Sci-Fi Group Book Club discussion

This is the discussion thread for the fourth book of the month, or group read, for September/October. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary.

I'll make sure to start this one when I go back to work Wed. night. Should be done with it before Friday.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. was a monthly read not only for this group but for another Goodreads group as well. I did review it when I read it at that time, and here is the link to that review. I invite your questions if you feel that I might be able to contribute to the current discussion.

I'm now ALMOST 60% of the way thru this...and I can say that I was NOT expecting the book to go in this direction. I went into it blind, not even reading a story synopsis...I won't say anymore, as I have yet to figure out the coding for the spoiler tags...but it's definitely not your run-of-the-mill SF story.

I loved this book. I was hooked from the first page. It was beautifully written. That is all.

Finished it tonight...Very enjoyable **** Rating. Definitely NOT your standard SF formula.
(view spoiler)[ I was completely taken aback by the heavy religious backdrop...not something normally experienced in a SF book (Religion and Science normally don't mix well as they are usually in competition with each other for dominion). Nevertheless, the mixture worked PERFECTLY and I was associating the religious sect with that of the priests in the Movie The Fifth Element even though they weren't related. The book even had that OMG moment when Brother Francis was removed from the main storyline right before the plot jumped forward to the next stage of development. I did appreciate the mention of the man from Utah near the end of the piece. Rounded out the story nicely. (hide spoiler)]

Definitely worthy of its awards. An underappreciated and overlooked classic from the golden age of Sci-Fi. When you are tired of the Zombie/Vampire retreads...give this a try.

PSXtreme wrote: "Finished it tonight...Very enjoyable **** Rating. Definitely NOT your standard SF formula.
[spoilers removed]

Definitely worthy of its awards. An underappreciated and overlooked classic from the ..."

That's good to know. I've started this month's group reads with The Fifth Season, but got Canticle lined up for my second. Both are books I've wanted to read for some time.

With the extensive amount that I've read, it's refreshing to be taken into a direction not expected. That's what this book gave to me. In this modern age of reboots, remakes and rehashing of what has come before...this new from what has been already done is an experience unlike any other. This tarnished and tainted soul enjoyed the "new" and unexpected for a change.

This wiki page helped me a lot with the several Latin phrases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of.... Just finished reading it! Very unique SF! =)

I enjoyed the cyclic nature between the three parts of this novel - very expertly handled. I've read somewhere (probably Wikipedia) that Miller wrote the first two parts as separate short stories, then, on recognizing a parity between them, wrote the third with the intention of combining into a novel. A smart way to re-use good content!

The Latin, though - uggghh! I accept why it's there, establishing the dogma and ritual of a religious order, but it is so distracting. At first, I followed it and read through as usual, but in the end I found myself just skipping past the Latin bits. Probably missed a few things that way, but the effort just wasn't worth it.

I also felt that the third part wasn't up to the standard of the preceding two, at least not until we met Doctor Cors and the sick mother and child. From that point on, the story picked up again beautifully, ending on a poignant and prophetic note. The character of Mrs Grales (and Rachel) is beautiful.

An excellent and thorough review by Richard linked above.

Every sci-fi fan should read this memorable book! Check out Richard's in-depth review above if you need some more convincing. =) Has anyone read the "sequel" Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman? I might want to give that one a shot!

Marvin wrote: "Every sci-fi fan should read this memorable book! Check out Richard's in-depth review above if you need some more convincing. =) Has anyone read the "sequel" [book:Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Hors..."

Maybe that would be worth a group read if you'd like to nominate it in the next nominations topic!

Miller does a nice job with his authoring of this work, in my honest opinion. It eases the reader into the dystopia and the mysterious finds in the under ground "treasure." What was a bit lite for me was the fact that those items even buried would still radiate for at least as long as they were supposedly buried. The work is definitely a dystopic treasure, and it was clearly written with a good working knowledge on a wide range of subjects. Being a dystopia fan anyway, it was easy to read and a lot of fun to review. Glad y'all are enjoying it.

Richard W. Buro,
From Deep in the Heart of the Great Lone Star State