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bleak themes with a light touch. although not an easy book to get into, once i realized the effort was a worthy one, it became an increasingly absorbing read. the structure in particular was interesting, challenging - and distancing. novels with religion at their core are often absorbing to me personally, and this novel is all about the impact of religion on the building and rebuilding of society. i appreciated the humanist values and found myself agreeing with the at times progressive, other ti
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I've been meaning to read this for, literally, years. I'm glad I finally got round to it. I was expecting something a bit more dry, I think, but actually A Canticle for Leibowitz is full of humour. There's a lot of dark themes, yes, but there's also a sort of understanding of human nature. A wry smile at our own expense.
How convincing you find it might depend on whether you believe the underlying idea: that we are more or less doomed to repeat history over and over. I don't believe that, not rea ...more
How convincing you find it might depend on whether you believe the underlying idea: that we are more or less doomed to repeat history over and over. I don't believe that, not rea ...more
"Nature imposes nothing on you that Nature doesn't prepare you to bear" quoth the abbot Zerchi in the final part of this book, not long before we are to find out humanity, in contrast, seems quite capable and determined to impose on its self that which it is not prepared to bear.
Are we in an endless cycle in which we build up and then destroy our civilization in our relentless attempt to restore our place in Eden? In our dark ages must he church gather and protect knowledge and wisdom from the v ...more
Are we in an endless cycle in which we build up and then destroy our civilization in our relentless attempt to restore our place in Eden? In our dark ages must he church gather and protect knowledge and wisdom from the v ...more
I didn’t know what to expect from A Canticle for Leibowitz, because despite being aware of its classic status, nothing that I read about it really prepared me for it. So I’m going to try to leave you with a clear (but spoiler-free) idea of what this book is about so you will be encouraged to dive into it. It is deservedly a classic, eminently accessible, and very interesting. If you’re one of those people who shy away from science fiction because you’re not that into “spaceships and ray guns,” t
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This book was written in 1955.
I'm pretty sure Stephen Kind read it before writing the Gunslinger. If you Like the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, step into this world. No really.
The world as experienced a nuclear apocalypse. Only tribes and the church remain... well, and the ghastly things that roam the wilderness. We don't want to think about those... but they are there. The book follows one abbey as it follows it's destiny... and as the world follows it's destiny.
This book is a phenom. Writ ...more
I'm pretty sure Stephen Kind read it before writing the Gunslinger. If you Like the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, step into this world. No really.
The world as experienced a nuclear apocalypse. Only tribes and the church remain... well, and the ghastly things that roam the wilderness. We don't want to think about those... but they are there. The book follows one abbey as it follows it's destiny... and as the world follows it's destiny.
This book is a phenom. Writ ...more
As post-apocalyptic science fiction novels go... awesome. The in-depth history involved in this is well thought out and obviously involved intensive research. I love how its not riddled with the typical road-warrior type post-apocalyptic elements (not that I don't like reading those as well, but they're kind of a trope for the sub-genre... and even the tropes that are present, well, they weren't tropes when it was written and most likely started here). This is looked at as one of the classics fo
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It's a fine book, but it's more clever than it is interesting, I find. The characters are uninspiring, and it feels more like a Medieval alternate history novel than a real SF story for the most part of the novel. Didn't create much of a lasting impression.
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I read this book fairly blind. I knew it was science fiction, apocalyptic and had won the Hugo Award. Beyond that I didn't have the faintest clue what this was about: overall, I think that was a good thing because it kept me surprised and refreshed through the read. I was particularly startled by a turn of events 1/3 of the way through the book (no spoiler). Overall, a good story, taking a somewhat different view of the apocalypse from one we've become used to from other stories. By no means per
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Apr 10, 2008
Terence
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
speculative-fiction
Aug 31, 2008
Richard
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
pringle-top-100-1949-84
Apr 17, 2011
Andy
marked it as to-read
Mar 30, 2012
~Geektastic~
marked it as to-read
