# A Canticle for Leibowitz

![Book cover of A Canticle for Leibowitz](/books/covers/a_canticle_for_leibowitz.jpg)

by [Walter M. Miller Jr.](/books/authors/walter_m_miller_jr/)
Book 1 of [Saint Leibowitz](/books/series/saint_leibowitz/)
Awards: [Hugo](/books/by-award/#hugo-award)
★★★★☆

## Review

_A Canticle for Leibowitz_, by Walter M. Miller Jr.,
is the first book in the _Saint Leibowitz_ series. It is a fix-up
novel consisting of three parts: _Fiat
Homo_, _Fiat Lux_, and _Fiat Voluntas Tua_. The story follows the
monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz as they preserve the remains of
humanity's knowledge after an atomic war.

The major theme of the book is the cyclical nature of humanity's fall and the
question: "Are we doomed to repeat it?" Other themes include the conflict
between faith and reason, the double-edged sword of knowledge, and the nature
of suffering and sin.

It is an _explicitly_ Catholic book, if that wasn't clear from the fact that
it's about monks. In that way, it reminds me a lot of [Gene Wolfe](/books/authors/gene_wolfe/)'s [_The Book of the New Sun_](/books/series/the_book_of_the_new_sun/) and [Dan Simmons](/books/authors/dan_simmons/)'s [_Hyperion_](/books/hyperion/). All three authors mix Catholic theology
with science fiction, but it goes deeper than that. They share a Catholic
worldview: institutional faith is central, pain and suffering are core themes,
and their far-future worlds feel ancient and burdened by the past.

[fall]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_man

### _Fiat Homo_ {#fiat-homo}

Hundreds of years after the "Flame Deluge" destroyed civilization, a young
novice named Brother Francis Gerard discovers a fallout shelter containing
relics---a shopping list, a blueprint, etc.---from his order's founder: the
Blessed Leibowitz. Abbot Arkos worries the serendipitous discovery will
disrupt Leibowitz's canonization, but he can't dissuade Gerard's obsession.
Gerard spends 15 years creating an illuminated version of the blueprint before
having it stolen on his journey to New Rome to witness the beatification of
Leibowitz. He is killed by mutants on the way home.

In this section, we see civilization beginning its cycle again. We also see
the smaller cycles Miller works into his stories: Gerard's
repeated encounters with the buzzards, who finally eat him, and the way the
[Wandering Jew][wandering_jew] both starts and ends the section.

[wandering_jew]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew

### _Fiat Lux_ {#fiat-lux}

Hundreds of years later, humans are starting to build empires again. Thon
Taddeo, a scientist and heir to the Texarkana kingdom, visits the Abbey to
study the Memorabilia. Some monks are also studying the old texts and use them
to invent an arc lamp. Abbot Paulo is caught between the rise of secular power
and knowledge, and the mission his brotherhood has upheld for hundreds of
years.

The clearest theme is the tension between religion and science, with the monks
not fully trusting the Thon, nor their own Brother Kornhoer, who invents the
lamp. The theme also shows up in the Church preparing to physically defend
itself from the state, which wants to use it as a fort in its conquest of the
plains, and Taddeo's refusal to take responsibility for his cousin's use of
science in war.

In this section, Taddeo wonders if humans are the servants of a higher race
that created them, based on a piece from the Memorabilia---a reference to the
play _R.U.R._ by Karel Čapek.[^robot]

[^robot]: _R.U.R._ is the origin of the word "Robot".

### _Fiat Voluntas Tua_ {#fiat-voluntas-tua}

In the far future, humanity has once again conquered the atom and is on the
brink of war, taking us full circle back to the beginning of the book. Abbot
Zerchi prepares some of the brothers for a trip to human colonies in the stars
to preserve the Order while waiting for nuclear annihilation on Earth.

Miller continues the theme of conflict between the realm
of man and the realm of God, much more openly. Abbot Zerchi spends pages
arguing with a doctor about whether people should be allowed government
euthanasia after receiving a fatal dose of radiation. The Abbot, following
Catholic doctrine, says no under any circumstances. Zerchi eventually has the
argument again with a woman and her child who are dying of radiation
poisoning. Knowing as we do now that Miller eventually
committed suicide, the argument feels less like a theological exercise and
more like a man trying to steady himself with his own faith.

At the end, the nuclear war resumes and Zerchi is trapped when the church
collapses. The two-headed mutant Mrs. Grales finds him---except her
child-head, Rachel, is in control. He realizes that Rachel was born without
sin when she rejects his attempt to baptize her and instead administers the
[Eucharist][eucharist] to him.

[eucharist]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist

Rachel is an interesting character, despite her short time in the story. She
is a [new Eve][new_eve], representing the start of the cycle again. She
embodies the [Mary][mary] archetype, which Zerchi recognizes when he begins
praying the [Magnificat][magnificat]---the canticle Mary spoke when she
visited Elizabeth in the _Bible_. She is also a Christ-like figure: she
was born of Mrs. Grales alone; humanity's temptation to give in to euthanasia,
and Zerchi himself trapped and dying in agony, can be interpreted as the
[Apostasy][apostasy] that Catholics think will precede [Jesus's
return][second_coming]. Rachel arrives right before humanity destroys itself
again, necessitating the [final judgment][last_judgment].

[new_eve]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Eve
[mary]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_mother_of_Jesus
[magnificat]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat
[apostasy]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy
[second_coming]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Coming
[last_judgment]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Judgment

In a way, Rachel also reminds me of Athena. Both sprout from their parent,
both are virginal, and both are symbols of knowledge. But while Athena is tied
to civilization and war---she is born fully clothed and armed---Rachel is a
being of "primal innocence" and represents a return to Eden.[^eden] Once again
it's the theme of secular versus spiritual knowledge, but this time Rachel
signals the end of the age of Athena.

[^eden]:
    > He did not ask why God would choose to raise up a creature of primal
    > innocence from the shoulder of Mrs. Grales, or why God gave to it the
    > preternatural gifts of Eden---those gifts which Man had been trying to
    > seize by brute force again from Heaven since first he lost them.

### Legacy

Miller asks, "Are we doomed to repeat the fall?" _A Canticle for Leibowitz_'s answer is "yes". Humanity first fell when they were [banished
from Eden][fall], after the serpent promised Adam and Eve knowledge of good
and evil. The second fall was the "Flame Deluge", the nuclear war that scoured
the earth right before the novel takes place. And the third comes at the end
of the book, when humanity loses Earth.

I really enjoyed _A Canticle for Leibowitz_. [_Fiat Homo_](/books/a_canticle_for_leibowitz/#fiat-homo) is a little slow, but [_Fiat Lux_](/books/a_canticle_for_leibowitz/#fiat-lux) does
a great job capturing a moment from the Abbey and the wider world, with the
courage to end the section without over-explaining. And [_Fiat Voluntas Tua_](/books/a_canticle_for_leibowitz/#fiat-voluntas-tua) brings a
growing sense of dread for the coming war while echoing and reinforcing the
themes from earlier in the book, bringing the cycle back around one last time.

You can see the influence of _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ all over the genre. The
Brotherhood of Steel in _Fallout_ is similar to the Order, preserving
technology after a nuclear war. There is also the Adeptus Mechanicus from _Warhammer 40,000_, who use sacred rituals to preserve technology and, like Abbot
Zerchi, refer to AI as "abominable". A religious order preserving knowledge is
also the key plot point in Stephenson's _Anathem_.

Mad Bear in [_Fiat Lux_](/books/a_canticle_for_leibowitz/#fiat-lux) reminds me of the Lord of the Mountain from [Stirling](/books/authors/s_m_stirling/)'s [_Ancestral Voices_](/books/the_unconquerable/#ancestral-voices) and [_The Sixth Sun_](/books/last_stand/#the-sixth-sun). The general
post-apocalyptic fantasy world had a similar feel to Christopher's _Sword of the Spirits_. The dread of the coming nuclear war in [_Fiat Voluntas Tua_](/books/a_canticle_for_leibowitz/#fiat-voluntas-tua) made me feel the
same way I did when reading Stross's [_Cthulhu Mythos_](/books/series/cthulhu_mythos/) inspired _A Colder War_.

I don't know if I'll read the sequel, _Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman_, which was published after
the author's death and half written by Terry Bisson. The reviews are mixed,
and I worry it will be an unnecessary coda, like [_The Urth of the New Sun_](/books/the_urth_of_the_new_sun/) was to [_The Book of the New Sun_](/books/series/the_book_of_the_new_sun/). But I will be reading Miller's [_The Darfsteller_](/books/the_darfsteller/) shortly. It's a novelette about machines replacing humans in the arts,
which couldn't be more timely with the release of Generative AI. Before any of
that though, I'm going to read the new version of [qntm](/books/authors/qntm/)'s [_There Is No Antimemetics Division_](/books/there_is_no_antimemetics_division/) which
just released. I'm looking forward to it!

## Reviews that mention _A Canticle for Leibowitz_
- [_The Fall of Hyperion_](/books/the_fall_of_hyperion/)
- [_Last Stand_](/books/last_stand/)
- [_On Basilisk Station_](/books/on_basilisk_station/)
- [_The Rise of Endymion_](/books/the_rise_of_endymion/)

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