From the Bookshelf of The Great Hugo Read…

A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1)

Walter M. Miller Jr.,

Mary Doria Russell (Introduction)

Start date: December 1, 2013

Finish date: December 31, 2013

Discussion: A Canticle for Leibowitz

Discussion leader: D.L. Thurston

Why we're reading this: 1961 Winner. Awarded at Seacon in Seattle, Washington. Miller previously won the inaugural Hugo for Best …more
[close] 1961 Winner. Awarded at Seacon in Seattle, Washington. Miller previously won the inaugural Hugo for Best Novelette for his story "The Darfsteller". I don't know if the modern practice of having the Worldcon Toastmaster serve as awards presenter was in place in 1961, but as that year's Toastmaster was Harlan Ellison, I'd like to think it was.

Other nominees:

* The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
* Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
* Deathworld by Harry Harrison
* Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon

This is the second unsuccessful nomination for both Anderson and Budrys. Anderson will be nominated several times into the 1990s, but never win for Best Novel, though he did win a Hugo in 1961. Other 1961 winners:

* Short Fiction - "The Longest Voyage" by Poul Anderson
* Dramatic Presentation - The Twilight Zone
* Professional Magazine - Astounding/Analog ed John W. Campbell, Jr.
* Professional Artist - Ed Emshwiller
* Fanzine - Who Killed Science Fiction? ed Earl Kemp

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 1 of 1 topics — 4 comments total

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Discussion
By Aaron · 4 posts · 7 views

last updated Dec 16, 2013 12:31PM

What Members Thought

Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-one-hundred, 2025-shelf, sci-fi

Re-read after 17 years. Did it get better because I'm older? I enjoyed all the things I originally thought were brilliant at the time, and yet, it just HITS harder now.

What the hell am I talking about?

This is Canticle for Leibowitz, a true classic of SF. In short, it's a retelling, or rather, a history always-f**king-repeats story, of humanity's ongoing stupidity, sacrifice, redemption, brilliance, and desperate striving for wisdom where there seems to be absolutely none.

It simply begins with mo ...more

32 likes · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2010 Jeff Stockett rated it liked it

Shelves: hugo-award-winning-novels

I love when religion appears in science fiction. If we believe certain truths to be eternal, than it stands to reason that those truths would still stand in the far future, that Christ would still be the Messiah even after a nuclear war that ends civilization as we know it.

While I'm not Catholic, I am Christian and I was fascinated to see how the author portrayed the Catholic Church carrying Christianity into the deep future.

I loved the reexamining of traditional moral questions.

Euthanasia is g I love when religion appears in science fiction. If we believe certain truths to be eternal, than it stands to reason that those truths would still stand in the far future, that Christ would still be the Messiah even after a nuclear war that ends civilization as we know it.

While I'm not Catholic, I am Christian and I was fascinated to see how the author portrayed the Catholic Church carrying Christianity into the deep future.

I loved the reexamining of traditional moral questions.

Euthanasia is generally considered to be murder, but what at what point is the pain so great that it truly is an act of mercy?

What about abortion or infanticide in a world where radiation is the norm and it is known that the child will be mutated to the point where they are not recognizable as human.

For that matter, are mutants human? Should they be baptized?

None of these questions were the central tenet of the story, but they were the juicy little bits that were fun for me to chew on and stop and think about.

The real story deals with the classic struggle between good and evil. It deals with the basic idea that nearly everyone is trying to do good within their own sphere but everyone is misguided, or flawed, or simply human.

I loved the story of the holy blueprint. The monks didn't know what it was, other than that it was a relic of ancient times and contained "sacred" knowledge. I think sometimes we put certain things on pedestals and God probably chuckles to himself as he looks down at how confused we really are. I loved that aspect of this story, the loveable way in which we can all become misguided and confused, while still striving to do what is right.

I also loved the idea of the church being the guardians of truth and knowledge, that the pursuit of truth is noble, whether through science or through seeking God.

There are really only 2 things I disliked about the book. One is that my lack of knowledge about the Catholic Church may have detracted from my experience. There were lots of latin prayers, and it would have been nice to understand what they were referring to. There are also bits of Catholic mythology such as the wandering Jew, that would have brought more meaning to the story if I understood it better. It's not really fair to hold my lack of knowledge against the book, but it detracted from my experience nonetheless.

The second thing I disliked was the overall bleak view of the book. The message seems to be that humans are evil by nature, and, given enough power we will destroy ourselves. It's certainly a product of its time. After WWII, I'm sure that many people had this very concern. But the pessimistic view was not my favorite.

Despite that, it was a good book. I plan to read the sequel. I'd like to see where he takes it. ...more

1 like · Like · see review