tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post6681224881688685507..comments2024-03-12T04:14:16.271-05:00Comments on The Rad Trad: Book Review: A Canticle for LeibowitzThe Rad Tradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-48859186897741457382015-01-08T10:44:00.190-06:002015-01-08T10:44:00.190-06:00I have zero interest in sci-fi, literary or cinema...I have zero interest in sci-fi, literary or cinema, but an acquaintance had loaned me Canticle a few years back, and I rather enjoyed it more as an historical (futuristic)/ecclesiastical fiction. The sci-fi element seemed almost non-existent until the end. The liturgical references peppered throughout the book, however, would be lost on the post-V2 generations.Joanneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00496552906164909711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-69054665523263626562015-01-07T12:06:35.458-06:002015-01-07T12:06:35.458-06:00"The best actors in the world, either for tra..."The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or poem unlimited."J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02124903563459448051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-9500333818363297402015-01-06T07:46:33.029-06:002015-01-06T07:46:33.029-06:00I think we also have to remember, sci-fi is a sett...I think we also have to remember, sci-fi is a setting and not genre. A genre would be something like: an epic, a comedy, a farce, a drama, a melodrama. A science fiction setting is a tool to tell an interesting story.Ecclesial Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17070187926547373245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-27650422613802519682015-01-05T21:17:18.686-06:002015-01-05T21:17:18.686-06:00Yes, when I think about the other great, lauded sc...Yes, when I think about the other great, lauded sci-fi novels of the day, especially by the big three (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein) - it really does stand well above them, both in prose and in its moral depth. They were creative, they explored fascinating and sometimes even profound ideas - but none of them was really a great <i>writer</i>. Well, Miller *was* a great writer. <br /><br />As <i>Catholic</i> literature, it can stand proudly next to some of the great works over the ages without shame, I think. Athelstanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07346012062816580296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-86368481215148993422015-01-05T19:54:05.879-06:002015-01-05T19:54:05.879-06:00Also, because the sci-fi part is not essential to ...Also, because the sci-fi part is not essential to the story, Canticle has aged very well compared to other books of the genre. The Rad Tradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-16921836199407710802015-01-05T19:51:03.250-06:002015-01-05T19:51:03.250-06:00I think Canticle works precisely because its sci-f...I think Canticle works precisely because its sci-fi setting is just a setting for telling a moral tale with a clear line of sight. It is not sci-fi for sci-fi's sake.The Rad Tradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-55694545367921262162015-01-05T19:36:45.033-06:002015-01-05T19:36:45.033-06:00...three sections which could be seen as three sep...<i>...three sections which could be seen as three separate novellas</i><br /><br />Which is, of course, how it was originally published in <i>The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.</i> Later, Miller weaved them together, with some modifications along the way, into one novel. Remarkably, it works.<br /><br />I agree with J: it's the best the sci-fi novel I have ever read. But, with Walker Percy, I will go further: It is a great novel, period. An essential read.<br /><br />Good review, Rad Trad. I hope it encourages someone to pick it up.Athelstanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07346012062816580296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-52978368301391549772015-01-05T16:30:38.915-06:002015-01-05T16:30:38.915-06:00So... for someone who both loves Science Fiction d...So... for someone who both loves Science Fiction done well (Philip K Dick) and Church matters this is some sort of Holy Grail?Ecclesial Vigilantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17070187926547373245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-90565827561844511792015-01-05T11:28:50.940-06:002015-01-05T11:28:50.940-06:00Having read quite a lot of the genre, "Cantic...Having read quite a lot of the genre, "Canticle" still remains the greatest science fiction novel I've ever read, probably because it feels set apart from the sci-fi genre ghetto. I read a collection of Miller's short stories a while back, and noted how uncomfortable his fiction became when he made himself conform to genre standards. He's at his height when he blazes his own trail away from cliches.<br /><br />And yes, there are some deep moral implications being worked out in the novel. It's a real pity that, as time went on, Miller was himself so wrecked by the post-conciliar devastation of theology and praxis. He must have felt like he had become Monte Cassino.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02124903563459448051noreply@blogger.com