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trilbynorton's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is three stories set at different periods after a nuclear apocalypse and charting the development of a Catholic monastic order dedicated to preserving pre-war knowledge.
Parts 1 and 2 are fascinating examinations of the nature of knowledge and the ethics surrounding using that knowledge. Miller's Catholicism is obvious but not preachy; instead, he seems to be using the science fiction scenario to interrogate the place of the church in an ever changing and advancing society.
Part 3, however, is where the book lost me. Here, Miller is preachy. Central to this final section is the church's concept of salvation through suffering, especially as it contrasts with modern medicine and euthanasia in particular. I found it hard to stomach the protagonist's insistence on suffering and objection to compassionate killing. It's made worse by the fact that this debate is more relevant and more pressing now than it was in 1959, with the church's continued and damaging opposition to palliative care, abortion, contraception, euthanasia, and so forth. It is becoming more and more obvious that the Catholic church is an outdated and dangerous institution, and Miller does nothing to disabuse us of that.
Parts 1 and 2 are fascinating examinations of the nature of knowledge and the ethics surrounding using that knowledge. Miller's Catholicism is obvious but not preachy; instead, he seems to be using the science fiction scenario to interrogate the place of the church in an ever changing and advancing society.
Part 3, however, is where the book lost me. Here, Miller is preachy. Central to this final section is the church's concept of salvation through suffering, especially as it contrasts with modern medicine and euthanasia in particular. I found it hard to stomach the protagonist's insistence on suffering and objection to compassionate killing. It's made worse by the fact that this debate is more relevant and more pressing now than it was in 1959, with the church's continued and damaging opposition to palliative care, abortion, contraception, euthanasia, and so forth. It is becoming more and more obvious that the Catholic church is an outdated and dangerous institution, and Miller does nothing to disabuse us of that.
conorcxvi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
notoriousesr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Hundreds of years in the future, humanity has nearly destroyed itself with nuclear weapons. In reaction to the horrors that technology wrought, the world plunged itself into a new dark age, where the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, a small Catholic order, is trying to preserve what little is left of the distant past.
This book lies pretty far outside my usual reading habits, and at times it was a refreshing break from my consistent diet of literary fiction. Miller does something really creative and interesting here with science fiction, in that, for the most part, it is a story of religious faith and belief in the inherent value of knowledge. Especially because it was written in post-WWII period when nuclear holocaust was a clear and present threat, it’s a particularly effective critique of the human bent towards destruction. However, there was a lot of what I felt was unnecessary filler in between bright moments of clarity, which brings this down to 3 out of 5 illuminated blueprints.
strategineer's review against another edition
Part 1: Amazing. Seems like this could have easily been an inspiration for the old school Fallout games I've always loved. Following one monk through the post-apocalypse is cool.
Part 2: Gigantic shift in tone. A less personal, more political story takes hold. Kind of hard to get through. The shift was really jarring.
Part 3: I haven't gotten that far yet.
I'll have to get back to this eventually, it has a lot of potential but it was a challenge for me to read initially.
Part 2: Gigantic shift in tone. A less personal, more political story takes hold. Kind of hard to get through. The shift was really jarring.
Part 3: I haven't gotten that far yet.
I'll have to get back to this eventually, it has a lot of potential but it was a challenge for me to read initially.
rahn's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute banger. The first 2/3rds of the novel is interesting but meandering. But the final third is an absolute bludgeoning of deep insight after deep insight into human nature and culture.
cunningrogue's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
genteelblackhole's review against another edition
3.0
This book is composed of three parts, each one originally published as separate short stories. Combined they tell a wider narrative spanning centuries, but each part is an individual story too. Of those constituent parts, the first one was by far my favourite. The humour was at its most charming, with Brother Francis doing his best to piece together a flawed understanding of pre-apocalypse society. That story alone I would rate at least four stars, maybe five. I was having a GREAT time with this book.
Then the second and third parts gradually lost me. I get what they were doing — painting a cyclical view of the development of mankind, from dark age to renaissance to modernity and back to dark age. But the finer points of church politics and international politics were wearying for me to read, the frequent Latin passages interrupted my reading as I consulted a list of translations, and as an atheist I struggled to appreciate some of the commentary on faith and religion. It’s well written but I am clearly the wrong audience for this book. If you love Graham Greene’s overtly Catholic novels and also post-apocalyptic sci-fi though, give it a try I guess.
Then the second and third parts gradually lost me. I get what they were doing — painting a cyclical view of the development of mankind, from dark age to renaissance to modernity and back to dark age. But the finer points of church politics and international politics were wearying for me to read, the frequent Latin passages interrupted my reading as I consulted a list of translations, and as an atheist I struggled to appreciate some of the commentary on faith and religion. It’s well written but I am clearly the wrong audience for this book. If you love Graham Greene’s overtly Catholic novels and also post-apocalyptic sci-fi though, give it a try I guess.
bean_season's review against another edition
Read it because it's considered a classic and was intrigued. Interesting, funny, and poignant at times, it suffers too much from the prejudices of its day to be recommended to a general reader.