Unforgettable SF masterpiece. "A Canticle for Leibowitz" book review and ranking.

[@paulcooper3611]

A Canticle for Leibowitz is also one of my favorite books. I first read it in 1969. There were a couple of things that struck me the first time. First, the Vatican II conference had taken place between the time the book was written and the time I read it. Hence, Latin had been replaced by colloquial language so the heavy sprinkling of Latin throughout the story wouldn't have happened. Second, I was a draftsman at the time and I did a lot of blueprints. However, a new blueprint technology had come in since the book was written; now the black lines in the drawing were developed in blue on a dusky background instead of white on a blue background so the blueprint in the bunker wouldn't have happened. And it didn't detract from the story at all. The book immediately went to the top of my list. Over the last 50 years, it has moved up and down the list but it has never dropped below five. I reread it every decade or so. I last read it 4 months ago and it still wrapped its hands around my heart and squeezed.

[@thesci-fished]

"still wrapped its hands around my heart and squeezed" exactly how I feel, thank you Pau.

[@unstopitable]

Canticle is also one of my all-time favorites. There's just something about the way that it's written. What most people don't realize how deeply Catholic the really isnovel, especially in the way it deals with the meaning of suffering. May Miller's soul rest in peace. Enjoyed the video.

[@thesci-fished]

Thank you kindly, it's a great novel that deals with difficult subjects beautifully.

[@AnonymousAnonposter]

War, war never changes.

[@thesci-fished]

Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

[@chrisw6164]

Re-read it last year. I got a lot more out of it, mostly because I first read it 30 years ago.

[@thesci-fished]

Nice one Chris, would you have ranked it as highly?

[@chrisw6164]

@@thesci-fished Definitely

[@TauZeroSF]

Definitely on my TBR.

[@SciFiFinds]

Great to see your top 5 getting shuffled around after so many reads! I definitely need to get to this one.

[@thesci-fished]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@camo_for_cocktails]

A great novel. I agree with what you said about Miller’s writing style; it really draws you in. If you like religious themes in your SF, may I recommend “The Listeners “ by James Gunn. Astronomers searching for alien radio signals make a discovery that challenges the world’s assumptions and you get differing interpretations of the signal, including a religious one.

[@thesci-fished]

@@camo_for_cocktails Thank you kindly 😊 I don't think I've read that one, I'll add it to the list. Thank you 😊

[@NevsBookChannel]

Yep, loved it! It’s a fantastic idea well executed. I didn’t know it was the outcome of 3 short stories. Have you read those?

[@thesci-fished]

Thanks Nev, I'ev wanted to read the short stories but I haven't been able to find them down under. I did read an article some time back (i'm pretty sure it was a paid article - i'll see if i can find it) that did a side by side comparison of the book and the novellas. The latin was one of the key take aways I can remember from it. Would be nice to read and follow up on this video one day with my fresh take on those.