A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller Jr.

Jan 2007 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by Tom Weiner

About this audiobook

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature—a chilling and still-provocative look at a postapocalyptic future.

In a nightmarish, ruined world, slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infantile rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes.

Seriously funny, stunning, tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.

Ratings and reviews

I was eager to read this considering all the public acclaim, but I have to admit that it didn't hit the mark for me. The first section of the book had me believing this was going to be an all time favorite of mine. It was intelligent and funny and witty. I simply loved everything about it. However, the 2nd and 3rd sections lacked the charm and humor that engaged me initially. The writing was still skillful but the story became convoluted and directionless for me.

Loved this book. At first I was so perplexed, but by the end I was astounded.

Exceptional! An engrossing performance of a haunting and at times humorous tale.

About the author

Walter M. Miller, Jr., (1923–1996) grew up in the American South and enlisted in the Army Air Corps a month after Pearl Harbor. He spent most of World War II as a radio operator and tail gunner, participating in more than fifty-five combat sorties, among them the controversial destruction of the Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino, the oldest monastery in the Western world. Fifteen years later he wrote A Canticle for Leibowitz. The sequel, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, published posthumously and completed by a different author, followed nearly forty years later.

Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.