A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
I picked this book up for .10 at the local library book sale. I had no idea what this was before finding it. It is funny because my eye was drawn to the title and it turns out that this is exactly my kind of book. I just love when serendipity rears its pretty face!
Anyway, I am halfway through this book and I am loving it. It centers around a Monastic Order dedicated to obtaining Sainthood for its founder, I.E. Leibowitz, a 20th century engineer. The cause for the canonization is furthered upon one Monks discovery of an underground chamber, pointed out to him by a mysterious traveler (who all start to think was an apparition of the Beatus Leibowitz), which turned out to contain relics of I.E. Leibowitz. There is a message writtin in his hand that draws the awe of all:
The time frame of the opening is 300-400 years after the Flame Deluge (it is an apocalypse story after all) and the world was doused in ignorance because the "Simpletons", a name proudly adopted by those that sought to exterminate the learned ones of society, for they were accused of being responsible for the destruction, destroyed all forms of knowledge from the time before the Deluge.
The Order of Leibowitz have appointed themselves to preserve all knowledge they can find, even though they do not understand a lick of it, until someone can put the pieces back together. The whole endeavor is shrouded in religious ritual and clerical authority. Overall, this is a fun read and also speaks on the nature of human folly.
Good read.
Mr. P.
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