Review: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

This is another 1950’s-era sci-fi that does not resonate with me. Normally, I enjoy books in a post-apocalyptic setting, and while the premise for this one was great–a monastic order dedicated to preserving human knowledge after a nuclear war has wiped out all of civilization–the story didn’t seem to go anywhere.

In fact, it’s not one story, but three, set hundreds of years apart. As a result, none of the characters have a chance to grow or change. They feel like little more than caricatures wedged into the plot to explore a theme. The themes themselves are fairly interesting: Is every human civilization destined to eventually destroy itself? Is knowledge and science worth preserving or an evil that leads to our downfall? How do religions, saints, and cultures develop?

Unfortunately, these questions aren’t explored deeply, and all of them are overshadowed by heavy-handed religious themes and copious amounts of latin and bible text. I imagine that when this book came out in the 50’s, not long after the creation nuclear weapons, the post-apocalyptic theme must be have been unique and terrifying to readers. 60+ years later, there are better books that cover similar themes, such as The Road.

Rating: 3 stars