because everyone needs to be saved, because everyone is in a fallen state, right, because we all got kicked out of the garden of Eden, right?
But the Lithians don’t need to be saved, they are still living in Eden and they have no concept of God. Therefore, thinks the priest….. wait for it, it’s a good one…. since such a situation simply cannot happen, what we must have here on Lithia is the work of the Devil! Yes! So he reasons thus -
The whole of Lithia, and in particular the whole of the dominant, rational, infinitely admirable race of the Lithians, had been created by Evil, out of Its need to confront men with a new, a specifically intellectual seduction
What was so seductively bad specifically? 1) That paradise could exist without God – but more importantly – 2) that Satan can create something (in this case a Godless planet) all by himself. Because Catholics believe that only God can create, and Satan only can destroy. This is because you can’t have two creative forces in the universe, one good and one evil, that is the heresy of Manichaeism, which was squished by the Inquisition in the 12th century, as everyone knows.
Oh what a theological migraine!
So our priest hotfoots it to the Vatican City to confer with Pope Hadrian VIII. The Pope says well buddy, I do guess you be right to say this Lithia planet is the work of the Evil One, So you gotta exorcise it.
”Then… is Your Holiness truly proposing that… that I should have attempted to… exorcise a whole planet?”
“Why not?” Hadrian said.
Why not indeed.
Anyone who agrees with this line of thinking is welcome to James Blish’s farrago of nonsense. The rest of us can avoid, as I should have done. I see now that I was lured into reading this by the Evil One!
February 9, 2017
1959 Hugo winner.
Honestly, I expected to read something quite a bit different than the novel I did get. I almost expected something like a conversation novel between heavily logical Spock-like lizards and a man of the cloth from Earth.
What do I get, instead? A novel with startlingly awesome biology standards, very deep world-building, and a wonderfully surprising argument of Manichaeism. For those not in the know, it's the idea that there are two creators in the world, one is good and one is evil. Father Ruiz Sanchez is convinced that these perfectly rational and nearly Christ-like lizards who are living a perfect life without religion are, in fact, the most perfect trap to throw humanity into perfect chaos and perdition. After all, this is a case of perfection without God, and if the rest of humanity ever "got" it, then it would be the time of Satan's rule over the earth for real. The whole planet was, after all, a Creation of Evil.
How gorgeous is this? Sure, modern readers may or may not care for the religious argument bent, but it is concise and beautiful as hell and it's ONLY THE SETUP.
Move ahead, take the freely offered gift of one of the lizard young back to a future earth gone schizophrenic, living underground in perpetual fear of nuclear holocaust and ready to tear itself apart. Have one of these christ-like lizards grow up knowing nothing but the monstrosity that humanity has become, and because of the peculiar brilliance of his race and his deeply frustrated sense of being as much an outsider as practically everyone else living on Earth, he speaks and breaks all the rules and becomes a pundit much, much worse than anything Trump has to offer, sparking chaos on a truly amazing scale.
Is he the hand of the antichrist, indeed? Or is he only the corrupted reflection of ourselves? Brilliant. And of course, the end... but I won't refer to the end. It's also brilliant, but of a different kind of light.
I have a few issues with the writing, but far, far less than I might have guessed before picking up the text. It's very thoughtful, very smart, and it shifts us with awesome speed between dialectical discourse to the absolute insanity of modern media. Is this modern SF? No, it came out in '58. And yet, I was laughing along with the crazy inventions later on as if I were watching that classic movie The Network, back in the 70's. No, no one was yelling from the rooftops, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" But the sentiment was there and the chaos of the novel was perfect.
How come wonderful idea novels like this aren't hailed as beautiful representations of classic literature? Is it just because it is SF? So beautiful. :)
Honestly, I expected to read something quite a bit different than the novel I did get. I almost expected something like a conversation novel between heavily logical Spock-like lizards and a man of the cloth from Earth.
What do I get, instead? A novel with startlingly awesome biology standards, very deep world-building, and a wonderfully surprising argument of Manichaeism. For those not in the know, it's the idea that there are two creators in the world, one is good and one is evil. Father Ruiz Sanchez is convinced that these perfectly rational and nearly Christ-like lizards who are living a perfect life without religion are, in fact, the most perfect trap to throw humanity into perfect chaos and perdition. After all, this is a case of perfection without God, and if the rest of humanity ever "got" it, then it would be the time of Satan's rule over the earth for real. The whole planet was, after all, a Creation of Evil.
How gorgeous is this? Sure, modern readers may or may not care for the religious argument bent, but it is concise and beautiful as hell and it's ONLY THE SETUP.
Move ahead, take the freely offered gift of one of the lizard young back to a future earth gone schizophrenic, living underground in perpetual fear of nuclear holocaust and ready to tear itself apart. Have one of these christ-like lizards grow up knowing nothing but the monstrosity that humanity has become, and because of the peculiar brilliance of his race and his deeply frustrated sense of being as much an outsider as practically everyone else living on Earth, he speaks and breaks all the rules and becomes a pundit much, much worse than anything Trump has to offer, sparking chaos on a truly amazing scale.
Is he the hand of the antichrist, indeed? Or is he only the corrupted reflection of ourselves? Brilliant. And of course, the end... but I won't refer to the end. It's also brilliant, but of a different kind of light.
I have a few issues with the writing, but far, far less than I might have guessed before picking up the text. It's very thoughtful, very smart, and it shifts us with awesome speed between dialectical discourse to the absolute insanity of modern media. Is this modern SF? No, it came out in '58. And yet, I was laughing along with the crazy inventions later on as if I were watching that classic movie The Network, back in the 70's. No, no one was yelling from the rooftops, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" But the sentiment was there and the chaos of the novel was perfect.
How come wonderful idea novels like this aren't hailed as beautiful representations of classic literature? Is it just because it is SF? So beautiful. :)
May 6, 2023
This is the 1959 Hugo winner, an unusual SF novel, which mixes first contact with Christian theology. I read it as a part of the monthly reading for May 2023 at The Evolution of Science Fiction group.
The story consists of two separate but connected parts, the first was initially published in 1952 as a novella. It sets up the scene: the year in 2049, Earth has a faster-than-light travel and finally reached the first alien species. On planet Lithia, there are a creature well more than ten feet high, a reptile which walked more like a man than like a kangaroo, with vast grinning jaws, wattles which changed color every few moments, small clawlike hands which looked as though they could pluck one like a chicken, a balancing tail which kept sweeping trays off tables, and above all a braying laugh and an enormous tenor voice. They have a harmonious society, their science is above Earth one in some aspects, but because their planet lacks metals, first of all iron, they work with wood and clay.
There is a four-men expedition from Earth: the Jesuit Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, a biologist, a medic and the protagonist; Paul Cleaver, a physicist, who at the start gets poisoned by a local plant and Father Ramon has to treat him and try to do the job Paul has to do – communicating with other two members – Agronski, a geologist, and Michaelis, a chemist. It turns out that these four have to decide by a simple majority what will happen to the planet and its people – it is definitely hard to believe but necessary to keep the story going. Cleaver wants to close the planet and turn it into production of fusion bombs (just in case!). More surprising is the position of the Jesuit… overall, the first part can be seen as a base for a play – it has several scenes of prolonged dialogue.
The second part deal with a Mowgli “in reverse” – a Lithian growing up with humans and then turning a celebrity on Earth upsetting its entrenched ways of life.
The book has a lot of levels – there is an alien biology and environment, like a great tree growing atop of crystals, making a planet-wide radio; there are theosophical musing about a place of aliens in Christian doctrine, like do they have souls; Earth civilization getting underground because the nuclear race craze…
True, quite a few statements are questionable, but the ideas are great and this is a nice SF yarn.
The story consists of two separate but connected parts, the first was initially published in 1952 as a novella. It sets up the scene: the year in 2049, Earth has a faster-than-light travel and finally reached the first alien species. On planet Lithia, there are a creature well more than ten feet high, a reptile which walked more like a man than like a kangaroo, with vast grinning jaws, wattles which changed color every few moments, small clawlike hands which looked as though they could pluck one like a chicken, a balancing tail which kept sweeping trays off tables, and above all a braying laugh and an enormous tenor voice. They have a harmonious society, their science is above Earth one in some aspects, but because their planet lacks metals, first of all iron, they work with wood and clay.
There is a four-men expedition from Earth: the Jesuit Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, a biologist, a medic and the protagonist; Paul Cleaver, a physicist, who at the start gets poisoned by a local plant and Father Ramon has to treat him and try to do the job Paul has to do – communicating with other two members – Agronski, a geologist, and Michaelis, a chemist. It turns out that these four have to decide by a simple majority what will happen to the planet and its people – it is definitely hard to believe but necessary to keep the story going. Cleaver wants to close the planet and turn it into production of fusion bombs (just in case!). More surprising is the position of the Jesuit… overall, the first part can be seen as a base for a play – it has several scenes of prolonged dialogue.
The second part deal with a Mowgli “in reverse” – a Lithian growing up with humans and then turning a celebrity on Earth upsetting its entrenched ways of life.
The book has a lot of levels – there is an alien biology and environment, like a great tree growing atop of crystals, making a planet-wide radio; there are theosophical musing about a place of aliens in Christian doctrine, like do they have souls; Earth civilization getting underground because the nuclear race craze…
True, quite a few statements are questionable, but the ideas are great and this is a nice SF yarn.
August 31, 2023
Check out my full, spoiler lite, video review HERE. Blish addresses themes of religion, war, capitalism, slavery and more in this passionate novel. The first part was amazing, in such a short amount of time he created a completely alien but understandable culture and then led us to a unique, multi layered conflict between the aliens and humans. The second part goes a bit off the rails, but then leads the reader to an amazing finale.
June 19, 2024
The title portion of this fix-up novel was originally published in If magazine in September of 1953, and it was published in hardback in 1958 at twice the length with a second part that expands the original from an alternate viewpoint. It won the Hugo Award for best of the year in 1959, and was in the top thirty of all-time best sf novels in Locus magazine's 1975 poll, so my lukewarm opinion is obviously in the minority. It's a very good examination of faith and politics and religion and such sociological concerns, but I thought it was very slowly paced and lacked much in the way of story. It offers an interesting look at morality and ethics and Catholicism, but it's pretty dry. Christopher Stasheff and Walter Miller and even Harlan Ellison's Deathbird Stories are better bets.
March 2, 2010
4.5 stars. I am a big fan of James Blish. This book is an expansion of the earlier novella of the same name. Part 1 of the book (i.e., the original novella) is a 6.0 star story and is extremely powerful. Part 2, while good, is not as exceptional and brings the overall rating for the book down to 4.5 stars. Overall, still a highly recommended read. [Reread on March 1, 2010:].
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1959)
Nominee: British Science Fiction Award (Retro) for Best Novel (1958)
Voted to Locus List of All Time Best Science Fiction Novel (1975)
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1959)
Nominee: British Science Fiction Award (Retro) for Best Novel (1958)
Voted to Locus List of All Time Best Science Fiction Novel (1975)
September 17, 2011
People don't write speculative fiction like this anymore, by which I mean several things. First, this is dated. Blish's world of dinosaur-like pacifists living in perfect harmony and communicating with giant trees feels like something out of the golden age of science fiction, and his view of a future earth where the cold war has driven mankind underground (and insane) feels like a 50s dystopia. This is understandable, since the book was written in the 50s, but it calls the applicability of the story for modern readers into question.
However, I think that this book is relevant, precisely because nothing quite like it is being written today. This is a morality tale with such straightforward plot and characters that modern readers (and publishers) will probably be turned off. The cynical atheist, the impotent humanist, the diffident follower and the single-minded catholic priest are not realistic characters. They are rather representative constructs of universal impulses, like what you would see in a morality play. The plot is reminiscent of "The man who fell to earth" or "The Dispossessed" and, like those books, is mostly an excuse for some philosophic musings. Unlike those books, there is tremendous ambiguity as to the meaning of the events in the book. Each character sees the same events but interprets them in wildly different ways. Because the first and last perspective given is that of the priest, there is some temptation to take his view as more correct than the others. I think that would be a callow mistake. It's true that the cynic is very unsympathetic, really downright despicable, but Blish makes it clear that his viewpoint is meant to have a degree of validity (even if mistakes are clearly made...)
In short, it's a book that's very simple to read and somewhat complex to think about. That the interpretation of the final events range from salvation to a horrifying mistake is a clear indicator that there is more going on here than the simple plot and characters which are somewhat offensive to our sophisticated modern palate. The focus on the priest is explained by the title, for it is his conscience with which the book is concerned. Considering his final actions and what he _thinks_ that he has accomplished by them makes the consideration of his conscience as complex a question as anyone could wish for.
However, I think that this book is relevant, precisely because nothing quite like it is being written today. This is a morality tale with such straightforward plot and characters that modern readers (and publishers) will probably be turned off. The cynical atheist, the impotent humanist, the diffident follower and the single-minded catholic priest are not realistic characters. They are rather representative constructs of universal impulses, like what you would see in a morality play. The plot is reminiscent of "The man who fell to earth" or "The Dispossessed" and, like those books, is mostly an excuse for some philosophic musings. Unlike those books, there is tremendous ambiguity as to the meaning of the events in the book. Each character sees the same events but interprets them in wildly different ways. Because the first and last perspective given is that of the priest, there is some temptation to take his view as more correct than the others. I think that would be a callow mistake. It's true that the cynic is very unsympathetic, really downright despicable, but Blish makes it clear that his viewpoint is meant to have a degree of validity (even if mistakes are clearly made...)
In short, it's a book that's very simple to read and somewhat complex to think about. That the interpretation of the final events range from salvation to a horrifying mistake is a clear indicator that there is more going on here than the simple plot and characters which are somewhat offensive to our sophisticated modern palate. The focus on the priest is explained by the title, for it is his conscience with which the book is concerned. Considering his final actions and what he _thinks_ that he has accomplished by them makes the consideration of his conscience as complex a question as anyone could wish for.
May 21, 2024
A Case of Conscience is really a mind-bending Sci Fi that which entirely blowed my mind. I didn’t expect it would be profoundly enticing read to me. The concepts of the alien race, Lithian is unique in Sci Fi novels, its position and existence in universes question the essences of ethic. What if an intelligent species with inherent infallibility that were inside their genes, after they grow up, they don’t need any comprehensions of wrongdoings but still as being an essential member of the Harmonious society; this Utopia society is called Lithia. Lithians’s children grow up in the first state is from fertilized eggs, the second state is lung fish form, the third would be bird like form with wings, and then the final form is bipedal reptilian. Lithians were adapted to the environment from aquatic animals to terrestrial animals that which have three times metamorphosis. Its evolution is stunning to the physical body. Moreover, Lithian’s genes have been designed the functions as an automatic moral compass of which understanding ethics without learning. As the story's descriptions, Lithians is the perfect species that the perfect human’s societies have ever dreamed of. However, interesting thing is that from the priest’s POV. Lithians may be interpreted as the heresies. Without churches’s demonstrations of understanding fallibilities, Lithians may be represented as devils. Also Lithians don’t have any religions in their world, faith is a unknown and unused word to them.
First part of the story is a group of scientists had stayed in Lithia for short term. Cleaver who was injured with the poison by the aboriginal tree. The priest, Ruiz-Sanchez was looking for the cure of the poison; then he encountered Chetexa the Lithian scientist and had received the aid from him. Meanwhile, after Cleaver awaked, they were arguing the fundamental facts of Lithians; especially Cleaver wanted to build arsenals on Lithia. After he and his crews were back to Earth; Chetexa bestowed the priest the gift of which is his son, Egverchi, with the mixture of feelings, the priest knew that humanity and the post- war society were going to be tested.
The second part of the story is Egverchi’s experience on Earth and how other humans react to it. Egverchi was confusing at the time of being a citizen of united state. He have seen the downsides of the shelter societies. His remarks of corruptions, fallibilities, unethical deeds etc were controversial to the people. Cleaver who wanted to establish a lab in Lithia for the infusion storage. The priest had received the mission of exorcising of Lithia, Egverchi’s forest parents were the POVs on observing Egverchi. After Egverchi had the call to his father, (yes, the calling was being transmitted between trillions light time distances to Lithia. The message tree is organic but able to generate magnetic spectrums due to its causes of transmitting messages.) He had decided to renounce the US citizenship, then UN polices were officially chasing him. In addition to the riot, Egverchi was fleeing From UN, he was hidden in the spaceship which was sent to Lithia. In the end, Ruiz and his scientist members watched the Images of Lithia by the device; but the transmission eventually was failed.
I didn’t read the similar Science fictions before as I recall; the story is Catholic religion- oriented, I think most readers read this book would have the notion. Ruiz declared that Earth should haven’t contacted Lithians further even they are friendly species. If don’t consider the religious’s perspectives, could human and Lithians have mutually prospect futures in common? I think the possibility is slime. The evolution states are different, they already had the innate moral compass that are designed by genes. They wouldn’t comprehend the concept of human’s misdeeds. As the only Lithian had been living on earth, Egverchi was suffering from the disjointed human’s societies. The environment wasn’t alike as in Lithia. Egverchi lost the ability of speaking Lithian’s language. It’s a totally tragedy to Egverchi that he was sent to Earth. Living in an unsuitable environment, with disordered functions country, his fate would have been ultimate despondency if he had stayed on earth forever. This story reminded me of a song, Walking Disasters by Sun 41. Egverchi is the walking disaster. His identity would cause havocs among humans whatever he wants it or not. Not a single Lithian on Earth can help him. So that the gift to Ruiz is really a myth to readers? Why Chetexa gave Ruiz his child? It hardly makes sense to give your child to an alien person without understanding of the cultures and other things. But I think even Egverchi didn’t have the choice to be born in Lithian or was sent to Earth. He still had choices to went back to Lithia. I hope Egverchi had a better life after the story.
First part of the story is a group of scientists had stayed in Lithia for short term. Cleaver who was injured with the poison by the aboriginal tree. The priest, Ruiz-Sanchez was looking for the cure of the poison; then he encountered Chetexa the Lithian scientist and had received the aid from him. Meanwhile, after Cleaver awaked, they were arguing the fundamental facts of Lithians; especially Cleaver wanted to build arsenals on Lithia. After he and his crews were back to Earth; Chetexa bestowed the priest the gift of which is his son, Egverchi, with the mixture of feelings, the priest knew that humanity and the post- war society were going to be tested.
The second part of the story is Egverchi’s experience on Earth and how other humans react to it. Egverchi was confusing at the time of being a citizen of united state. He have seen the downsides of the shelter societies. His remarks of corruptions, fallibilities, unethical deeds etc were controversial to the people. Cleaver who wanted to establish a lab in Lithia for the infusion storage. The priest had received the mission of exorcising of Lithia, Egverchi’s forest parents were the POVs on observing Egverchi. After Egverchi had the call to his father, (yes, the calling was being transmitted between trillions light time distances to Lithia. The message tree is organic but able to generate magnetic spectrums due to its causes of transmitting messages.) He had decided to renounce the US citizenship, then UN polices were officially chasing him. In addition to the riot, Egverchi was fleeing From UN, he was hidden in the spaceship which was sent to Lithia. In the end, Ruiz and his scientist members watched the Images of Lithia by the device; but the transmission eventually was failed.
I didn’t read the similar Science fictions before as I recall; the story is Catholic religion- oriented, I think most readers read this book would have the notion. Ruiz declared that Earth should haven’t contacted Lithians further even they are friendly species. If don’t consider the religious’s perspectives, could human and Lithians have mutually prospect futures in common? I think the possibility is slime. The evolution states are different, they already had the innate moral compass that are designed by genes. They wouldn’t comprehend the concept of human’s misdeeds. As the only Lithian had been living on earth, Egverchi was suffering from the disjointed human’s societies. The environment wasn’t alike as in Lithia. Egverchi lost the ability of speaking Lithian’s language. It’s a totally tragedy to Egverchi that he was sent to Earth. Living in an unsuitable environment, with disordered functions country, his fate would have been ultimate despondency if he had stayed on earth forever. This story reminded me of a song, Walking Disasters by Sun 41. Egverchi is the walking disaster. His identity would cause havocs among humans whatever he wants it or not. Not a single Lithian on Earth can help him. So that the gift to Ruiz is really a myth to readers? Why Chetexa gave Ruiz his child? It hardly makes sense to give your child to an alien person without understanding of the cultures and other things. But I think even Egverchi didn’t have the choice to be born in Lithian or was sent to Earth. He still had choices to went back to Lithia. I hope Egverchi had a better life after the story.
March 6, 2022
¿Habéis visto la película La Misión? Pues si sustituís a Robert De Niro por el jesuita Ruiz-Sánchez, y a Brasil por el planeta Litina, os vais a hacer una idea de la primera mitad de este libro.
El protagonista, junto con otros tres científicos, se ve en la encrucijada de intentar comprender una raza alienígena que solo cree en la razón pura y encajarla con su fe. Y como digo, la primera mitad es un gran ejemplo de buenos diálogos, razonamientos y debates entre protagonistas para decidir qué relaciones tiene que tener la Tierra con ese planeta.
El problema viene con la segunda parte, donde un litino viene a la Tierra y se lía parda. Blish se enreda en problemas de todo tipo: religiosos, sociológicos, biológicos y hasta de física. Me ha dado la sensación de que tenía tanto en la cabeza que quería expresar que al final no ha sabido concretar.
Como me ha parecido que son dos novelas en una, hago una media y le pongo 3 estrellas. Podéis darle un intento si os interesa estos temas de religión y alienígenas, pero tampoco os perdéis mucho si no lo leéis.
El protagonista, junto con otros tres científicos, se ve en la encrucijada de intentar comprender una raza alienígena que solo cree en la razón pura y encajarla con su fe. Y como digo, la primera mitad es un gran ejemplo de buenos diálogos, razonamientos y debates entre protagonistas para decidir qué relaciones tiene que tener la Tierra con ese planeta.
El problema viene con la segunda parte, donde un litino viene a la Tierra y se lía parda. Blish se enreda en problemas de todo tipo: religiosos, sociológicos, biológicos y hasta de física. Me ha dado la sensación de que tenía tanto en la cabeza que quería expresar que al final no ha sabido concretar.
Como me ha parecido que son dos novelas en una, hago una media y le pongo 3 estrellas. Podéis darle un intento si os interesa estos temas de religión y alienígenas, pero tampoco os perdéis mucho si no lo leéis.
February 7, 2017
A great thank you to James Blish and Open Road for the opportunity to read this book and offer an unbiased review.
In the distant future a science team explores the planet Lithia. The team includes the Jesuit priest, Ruiz-Sanchez. They must determine whether the planet is appropriate for Earth's habitation. The team is divided. No member is as decisive in his judgement as Ruiz-Sanchez, however. The planet seems just too good to be true.
Once back on Earth with prime samples, investigation continues. To celebrate one exceptional specimen, a countess throws a party. I couldn't help but sing,"there's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going..." It was spot-on Wonka.
As this life form grows in popularity, Ruiz-Sanchez continues to see the seed of evil-"half-naked, commanding money, fathering lies, poisoning discourse, compounding grief, corrupting children, killing love, building armies". It seems a bit excessive. It's like saying freedom of speech is the devil's work. Now I agree violent riots and calls to arms breed death and destruction , which could be viewed as demonic tools. We've all seen this lately with the way people have been acting after the elections. There is nothing that makes sense about that. Basically we have to know when to draw the line-peaceful demonstration or tear gas?
Thank you, Blish, for an obviously timeless story. This has given me a lot to process tonight.
In the distant future a science team explores the planet Lithia. The team includes the Jesuit priest, Ruiz-Sanchez. They must determine whether the planet is appropriate for Earth's habitation. The team is divided. No member is as decisive in his judgement as Ruiz-Sanchez, however. The planet seems just too good to be true.
Once back on Earth with prime samples, investigation continues. To celebrate one exceptional specimen, a countess throws a party. I couldn't help but sing,"there's no earthly way of knowing which direction we are going..." It was spot-on Wonka.
As this life form grows in popularity, Ruiz-Sanchez continues to see the seed of evil-"half-naked, commanding money, fathering lies, poisoning discourse, compounding grief, corrupting children, killing love, building armies". It seems a bit excessive. It's like saying freedom of speech is the devil's work. Now I agree violent riots and calls to arms breed death and destruction , which could be viewed as demonic tools. We've all seen this lately with the way people have been acting after the elections. There is nothing that makes sense about that. Basically we have to know when to draw the line-peaceful demonstration or tear gas?
Thank you, Blish, for an obviously timeless story. This has given me a lot to process tonight.
March 20, 2021
third read – 23 September 2020 **** - James Blish’s novella “A Case of Conscience” appeared in the September 1953 issue of IF Worlds of Science Fiction. It was incorporated into this novel (as Book One) in 1958, which won the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novel. I looked into my records and saw that it had been over 40 years since I last read this classic 50s short novel, and figured it was about time.
It's a first contact story that takes a religious spin – not unlike later works like The Sparrow and The Book of Strange New Things – although it precedes those by decades. It is not an unlikely combination of topics, as the question of the “humanity” of the aliens speaks directly to our own relation to the cosmos.
The crew of four scientists sent to the inhabited world of Lithia includes biologist and Jesuit priest Ramon Ruiz Sanchez. After a period of studying the world and its highly rational indigenous “reptilian kangaroos," the scientists are to make a recommendation for future contact of the world. Father Ruiz Sanchez’s recommendation is a surprise to all, and is based on his Catholic faith. Now, to me, his reasoning seems a little odd, building on doctrines that I must point out are NOT Catholic orthodoxy. Blish created something called the 1995 Diet of Basra, to establish some of Ruiz Sanchez’s baseline axioms. In addition, his judgement has taken him into a heresy – Manichaeanism (look it up!). Because the Lithians have developed moral lives, but without faith, they must be a creation of The Adversary for purposes of disrupting human faith. But Satan should be lesser than God, not capable of his own creation. Christianity is not a dual-theism with two opposing supreme beings. Hence, the heresy.
In the second part of the novel, the Lithian friend of the scientists gives them his egg, to be raised back on Earth. The son does not grow up to be a psychologically healthy Lithian, and Blish uses him to call out irrational aspects of human culture and self-serving political structures of the day. The Earthly son of Lithia, is also some sort of dual to the Earthly son of a Christian God.
This novel is far above the typical science fiction writing of the 1950s, but the themes have become more commonplace since then. A breakthrough novel, still worth reading!
second read - Spring 1977 **** - I re-read this as a required book in course English 213, in my last undergraduate semester at UW-Milwaukee.
first read - 15 February 1975 ***** - bought this as a college sophomore because it was Hugo winner, and read it almost immediately.
It's a first contact story that takes a religious spin – not unlike later works like The Sparrow and The Book of Strange New Things – although it precedes those by decades. It is not an unlikely combination of topics, as the question of the “humanity” of the aliens speaks directly to our own relation to the cosmos.
The crew of four scientists sent to the inhabited world of Lithia includes biologist and Jesuit priest Ramon Ruiz Sanchez. After a period of studying the world and its highly rational indigenous “reptilian kangaroos," the scientists are to make a recommendation for future contact of the world. Father Ruiz Sanchez’s recommendation is a surprise to all, and is based on his Catholic faith. Now, to me, his reasoning seems a little odd, building on doctrines that I must point out are NOT Catholic orthodoxy. Blish created something called the 1995 Diet of Basra, to establish some of Ruiz Sanchez’s baseline axioms. In addition, his judgement has taken him into a heresy – Manichaeanism (look it up!). Because the Lithians have developed moral lives, but without faith, they must be a creation of The Adversary for purposes of disrupting human faith. But Satan should be lesser than God, not capable of his own creation. Christianity is not a dual-theism with two opposing supreme beings. Hence, the heresy.
In the second part of the novel, the Lithian friend of the scientists gives them his egg, to be raised back on Earth. The son does not grow up to be a psychologically healthy Lithian, and Blish uses him to call out irrational aspects of human culture and self-serving political structures of the day. The Earthly son of Lithia, is also some sort of dual to the Earthly son of a Christian God.
This novel is far above the typical science fiction writing of the 1950s, but the themes have become more commonplace since then. A breakthrough novel, still worth reading!
second read - Spring 1977 **** - I re-read this as a required book in course English 213, in my last undergraduate semester at UW-Milwaukee.
first read - 15 February 1975 ***** - bought this as a college sophomore because it was Hugo winner, and read it almost immediately.
January 15, 2023
This was a Catholic sci-fi book whose tone reminded me a bit of A Canticle for Leibowitz as well as Speaker for the Dead where knowledge and or sentience is of paramount importance. The protagonist, Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez of Peru goes to the planet Lithia and meets the lizard-like sentient Lithians. Their society is an atheistic paradise (again similar to that of Anarres in The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia) and the natural law here works perfectly without needing a vengeful god and/or a redemption story. The danger of this sends Ruiz back to Earth on a genocide mission to get the planet delisted. Unfortunately for him, a Lithian voyages back to earth with him as an egg and is born to become Egtverchi. From this point, the story is very similar to Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land where the alien becomes a powerful Machiavellian adversary of all forms of authority, Ruiz's worst nightmare. Things go pear-shaped very quickly...
The book is very well-written and erudite with plenty of literary references, not the least of which is to Finnegans Wake late in the first part of the book. It is pessimistic in its conclusion and vague in the moral lesson that it conveys. Nonetheless, it was a great book to read and certainly leaves the reader thinking intensely about the origins of morals, the meaning or usefulness of dicotomies, and whether anything besides humans can have a soul. Fascinating.
The book is very well-written and erudite with plenty of literary references, not the least of which is to Finnegans Wake late in the first part of the book. It is pessimistic in its conclusion and vague in the moral lesson that it conveys. Nonetheless, it was a great book to read and certainly leaves the reader thinking intensely about the origins of morals, the meaning or usefulness of dicotomies, and whether anything besides humans can have a soul. Fascinating.
December 25, 2021
El padre Ruíz-Sánchez es un jesuita experto en biología, uno de los cuatro científicos enviados al planeta Litina, un planeta habitado por una raza de reptiles inteligentes, para realizar un informe que decidirá las relaciones que la Tierra mantendrá con los habitantes de este planeta.
Los litinos son seres extremadamente racionales, lo que ha conducido a que su sociedad sea una especie de utopía en la que cada individuo conoce su puesto y sus posibilidades. No conciben la mentira y su inteligencia es tan despierta que han superado a los humanos en muchas áreas aunque la ausencia de materiales en la corteza del planeta les ha mantenido desconocedores de otros, como el electromagnetismo.
Sin duda, es una sociedad que puede aportar mucho a la Tierra y el padre Sánchez está fascinado con los litinos, con su innata bondad, su aparente ausencia de pecado. Resulta enormemente interesante adentrarse en el pensamiento del jesuita y en sus sofisticados razonamientos, los bandazos que le hacen zozobrar.
La obra está dividida en dos partes. La primera, ambientada en Litina, se centra esencialmente en este dilema religioso. Sin duda es la parte más lograda de la obra. La segunda parte, que traslada la acción a la Tierra, recuerda mucho a Forastero en tierra extraña. Aunque propone reflexiones interesantes, el evidente cambio de rumbo de la obra hace que el final naufrague en la inconsistencia.
En definitiva, una primera parte memorable, y una segunda parte interesante pero muy imperfecta.
[+] Reseña completa en Alt+64 wiki: http://alt64.org/wiki/index.php?title...
Los litinos son seres extremadamente racionales, lo que ha conducido a que su sociedad sea una especie de utopía en la que cada individuo conoce su puesto y sus posibilidades. No conciben la mentira y su inteligencia es tan despierta que han superado a los humanos en muchas áreas aunque la ausencia de materiales en la corteza del planeta les ha mantenido desconocedores de otros, como el electromagnetismo.
Sin duda, es una sociedad que puede aportar mucho a la Tierra y el padre Sánchez está fascinado con los litinos, con su innata bondad, su aparente ausencia de pecado. Resulta enormemente interesante adentrarse en el pensamiento del jesuita y en sus sofisticados razonamientos, los bandazos que le hacen zozobrar.
La obra está dividida en dos partes. La primera, ambientada en Litina, se centra esencialmente en este dilema religioso. Sin duda es la parte más lograda de la obra. La segunda parte, que traslada la acción a la Tierra, recuerda mucho a Forastero en tierra extraña. Aunque propone reflexiones interesantes, el evidente cambio de rumbo de la obra hace que el final naufrague en la inconsistencia.
En definitiva, una primera parte memorable, y una segunda parte interesante pero muy imperfecta.
[+] Reseña completa en Alt+64 wiki: http://alt64.org/wiki/index.php?title...
May 7, 2023
Part 1 is a tight, well-constructed and engaging novella. Part 2 feels like an unnecessary and poorly thought-out expansion on a previously self-contained story.
Part 1 deals with a dysfunctional team of scientists on a foreign planet as they weigh the pros and cons of opening an alien culture up for human habitation. The world is fascinating and our exploration of it is nicely balanced with a narrative where the reader is consistently kept in the dark. One character doubles as a priest as well as a scientist, and the story comes to a head when a revelation about the ecology of the world triggers a theological and ethical dilemma for him.
(spoiler warning)
Part 2 is set a short time after and deals with the aftermath of Part 1's closing moments. It feels like a hybrid of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth, as an alien child comes to experience Earth and is subsequently destroyed by humanity's paradoxical societal norms and toxic culture. It could well have been longer if the focus was on the right details, but it feels very unfocused and does not realise the full potential of the premise, dragging its feet and scuffling around in dry details. Blish will describe and develop things that barely serve the plot, and the experience of the alien child is almost entirely delivered to us second-hand through expository dialogue. You might even say the child is a "stranger in a strange story", where a funky apartment and a snobby butler get more attention than the "case of conscience", which does not rear its head until the end of the book. I can see an argument for some of this being part of the greater thematic, but I do not think it excuses the execution. The cultural experience of the alien child and the theological and ethical questions for the priest character are by far the most interesting aspects but are sorely neglected. They garner a lot more attention in the apocalyptic climax, which becomes a welcome change of pace, but is too overblown to provide redemption.
Part 1: 5/5
Part 2: 2/5
Part 1 deals with a dysfunctional team of scientists on a foreign planet as they weigh the pros and cons of opening an alien culture up for human habitation. The world is fascinating and our exploration of it is nicely balanced with a narrative where the reader is consistently kept in the dark. One character doubles as a priest as well as a scientist, and the story comes to a head when a revelation about the ecology of the world triggers a theological and ethical dilemma for him.
(spoiler warning)
Part 2 is set a short time after and deals with the aftermath of Part 1's closing moments. It feels like a hybrid of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth, as an alien child comes to experience Earth and is subsequently destroyed by humanity's paradoxical societal norms and toxic culture. It could well have been longer if the focus was on the right details, but it feels very unfocused and does not realise the full potential of the premise, dragging its feet and scuffling around in dry details. Blish will describe and develop things that barely serve the plot, and the experience of the alien child is almost entirely delivered to us second-hand through expository dialogue. You might even say the child is a "stranger in a strange story", where a funky apartment and a snobby butler get more attention than the "case of conscience", which does not rear its head until the end of the book. I can see an argument for some of this being part of the greater thematic, but I do not think it excuses the execution. The cultural experience of the alien child and the theological and ethical questions for the priest character are by far the most interesting aspects but are sorely neglected. They garner a lot more attention in the apocalyptic climax, which becomes a welcome change of pace, but is too overblown to provide redemption.
Part 1: 5/5
Part 2: 2/5
August 12, 2018
I hated this book. Perhaps because I couldn't understand how anyone could make the repulsive statement that morality is impossible without religion. I found that concept insulting.
Since so many like it and it won a Hugo, perhaps the fault lies within myself.
So be it.
Since so many like it and it won a Hugo, perhaps the fault lies within myself.
So be it.
April 22, 2016
Interesting!
If I was limited to a one-word review (you should be so lucky, dear reader(s) of review*) that is what I would write.
A Case of Conscience is James Blish’s 1959 Hugo Award winning novel. In the first half, it tells the story of a four-man expedition to planet Lithia where the dominant species, the Lithians, are civilized, intelligent, peaceful, and just so damned nice. The objective of the expedition is primarily to determine whether Earth should start up a permanent diplomatic relationship with Lithia. After studying the planet and the inhabitants the physicist wants to exploit the planet for its lithium—possibly enslaving the natives—the geologist wants a trading relationship, the chemist is ambivalent, but the biologist, a Jesuit called Father Ruiz-Sanchez, has the most startling recommendation of all. You see, the planet is lush and beautiful, there is no crime, no warfare, no poverty etc. In fact:
“Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...”
Yes, all of the above. Unfortunately, Father Ruiz-Sanchez is not a Lennon fan and he concludes that this impossible utopia must be the work of Satan! According to him, it is too perfect, it achieves all the Christian ideals, but that is not OK because there is no religion! This leads him to conclude that Satan must have created Lithia** to disprove the existence of God. Therefore, mankind should shun this hateful evil (but nice and virtuous) planet:
"What we have here on Lithia is very clear indeed. We have—and now I'm prepared to be blunt—a planet and a people propped up by the Ultimate Enemy. It is a gigantic trap prepared for all of us—for every man on Earth and off it. We can do nothing with it but reject it, nothing but say to it, Retro me, Sathanas. If we compromise with it in any way, we are damned."
The four member of the expedition cannot agree on a single recommendation and go back to Earth to report their individual appraisal. A Lithian called Chtexa gives Father Ruiz-Sanchez a parting gift of a sealed jar containing an egg which will grow into an adult Lithian, which looks something like:
, or perhaps:
Anyway, you get the idea, dino looking chaps***.
The second half of the book shifts the narrative to a dystopian Earth, where most people live decadent lives—but underground—just in case there is a nuclear attack. The little Lithian egg from Part 1 has grown to an adult called Egtverchi. He is something of a celeb, with a huge and dedicated fandom who will do anything he suggests on his daily TV show (!). So basically he isDamien the Antichrist. Egtverchi uses his influence to cause chaos, death, and destruction on Earth.
As you can see from my uncharacteristically long synopsis this is one odd book. It is clearly a thought experiment, but I am not sure whether it is an allegory about Christianity. The climactic end of the book seems to point that way, but Blish did leave a wiggle room for an alternate secular explanation.
As a reading experience A Case of Conscience is never less than interesting, though if you are looking for alien blasting fun you’d have to look elsewhere. No aliens were harmed in the making of this novel . The aliens are satisfyingly weird, though, especially their biology, culture, and even architecture. The moral or religious issues raised are thought provoking but you would have to come to your conclusion about the meaning of what transpires in the narrative. The first half of the book is more interesting in sci-fi terms, with the world building and depiction of an alien culture. It reads a lot like hard SF, eccentric philosophical argument notwithstanding. The second half is more concerned with the idea of a false messiah, decadence and the gullibility of the masses.
The narrative is thoughtfully and slowly paced, there is very little in the way of action or thrill, not much humour, except for the social and showbiz satire in part 2.
If you are in the market for an intellectually stimulating read, but not necessarily a huge bundle of fun A Case of Conscience may be the very thing.
_______________
*Hello mom!
** A heretical conclusion for a Catholic to make, as – according to doctrine – only God can create, the Devil’s job is to eff things up to the max.
***A Lithian is likened to "a ten-foot reptilian kangaroo" in the book, so the artist must have taken considerable artistic licence.
_______________
Selected Quotes:
A theological headache:
“A ringing, splitting ache in the skull of theology; a moral migraine; even a cosmological shell-shock.”
Sciencevs and Religion:
“Belief and science aren't mutually exclusive—quite the contrary. But if you place scientific standards first, and exclude belief, admit nothing that's not proven, then what you have is a series of empty gestures. For me, biology is an act of religion, because I know that all creatures are God's—each new planet, with all its manifestations, is an affirmation of God's power.”
Alien architecture:
“During the past half-century the Lithians had begun to apply their enormous knowledge of ceramics to house construction. The new houses assumed thousands of fantastic, quasi-biological shapes, not quite amorphous but not quite resembling any form in experience, either; they looked a little like the dream constructions once made by an Earth painter named Dali out of such materials as boiled beans.”
If I was limited to a one-word review (you should be so lucky, dear reader(s) of review*) that is what I would write.
A Case of Conscience is James Blish’s 1959 Hugo Award winning novel. In the first half, it tells the story of a four-man expedition to planet Lithia where the dominant species, the Lithians, are civilized, intelligent, peaceful, and just so damned nice. The objective of the expedition is primarily to determine whether Earth should start up a permanent diplomatic relationship with Lithia. After studying the planet and the inhabitants the physicist wants to exploit the planet for its lithium—possibly enslaving the natives—the geologist wants a trading relationship, the chemist is ambivalent, but the biologist, a Jesuit called Father Ruiz-Sanchez, has the most startling recommendation of all. You see, the planet is lush and beautiful, there is no crime, no warfare, no poverty etc. In fact:
“Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...”
Yes, all of the above. Unfortunately, Father Ruiz-Sanchez is not a Lennon fan and he concludes that this impossible utopia must be the work of Satan! According to him, it is too perfect, it achieves all the Christian ideals, but that is not OK because there is no religion! This leads him to conclude that Satan must have created Lithia** to disprove the existence of God. Therefore, mankind should shun this hateful evil (but nice and virtuous) planet:
"What we have here on Lithia is very clear indeed. We have—and now I'm prepared to be blunt—a planet and a people propped up by the Ultimate Enemy. It is a gigantic trap prepared for all of us—for every man on Earth and off it. We can do nothing with it but reject it, nothing but say to it, Retro me, Sathanas. If we compromise with it in any way, we are damned."
The four member of the expedition cannot agree on a single recommendation and go back to Earth to report their individual appraisal. A Lithian called Chtexa gives Father Ruiz-Sanchez a parting gift of a sealed jar containing an egg which will grow into an adult Lithian, which looks something like:
, or perhaps: Anyway, you get the idea, dino looking chaps***.
The second half of the book shifts the narrative to a dystopian Earth, where most people live decadent lives—but underground—just in case there is a nuclear attack. The little Lithian egg from Part 1 has grown to an adult called Egtverchi. He is something of a celeb, with a huge and dedicated fandom who will do anything he suggests on his daily TV show (!). So basically he is
As you can see from my uncharacteristically long synopsis this is one odd book. It is clearly a thought experiment, but I am not sure whether it is an allegory about Christianity. The climactic end of the book seems to point that way, but Blish did leave a wiggle room for an alternate secular explanation.
As a reading experience A Case of Conscience is never less than interesting, though if you are looking for alien blasting fun you’d have to look elsewhere. No aliens were harmed in the making of this novel . The aliens are satisfyingly weird, though, especially their biology, culture, and even architecture. The moral or religious issues raised are thought provoking but you would have to come to your conclusion about the meaning of what transpires in the narrative. The first half of the book is more interesting in sci-fi terms, with the world building and depiction of an alien culture. It reads a lot like hard SF, eccentric philosophical argument notwithstanding. The second half is more concerned with the idea of a false messiah, decadence and the gullibility of the masses.
The narrative is thoughtfully and slowly paced, there is very little in the way of action or thrill, not much humour, except for the social and showbiz satire in part 2.
If you are in the market for an intellectually stimulating read, but not necessarily a huge bundle of fun A Case of Conscience may be the very thing.
_______________
*Hello mom!
** A heretical conclusion for a Catholic to make, as – according to doctrine – only God can create, the Devil’s job is to eff things up to the max.
***A Lithian is likened to "a ten-foot reptilian kangaroo" in the book, so the artist must have taken considerable artistic licence.
_______________
Selected Quotes:
A theological headache:
“A ringing, splitting ache in the skull of theology; a moral migraine; even a cosmological shell-shock.”
Science
“Belief and science aren't mutually exclusive—quite the contrary. But if you place scientific standards first, and exclude belief, admit nothing that's not proven, then what you have is a series of empty gestures. For me, biology is an act of religion, because I know that all creatures are God's—each new planet, with all its manifestations, is an affirmation of God's power.”
Alien architecture:
“During the past half-century the Lithians had begun to apply their enormous knowledge of ceramics to house construction. The new houses assumed thousands of fantastic, quasi-biological shapes, not quite amorphous but not quite resembling any form in experience, either; they looked a little like the dream constructions once made by an Earth painter named Dali out of such materials as boiled beans.”
September 14, 2021
This book won the Hugo Award in 1959. It is pretty advanced compared to a lot of books from the early Sci-Fi genre.
I think the concept of inherently moral aliens is an interesting one. I thought the tie-in to Catholicism with Ruiz-Sanchez the priest doubting his faith was powerful.
It was said elsewhere that the story here is uneven and that is certainly true. I think if this book were modernized it could achieve five stars and make for a good movie.
4 stars
I think the concept of inherently moral aliens is an interesting one. I thought the tie-in to Catholicism with Ruiz-Sanchez the priest doubting his faith was powerful.
It was said elsewhere that the story here is uneven and that is certainly true. I think if this book were modernized it could achieve five stars and make for a good movie.
4 stars
March 30, 2025
On a deep space mission to a planet inhabited by intelligent and enlightened reptilians who resemble a ten foot tall iguana mixed with a kangaroo, the crew debated whether to establish a relationship with the lizards or close the planet off in order to protect its culture.
One member of the expedition, a Jesuit priest, father Ruiz Sanchez has a faith shaking issue with the peaceful beings.
These lizards have no religion, yet they conduct themselves with the highest moral values. They don’t fight or kill, they are totally selfless and share everything.
The problem for the father is twofold:
-Morality cannot exist without god (under pain of eternal damnation)
-the devil cannot create, only corrupt.
So if these creatures are not children of god they were created by Satan- holding this belief is heresy. They used to burn people for that kind of thing.
I’m not sure if this was written as two separate stories that were put together as a novel or deliberately intended to be two separate parts but part two jumps ahead in time.
The crew returns to earth with a lizard child and try to raise raise it as a human. The child becomes a dissident, undermining the earth’s unbalanced society which allows the majority to suffer for the benefit of a wealthy few.
Expecting to be excommunicated for his heretical belief, Father Ruiz is instead presented with an alternative view by the pope.
For a secular person, the idea that aliens (not created by god) could exist without original sin and behave morally as a matter of nature is not a tough concept to grasp.
For a truly believing Christian however it’s untenable.
Very interesting book. I love this kind of science fiction, the kind that’s asking moral and philosophical questions but leaving the reader to ponder those questions, not telling them how they’re supposed to feel about it.
August 26, 2016
Premise: In 2050, four men are on a commission to the planet Lithia. They are there to evaluate the planet and its sentient natives, and render a recommendation about future contact with Earth. One man wants to turn the unique geology of Lithia into a nuclear arms factory, another is convinced the peaceful Lithian society could teach humanity a thing or two, one is unsure where he stands, and the fourth becomes convinced that since the Lithians have an orderly society without religion, that they must be demonic in origin. Yeah. If you have been hanging around here for a while, you already know I'm not going to like this guy. In the second half, the plot gets even weirder.
Some books I read on the wrong day. Some books I read in the wrong year. Some books I read too fast because they have to go back to the library. Some books fall victim to all three, so you can feel free to take this review with a grain of salt.
I was never going to wholeheartedly enjoy A Case of Conscience, if only because Catholic theology makes my eyes glaze over. As far as I can tell, this is the story of a perfectly nice planet, completely screwed over by idiotic humans, who bring their baggage with them everywhere. Since we follow said humans through many pages of their own internal maunderings, I found the book ultimately pretty boring. The science discussed has not aged well, and it doesn't help that it seems to be recapitulating (pun intended) parts of Burrough's The People that Time Forgot.
The larger problem is that I don't really care what happens to any of the human characters. Admittedly, Blish seems to make them intentionally unlikable. Also, there are completely obvious science-fictional explanations for the behavior of the Lithians, and the characters are too stupid to see them.
The first half of the book was originally published as a novella, and is not bad, if dated and melodramatic. But in the second half, it completely switches gears, and turns into a sort of weird cousin to Stranger in a Strange Land. The humans are given a Lithian egg to take back with them to Earth. They completely screw up the raising of such (which is not pointed out enough), and he grows up to be an amoral anarchist. Which is kind of what Earth seemed to need in this awkwardly dystopian future, so I'm not sure what the characters are complaining about. There's a rather baroque sex party, I guess to prove the dystopian-ness, or something? Father Ramon whines a lot about his moral failings, and then there's riots.
And then there's the end, which I do appreciate for its ambiguity. Unstated moral: humans wreck everything, and should be confined to their own planet for the safety of others. I don't think that I'm entirely off base with my interpretation, and I don't object to the moral given the circumstances, but ultimately I found this book disjointed and depressing.
Some books I read on the wrong day. Some books I read in the wrong year. Some books I read too fast because they have to go back to the library. Some books fall victim to all three, so you can feel free to take this review with a grain of salt.
I was never going to wholeheartedly enjoy A Case of Conscience, if only because Catholic theology makes my eyes glaze over. As far as I can tell, this is the story of a perfectly nice planet, completely screwed over by idiotic humans, who bring their baggage with them everywhere. Since we follow said humans through many pages of their own internal maunderings, I found the book ultimately pretty boring. The science discussed has not aged well, and it doesn't help that it seems to be recapitulating (pun intended) parts of Burrough's The People that Time Forgot.
The larger problem is that I don't really care what happens to any of the human characters. Admittedly, Blish seems to make them intentionally unlikable. Also, there are completely obvious science-fictional explanations for the behavior of the Lithians, and the characters are too stupid to see them.
The first half of the book was originally published as a novella, and is not bad, if dated and melodramatic. But in the second half, it completely switches gears, and turns into a sort of weird cousin to Stranger in a Strange Land. The humans are given a Lithian egg to take back with them to Earth. They completely screw up the raising of such (which is not pointed out enough), and he grows up to be an amoral anarchist. Which is kind of what Earth seemed to need in this awkwardly dystopian future, so I'm not sure what the characters are complaining about. There's a rather baroque sex party, I guess to prove the dystopian-ness, or something? Father Ramon whines a lot about his moral failings, and then there's riots.
And then there's the end, which I do appreciate for its ambiguity. Unstated moral: humans wreck everything, and should be confined to their own planet for the safety of others. I don't think that I'm entirely off base with my interpretation, and I don't object to the moral given the circumstances, but ultimately I found this book disjointed and depressing.
February 13, 2016
The first half of the book, originally a 1953 novella, is a very good story of the evaluation of a planet with intelligent life by a commission of four gentlemen with differing goals. This is very well done and ends with a surprise opinion from one of the four, a Jesuit priest.
In this book, as in Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and Dan Simmon's Hyperion, religion plays a major part. As this book arrived first, one can't help but think the others were influenced by this one - and each was quite good. James Blish wrote other books connected with this one, part of a group called "After Such Knowledge", where he continues to explore the religious theme.
The second half of this book follows a path of politics. The world of Earth the commission left from is described for the first time, and it is a bit different from our own - though definitely a likely future from the perspective of the 1950s. Interactions with (and damage to) this world is not as interesting to read and also not science fiction. The closest we have to that is a description of instantaneous communication (and later vision) that predates LeGuin's ansible by 7 years. These bits of sci-fi are needed for the ultimate ending of the book, and feel forced.
The conclusion, without spoilers, is interesting. While I appreciated the combination of religion and politics, the piecemeal nature of this book was jarring. The first half by itself would rate 4-5 stars, but I can't (in good conscience) rate the entire book so highly.
In this book, as in Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and Dan Simmon's Hyperion, religion plays a major part. As this book arrived first, one can't help but think the others were influenced by this one - and each was quite good. James Blish wrote other books connected with this one, part of a group called "After Such Knowledge", where he continues to explore the religious theme.
The second half of this book follows a path of politics. The world of Earth the commission left from is described for the first time, and it is a bit different from our own - though definitely a likely future from the perspective of the 1950s. Interactions with (and damage to) this world is not as interesting to read and also not science fiction. The closest we have to that is a description of instantaneous communication (and later vision) that predates LeGuin's ansible by 7 years. These bits of sci-fi are needed for the ultimate ending of the book, and feel forced.
The conclusion, without spoilers, is interesting. While I appreciated the combination of religion and politics, the piecemeal nature of this book was jarring. The first half by itself would rate 4-5 stars, but I can't (in good conscience) rate the entire book so highly.
April 5, 2011
i am really surprised that this book won the hugo award. i'm a really big fan of some of blish's other books, especially cities in flight. this book however, after a very promising start, fizzles out completely.the first third of the book, set on the planet of lithia, 58 light years from earth, is sf writing almost at it's finest. the 4 main characters from earth are introduced and the description of the planet and it's alien inhabitants is very well done.
the rest of the book is set back on earth and just never really gets going anywhere. a lot of philosophy and religious mumbojumbo is thrown around, and there is virtually no action whatsoever to make it more stimulating. the actual ending of the book is mildly interesting, although somewhat predictable given some of the events that took place earlier in the book. altogether, a major disappointment.
the rest of the book is set back on earth and just never really gets going anywhere. a lot of philosophy and religious mumbojumbo is thrown around, and there is virtually no action whatsoever to make it more stimulating. the actual ending of the book is mildly interesting, although somewhat predictable given some of the events that took place earlier in the book. altogether, a major disappointment.
February 14, 2019
I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to being able to do a theme on Catholicism and science fiction. I guess I'd have to recycle A Prayer for Leibowitz, which we read in my book club already, but then add Hyperion and The Sparrow, and now, to that list, I could add A Case of Conscience. One more book and I'd be all set! (I come up with way more themes than we'll ever have time to do, but I enjoy thinking about them.)
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
May 31, 2021
3.5 stars. Excellent part one, fumbled and strange part two. Well worth reading, especially since it is reminiscent of/influenced The Sparrow and Canticle for Leibowitz.
January 23, 2023
Politics and religion, two of my least favourite things.
There are two parts to this book, the first, set on a paradise planet, a garden of Eden rich in resources and a peaceful race of inhabitants with no concept of good or evil, deals with questions like....
Do you open a planet to human contact ?
Do you plunder said paradise planet of resources so you can make bigger bombs?
Do you open a planet to human contact when the planet in question has no concept of good or evil?
Does a planet with no concept of good or evil actually constitute a living hell for humanity?
The second part is utterly bonkers. One of the aliens from the paradise planet is raised on earth, becomes a celebrity with it's own tv show and almost brings about the total collapse of humanity.
The whole thing ends with an exorcism of an entire planet and now I'm going to have a cup of hot sweet tea and maybe a biscuit.
There are two parts to this book, the first, set on a paradise planet, a garden of Eden rich in resources and a peaceful race of inhabitants with no concept of good or evil, deals with questions like....
Do you open a planet to human contact ?
Do you plunder said paradise planet of resources so you can make bigger bombs?
Do you open a planet to human contact when the planet in question has no concept of good or evil?
Does a planet with no concept of good or evil actually constitute a living hell for humanity?
The second part is utterly bonkers. One of the aliens from the paradise planet is raised on earth, becomes a celebrity with it's own tv show and almost brings about the total collapse of humanity.
The whole thing ends with an exorcism of an entire planet and now I'm going to have a cup of hot sweet tea and maybe a biscuit.
January 30, 2022
Блиш отлично придумывает концепции, но не может ни одну из них довести до ума. Как справедливо отметил Manny в своем отзыве: great concepts, poor execution. Дело совести как последний фильм про Спайдермена Far from Home, где Отличная концепция, которую сама же студия не смогла дожать. Смелость и косорукость в одном флаконе.
Так и Блиш. Начинает с потрясающих наблюдений на стыке философии и религии:
А потом утрачивает когерентность повествования. И заканчивает на самой унылой точке.
Детали
* Роман состоит из двух частей. Сначала Блиш написал рассказ (первая часть). И потом дописал его до романа. Так вот рассказ лучше. Стоит прочитать только его. Короткая форма дается Блишу легче, он просто не успевает накосячить. Картонность персонажей не мешает, так в формате рассказа принято. И клиффхэнгер в конце потрясающий. А вот вторая книга — унылая нудятина. Любая альтернативная концовка, что вы придумаете у себя в голове, будет лучше.
* Особенно уныло в этом смысле было читать сцену вечеринки в подземном особняке. Вроде секс и вещества есть, а веселья — нет. И пусть бы это была критика такого образа жизни. Но она вся мимо цели. Словно автор сам выбрал сеттинг, про который ему писать неинтересно, и продирается через него с методичностью религиозного фанатика, но без его жгучей энергии. И потом та же проблема на сценах с Может, правильнее даже косорукость Блиша сравнить с последним сезоном Игры Престолов. Битвы и секс есть, но смотреть скучно и тошно. Потому что слаженной истории, эмоциональных ставок и художественной уверенности нет.
* В целом, Блиш — мастер подмечать детали. И делать из них что-то вроде афоризмов. В рассказе это работает ему на руку (словно он шарит в теме сильнее читателя). Но за этими наблюдениями нет системы или философской концепции, и в романе все рассыпается в итоге.
* Эта наблюдательность Блиша иногда приводит к жемчужинам. Так, описание психологического кризиса Агронски написано потрясающе точно и страшно. Словно Блиш на несколько абзацев перевоплотился в Кафку. Вот только сюжетно это перевоплощение в романе абсолютно ни к чему. Еще одна брошенная автором ниточка.
* Особенно обидно за философию. Блиш такие мысли годные заявляет в тексте, а потом просто бросает их. Для него философия и религия — это просто прикольный сеттинг. Но смелости как в Devil May Cry 3 у него нет, а потому читать невесело. А ведь можно было бы такие любопытные философские what if обсудить.
Зато предисловие в книге классное. Там Блиш рассказывает про свои допущения и как он их придумал. Прям взгляд за кулисы.
Я прочитал эту книгу для обсуждения на подкасте про научную фантастику «Худо Не Было». Послушать можно тут: https://share.transistor.fm/s/24b527da
Так и Блиш. Начинает с потрясающих наблюдений на стыке философии и религии:
Как члену ордена Иезуитов - даже здесь, в сорока световых годах лета от Рима - Руизу-Санчесу было известно о знании кое-что такое, что Кливер никогда не узнает: то, что любое знание проходит оба состояния, преображение из шума в факт и дезинтеграцию назад в шум. Между этими состояниями происходило лишь изобретение разнообразных формулировок. Бесконечная серия крушений теорий и была результатом этого процесса. Остатком была вера.
А потом утрачивает когерентность повествования. И заканчивает на самой унылой точке.
Детали
* Роман состоит из двух частей. Сначала Блиш написал рассказ (первая часть). И потом дописал его до романа. Так вот рассказ лучше. Стоит прочитать только его. Короткая форма дается Блишу легче, он просто не успевает накосячить. Картонность персонажей не мешает, так в формате рассказа принято. И клиффхэнгер в конце потрясающий. А вот вторая книга — унылая нудятина. Любая альтернативная концовка, что вы придумаете у себя в голове, будет лучше.
* Особенно уныло в этом смысле было читать сцену вечеринки в подземном особняке. Вроде секс и вещества есть, а веселья — нет. И пусть бы это была критика такого образа жизни. Но она вся мимо цели. Словно автор сам выбрал сеттинг, про который ему писать неинтересно, и продирается через него с методичностью религиозного фанатика, но без его жгучей энергии. И потом та же проблема на сценах с Может, правильнее даже косорукость Блиша сравнить с последним сезоном Игры Престолов. Битвы и секс есть, но смотреть скучно и тошно. Потому что слаженной истории, эмоциональных ставок и художественной уверенности нет.
* В целом, Блиш — мастер подмечать детали. И делать из них что-то вроде афоризмов. В рассказе это работает ему на руку (словно он шарит в теме сильнее читателя). Но за этими наблюдениями нет системы или философской концепции, и в романе все рассыпается в итоге.
Ощущение напоминало давний кошмарный сон, преследовавший его еще в духовной школе: будто непременно завалит выпускные экзамены, так как по забывчивости пропустил все до единого уроки латыни.
* Эта наблюдательность Блиша иногда приводит к жемчужинам. Так, описание психологического кризиса Агронски написано потрясающе точно и страшно. Словно Блиш на несколько абзацев перевоплотился в Кафку. Вот только сюжетно это перевоплощение в романе абсолютно ни к чему. Еще одна брошенная автором ниточка.
С течением времени Агронски пришло в голову, что он абсолютно не понимает, чем заняты ближние — а в редкие моменты, когда все-таки понимал, это казалось чем-то совершенно тривиальным. И зачем только люди подчиняются этой рутине? Куда они все так спешат? Тупая сосредоточенность, с которой среднестатистический троглодит отправлялся на службу, отрабатывал положенное и возвращался в свою уютную каморку, казалась бы трагичной, не будь актеры столь полными ничтожествами; энтузиазм, самоотверженность, крючкотворство, изобретательность, трудолюбие, с которыми люди без остатка отдавали себя работе, считая, что это важно, казались бы абсурдны, заставь себя Агронски подумать хоть о чем-нибудь на белом свете, заслуживающем подобной самоотдачи, но теперь всё — абсолютно всё — на глазах делалось одинаково бесцветным.
* Особенно обидно за философию. Блиш такие мысли годные заявляет в тексте, а потом просто бросает их. Для него философия и религия — это просто прикольный сеттинг. Но смелости как в Devil May Cry 3 у него нет, а потому читать невесело. А ведь можно было бы такие любопытные философские what if обсудить.
Когда разочаровался в бифштексах, то не все ли равно, как там мясо отбивалось, жарилось, сервировалось и подавалось?
Зато предисловие в книге классное. Там Блиш рассказывает про свои допущения и как он их придумал. Прям взгляд за кулисы.
Я прочитал эту книгу для обсуждения на подкасте про научную фантастику «Худо Не Было». Послушать можно тут: https://share.transistor.fm/s/24b527da
September 10, 2016
This is another of the the books on the classic sci-fi list that I've been meaning to read. This was written in 1958 and placed in 2050. It concerns a "first encounter" by man with a sentient species on another planet. A 4-member team is sent to Lithia for the purpose of making a recommendation on whether to admit the planet to the League of Nations. The first part of the book concerns these men and the "debate" that leads to their splintered decision.
One member of the team is a Jesuit priest/biologist. He shocks the others by advocating that the planet not be admitted but rather be quartantined, i.e., off limits to everyone. The physicist (Pete) argues the planted should not be admitted but rather be kept a "state secret" and used as a place to develop nuclear weapons. The chemist (Mike) advocates for the planet to be accepted as a full member of the League, marveling at the society that has developed, with its absence of greed and other human foibles and rationally-based morals. Part one ends with a senior Lithian giving the priest a gift in appreciation of his help with a problem -- a beautiful ceramic vase in which the Lithian son is gestating. This part is very good and raises excellent points for consideration.
The second part is focused on the development of the Lithian "child," which takes place in a United Nations laboratory. Eventually, he develops to the adult form of a Lithian, but without having to undergo the hardships of a Lithian infancy. Mike insists on petitioning the UN to have the Lithian declared a citizen so as to allow him to get out of the lab. The Lithian, however, becomes quite a problem once he gets citizenship. He quite easily promotes a revolution -- made easy because of conditions on earth. However, the revolution is quashed. The Lithian, for some unexplained reason, sneaks onto a cargo ship to Lithia. Things come to a head, as Pete has been sent to Lithia to do some experimentation and is about to undertake an experiment that he has been told contains an error in the calculations it is based on, which, if carried out, will be cause devastation. (Missing is any explanation on why the Lithians allow the UN to send Pete to undertake experimentation.) This part is not as focused as the first part and the development of the Lithian child as a character is quite weak.
As other reviewers have commented, there are similarities between this book and The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Both raise questions about religion and how to deal with sentient species that may be discovered. All in all, I like this book but it is not nuanced and haunting as The Sparrow.
One member of the team is a Jesuit priest/biologist. He shocks the others by advocating that the planet not be admitted but rather be quartantined, i.e., off limits to everyone. The physicist (Pete) argues the planted should not be admitted but rather be kept a "state secret" and used as a place to develop nuclear weapons. The chemist (Mike) advocates for the planet to be accepted as a full member of the League, marveling at the society that has developed, with its absence of greed and other human foibles and rationally-based morals. Part one ends with a senior Lithian giving the priest a gift in appreciation of his help with a problem -- a beautiful ceramic vase in which the Lithian son is gestating. This part is very good and raises excellent points for consideration.
The second part is focused on the development of the Lithian "child," which takes place in a United Nations laboratory. Eventually, he develops to the adult form of a Lithian, but without having to undergo the hardships of a Lithian infancy. Mike insists on petitioning the UN to have the Lithian declared a citizen so as to allow him to get out of the lab. The Lithian, however, becomes quite a problem once he gets citizenship. He quite easily promotes a revolution -- made easy because of conditions on earth. However, the revolution is quashed. The Lithian, for some unexplained reason, sneaks onto a cargo ship to Lithia. Things come to a head, as Pete has been sent to Lithia to do some experimentation and is about to undertake an experiment that he has been told contains an error in the calculations it is based on, which, if carried out, will be cause devastation. (Missing is any explanation on why the Lithians allow the UN to send Pete to undertake experimentation.) This part is not as focused as the first part and the development of the Lithian child as a character is quite weak.
As other reviewers have commented, there are similarities between this book and The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Both raise questions about religion and how to deal with sentient species that may be discovered. All in all, I like this book but it is not nuanced and haunting as The Sparrow.
March 23, 2020
Although stylistically quite poor, with a range of expression that might fall somewhere between "benighted adolescent forced into science class" and "ignorant teen rejecting the church", A Case of Conscience or CoC is a swell idea that collapses very early on into inanity.
One of the reasons this happens is because there is no clear line drawn in the conflict occurring within the novel. What I mean is, the main character presents the reader with a certain implausible and ridiculous paradigm within which the story will take place, but there is nothing counter to that set up.
*SPOILERS*
To clarify.
Forgetting the absurdity of a space exploration project that consists of a vague, equivocating quartet of men who get to vote on whether Earth should open relations with planets, and a project that counts as one of its members a biblical literalist Jesuit (hardly neutral), let's accept the premise. The premise is actually interesting: a Jesuit biologist decides that a morally perfect alien world must be the work of Satan and thus sealed off from the universe. This sounds stupid because it is. Why this guy is on the exploratory team at all befuddles the reader. I can overlook that, though. I can even accept his ridiculous conclusion. The problem here is that everyone just accepts the premise. There is no real counter-idea at work when there almost certainly would be. Instead, the stupid religious argument turns itself into a self-fulfilling prophecy at some point (the Vatican recommends exorcising the alien planet, no kidding!) like all idiocies that proffer isolation and hatred.
In the end, what the point is here is unclear. No alternative approach to the Jesuit's machinations are given. I find it incredible that even a religious scientist would behave this way. How would a religious person deal with a perfect society, an Edenic society, that had no idea who God or Jesus was? This book doesn't explore that endlessly fascinating idea. Instead, for some unknown reason, it settles for the unfeasible route of intolerance, without any resistance to the idea...
One of the reasons this happens is because there is no clear line drawn in the conflict occurring within the novel. What I mean is, the main character presents the reader with a certain implausible and ridiculous paradigm within which the story will take place, but there is nothing counter to that set up.
*SPOILERS*
To clarify.
Forgetting the absurdity of a space exploration project that consists of a vague, equivocating quartet of men who get to vote on whether Earth should open relations with planets, and a project that counts as one of its members a biblical literalist Jesuit (hardly neutral), let's accept the premise. The premise is actually interesting: a Jesuit biologist decides that a morally perfect alien world must be the work of Satan and thus sealed off from the universe. This sounds stupid because it is. Why this guy is on the exploratory team at all befuddles the reader. I can overlook that, though. I can even accept his ridiculous conclusion. The problem here is that everyone just accepts the premise. There is no real counter-idea at work when there almost certainly would be. Instead, the stupid religious argument turns itself into a self-fulfilling prophecy at some point (the Vatican recommends exorcising the alien planet, no kidding!) like all idiocies that proffer isolation and hatred.
In the end, what the point is here is unclear. No alternative approach to the Jesuit's machinations are given. I find it incredible that even a religious scientist would behave this way. How would a religious person deal with a perfect society, an Edenic society, that had no idea who God or Jesus was? This book doesn't explore that endlessly fascinating idea. Instead, for some unknown reason, it settles for the unfeasible route of intolerance, without any resistance to the idea...
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