Customer Reviews
Sci-fi that isn't - By: reader 451, 11 Jul 2008 
Do you know many science-fiction books that quote Latin? Where the heroes are monks & abbots? Where the protagonists argue over illuminated manuscripts? A Canticle for Leibowitz has an appeal well beyond science-fiction fans.
Too much of it shouldn't be given away, but the story takes place after a nuclear war & concerns the fight to preserve what is left of human literacy & knowledge. Of course, this is about the need for spirituality & wisdom to balance progress in scientific pyrotechnics. But A Canticle for Leibowitz is first & foremost an utterly convincing political fable, interwoven with a host of private adventures & tribulations. And while nuclear holocaust may sound less likely today than in the 1950s, what is astonishing is that this book hasn't aged a bit, that it has none of the technological & contextual faux pas that makes so much of science fiction dated.
Walter Miller wrote with authority, conviction & humour. His dialogue between churchmen is jaw-dropping in its veracity; I couldn't believe afterwards that he was never a priest or a novice. The novel's politics are as credible as they are subtle. Miller creates a reality in which you will find yourself completely immersed without wanting to leave it, however harsh it may be. My only quibble, in fact a major disappointment is that, incredibly, Walter Miller never wrote anything else.
Intriguing on some levels, but not so good as a novel - By: John Hopper, 22 May 2008 
This is not an easy read. It contains some interesting theological viewpoints & in particular towards the end portrays both sides of the the euthanasia debate in a vivid & gripping way. But as a post-apocalyptic novel, it failed for me as the world described lacked any characters or reference points to which I could relate & which make the best post-apocalyptic novels so chilling & haunting. There was no real feel for the lives of ordinary people outside the monastic community that formed the centre of the novel.
First Rate Science Fiction - By: BleakWisdom, 25 Jun 2007 This post-apocalyptic tale is narrated by the survivors of a 20th century "Flame Deluge" (nuclear war). Modern civilisation is decimated & the world's population largely annihilated. The anger of the few survivors is channelled toward the remaining scientists & politicians, leading to a cull of the inteligencia which culminates in book burning & the slaughter of anyone who can read. The novel is set mostly within the wallls of an abbey constructed to preserve the remaining knowledge until the population is ready to understand it & rebuild. The author revisits the abbey three times over the next two thousand years, charting the technological & philosophical development of civilisation at each point in history. The subsequent emergence & renaissance of this fictional civilisation paralllels that of our own & the author uses this as a plot device to discuss the failings of humanity & the propensity of society to make the same mistakes throughout history. Is history destined to repeat itself?
So the cold war brought the world to the brink of the apocalypse, this may be so, but this period instilled a level of fear & paranoia in the mind that can germinate great creative ideas, & this book is full of them, I can't recommend it highly enough! The prose is beautifully written & incredibly readable, although at points intensely depressing I was surprised how richly comic I found this novel given the subject matter.
I'm a massive Sci-fi fan but must concede that although some of the great literary ideas are produced in this genera, the quality of the writing & characterisation frequently fallls short of the mark. I would often tar even the `greats' such as Azimov & Clark with this brush, although don't get me wrong, I hugely enjoyed some of their books. This novel, alongside precious few others, including Frank Herbert's Dune & John Wyndham's, "The Day of the Triffids" is in my opinion an exception to this rule. The opening is reminiscent of John Wyndham's post-apocalyptic classic, "The Chrysalides" & the subtext & social commentary of these two novels is similar. "Ignorance & failure to communicate are potent sources of bigotry & prejudice which frequently lead to conflict & war." The multilayered ideas & deep philosophical content of Canticle is reminiscent Kurt Vonneget's "Slaughterhouse 5", despite the contrasting style of these authors. Contemporary works of post apocalyptic fiction such as the excellent "The Road" by Cormack Mccarthy owe a great debt to this highly original & thought provoking novel.
Although an atheist, I much enjoyed the religious symbolism in Canticle, indeed the "Wandering Jew" makes several appearances throughout a two millennia time span, & thus the reader witnesses the failure of humanity again & again through his eyes; make no mistake, this is a deeply pessimistic novel. The catholic doctrine is fervently espoused by various characters, particularly in the context of euthanasia & suicide; however, a passionate secular counter argument is also put forward & this makes for compelling reading, it's as though the author is wrestling with his conscience & thrashing out these ideas in his mind. I found this aspect to be very interesting, indeed, the strength of the catholic arguments put forward in this novel adds to the deep irony as well as the monumental tragedy of the author's suicide.
A great classic - By: Alan Urdaibay, 27 Dec 2006 I read this book in the early 1960's & knew then I was reading an SF classic. It operates on many levels, as other reviewers state. In my case it was the first time I encountered a cyclical view of history which I now know to be the predominant viewpoint in the ancient world. Some of the earlier chapters are still imprinted on my mind & I am delighted to see it is still being published.
Let it be... - By: Kurt Messick, 28 Apr 2006 Walter Miller's classic, A Canticle for Leibowitz, has been one of my favourite books since the first days I read it (I read it in three days, one day for each of the three parts of the triptych). The premise is one that we have come to recognise as a familiar theme -- post-nuclear-holocaust earth. However, this was a relatively new theme in the early 1950s, when this novel first appeared as a serialised story in the pages of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Remarkably, for an early work, this remains one of the standards by which subsequent efforts have been judged.
--Fiat Homo--
In the first part of the story, we are introduced to Brother Francis, a member of the order of St. Leibowitz (well, not yet a saint, but considered one by his order), who, as it turns out, was an early survivor of the nuclear conflagration (later described as the Deluge, in biblical tones that recallls the flood of Genesis). Leibowitz, we discover, was looking for a way to help society maintain order in the destruction--being an historian, even though he was Jewish, he remembered the relative stability of society in the Dark Ages being guided & enhanced in the aftermath of falll of Rome by the Church in general, & monastic orders in particular. So, he founded a house, which continues.
Brother Francis, on a desert retreat, happens upon a scrap of paper that bears a possible signature of Leibowitz. Becoming ecstatic, he devotes his life to preserving & illuminating this document. Eventuallly he takes a doomed trip to New Rome (which we discover is in the heart of the North American continent). He is killed on his way back to the monastery, but not before delivering the Leibowitz document to New Rome & aiding the order in its quest for sainthood for Leibowitz.
--Fiat Lux--
In the second frame of the triptych, we come upon a political situation several hundred years later, much like the middle ages (Hannegan II under papal interdict while claiming title as Defender of the Faith) -- yet there are new discoveries both among philosopher/scientists of the present & researchers looking back into the past. There is to be to the order a visit from Thon Taddeo, a noted scholar & poet, & politicallly important person, & the monastery is concerned in many ways to make a good showing. Brother Kornhoer, figuring out texts on ancient electricity, contrived an electric light to the amazement & consternation of Thon Taddeo.
The poet, too, ends up dying on a journey, out in the desert.
--Fiat voluntas tua--
Again hundreds of years have passed, & mankind has once again reached the space age. Genetic purity is a concern (as mutations continue among many of the people due to the falllout of the Deluge). Warfare continues to grow in intensity & severity, & politics remains as ever ineffectual in containing the ambitions & greed of potential dictators. We have come into the nuclear age once again, & illegal nuclear testing has been detected. The world has become a much more secular place. But, once again, the monastery is at involved in the tensions, & more importantly, toward planning for life after another Deluge.
Visionaries at the monastery prepare to send brothers into space to survive what seems a sure collapse & nuclear war, so that they might once again be able to help rebuild society, preserving knowledge & the order of the Church.
* * *
This story is filled with smalll details of great insight -- how a Dark Ages person might interpret finding scraps of the modern world; how rediscoveries might be welcomed & not welcomed variously; how human personality is, alas, unlikely to change despite much pain & effort.
We are introduced to a man callled 'the Old Jew of the Mountains' -- I at first thought this was the apostle John (who is referred to in legendary lore as the apostle who wasn't martyred, or the apostle who wouldn't die until the return of Christ); later I realised that it was Lazarus -- he who was raised from the dead by Christ, & because of this power, could not himself die, but remained outside society awaiting the return.
There are so many philosophical points which remain alive for those of us in the post-Cold War world, that this is a work of vision akin to Verne or Wells (though without their higher literary ability). This is a great story, & one that stays in the mind ever after.
