A Canticle for Leibowitz - Dystopias and Apocalypses - Extra Sci Fi
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- A Canticle for Leibowitz is a book about cycles and violence--about the cost of progress. But it is also about the persistence of humanity's quest for knowledge and endless resilience. Unlike other post-apocalyptic fiction tropes, it is focused on the lives and goings of everyday people, rather than on the setting itself, and is a critical work to study if you want to understand the post-apocalyptic genre better.
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Inspired by his own experience being part of the bombing campaign that leveled the ancient
monastery of Monte Cassino during World War 2. and the fear of nuclear annihilation that gripped America during the Cold War, Walter M. Miller Jr. imagined the world in a brand new dark age, ushered in by the hubris of humankind--in the only novel he ever published.
Extra Credits more history please I am a history nerd
Oh my God finally something where religion is good
Hey, there is a grafic novel from Argentina call "El Eternauta" thats another post apocaliptic "novel" that i think ir will be good yo ser un this section.
PD. Sorry for the vas writing my narices language is spanish.
Thank you so much! I have been hoping that you would do this video in the future and you’ve turned my whole day around! Thank you for listening!
Hey guys, I'm really loving this series, keep up the great work!
Do you have a recommended reading list posted anywhere?
"everyone knows how to make another human, but the secrets to making a P94 plasma rifle are all but lost." - Brotherhood of Steel
It’s all good just go find a vendor and they got plenty in stock at least…in fallout 4
@@OGSpaceMarineThe P94 isnt really a rifle its a heavy plasma gun also known as a plasma caster
@@inzyniertv9305 Oh Gunners then
@@OGSpaceMarine Not even them have it, mostly the Enclave
@@inzyniertv9305 Depends on what level and if the Enclave are around
You guys, this book is SO GOOD.
One thing I've got to impress on people is that it's surprisingly funny, and the characters bounce off one another in fun ways. In particular I like the contrasts of the three Abbots we see across the segments.
Funny seeing you here!
I was surprised that I found a laugh on almost every page…truly a standout gem in the genre
"Forgive me father, I ate a lizard."
It's quite refreshing to see religion in a science fiction being used like this. Reminds me of what the monasteries in our own time had to do after the Fall of Rome, preserve knowledge.
They didn't though, the monasteries became important after the reconquista, for translating and copying classical works that were preserved by Islamic scholars. Until then, they pretty much just copied Christian tracks.
Lucid, you are wrong, the monasteries and nunneries copied the works of antiquity constantly since the Fall of the West and not just Christian works. Just because the Islamic world and Byzantine Empire did still have other records does not make this any less true. And people in Middle Ages had much richer understanding of ancient world many people understand.
@@sarasamaletdin4574 People tend to think of Medieval peoples as backward idiots with no understanding of anything, but the truth is so much more complex than that. And interesting.
@@sarasamaletdin4574 Exactly. The rediscovery of the Classics within monasteries was the fuel for the early Renaissance; exactly paralleled by Miller in Canticle.
I'm taking a course on early medieval history and we're reading this book to show how media has made that same connection and whether or not it is fully true
I must admit, i screamed like a child when i saw you made a video on this. Truly a master piece, and a book you must read to have a better view in postapocaliptyc genre
One of the most underrated dystopias, a true masterpiece overshadowed by 1984 and Brave New World.
Miller’s story is also worth telling.
This is my favourite book ever. Congrats on your initiative!
This is a pleasant surprise, not enough people know of this story.
This has been in my "to read" pile since I played fallout 1.
I sometimes use that pile as a support beam.
You too? I got enough piles to make a scale parthenon
Another 3 years on, is the "to read" pile any smaller?
Or rather, how much bigger is it now?
@@loadeddice4696 * manic laughter that dissolves into sobbing *
List your apocalypse books since you played fallout
- The Book on this video
- The Road (prepare to be horrified)
- The Postman (For me it was the Movie then I found the audiobook, I definitely love the book more)
-
Props to them for copying the Minecraft guide. The art of redstone shall not be lost
The Redstone Clock keeps ticking...
Just curious, why would you use the symbol of an ideology that killed 90 million people as your profile pic?
@@atticusbeachy3707 it's a meme
Atticus Beachy Uh oh BOOMER ALERT BOOMER ALERT
Yes
Woohoo! I've been waiting for this one.
"Perdition! Progress! Perdition! Progress!"
No mention of the books oddest and, to me at least, most memorable character, the (probably) Wandering Jew?
relevant
The man who took the entire nation of Israel upon himself
A spiritu fornicationis
Domine, libera nos
From the Lightning and the Tempest
Oh Lord, deliver us
From the scourge of the earthquake
Oh Lord, deliver us
From plague, famine, and war
Oh Lord deliver us
From the place of ground zero
Oh Lord deliver us
From the rain of the cobalt
Oh Lord deliver us
From the rain of the strontium
Oh Lord deliver us
From the fall of the cesium
Oh Lord deliver us
From the curse of the Fallout
Oh Lord deliver us
From the begetting of monsters
Oh Lord deliver us
From the curse of the Misborn
Oh Lord deliver us
A morte perpetua
Domine, libera nos
Peccatores
te rogamus, audi nos,
That thou wouldnst spare us
We beseech thee, hear us
That thou wouldnst pardon us
We beseech thee, hear us
That thou wouldnst bring us truly to penance
te rogamus, audi nos.
amen
Yes.
Amen
And then you read the actual Litany of the Saints and there is a section just like this.
Amen
That was by far the most impressive book I've ever read. I wish he wrote more.
Reminds me of those times I used to hear about how monks used to be the only ones capable of writing books, and how they'd have to painstakingly recreate every page by hand. Nothing but props to those kinds of guys back then :)
Oh man I didn't think they would feature this book. One of my favs!
If you're a fan of the Fallout series, then you HAVE to be read this book. The creators of that game were heavily inspired by this novel, and factions like The Followers of the Apocalypse and the Brotherhood of Steel are directly inspired by the activities of the monks. It's also where Fallout gets a lot of its goofy humor.
Wasteland 1.
All Fallout did was steal.
@@JoshSweetvale Nope. Wasteland 1 was extremely bland compared to Fallout.
Forgive me Father. I ate a lizard.
natural or prepared?
@Skelley-Priest I was quoting the book too
I laughed so hard I just read this part 10 mins ago
Gosh, imagine not covering the book's robust Catholic meaning. It's like that Disney Tolkein theme that just misses the most important thing the author wants to impart on the reader.
Yes I use this in my classes. The book provides excellent discourses on the actual theological ideas of miracles, original sin, and lukewarmness. I.e. miracles are to show God's presence not breaking the laws of nature. As Man strive to recreate metaphorical Eden with modern comforts they just hit the uncanny valley and see all the missing things; therefore smash everything. And how "Comfort" from the "Mercy Camps" is a horrible portrayal of Jesus the Christus.
Wow, this sounds like an amazing book
Thanks for the recommendation, and the insights into its message. Absolutely love this vid
If this reminds you Babylon 5 fans of the Abby segment of The Deconstruction of Falling Stars, good catch. JMR got about halfway through the segment and went "Oh Sh!#" this is Liebowitz. After realizing just how many have followed that road, (even bits of Asimov's Foundation series), he then finished writing the scene.
I absolutely loved this book. One of those rare gems that I couldn't put down and didn't want to end. It is a brilliant work.
This, and Asimov's foundation series, are my two favorite Science Fiction novels, and this one tanks in my top ten "must read" stories.
The thing about the historical Dark Ages (that we know of) is that they weren't all THAT dark and human kind continued to advance. Further the "Dark Age" that followed the fall of Rome as only "Dark" in Western Europe.
The idea of the dark ages is so Christian-Eurocentric
It's dark because a lot of things happened, and we know little about them. Tho' the official term is Early Medieval Period, or Early Middle Ages.
@@lucaswatson1913 And what country were you born and live in?
@@RifleEyez Great Britain
I just finished this book and wow. I feel like I'm going to have to sit with it for a while to unpack it. Thanks for recommending this book!
6:24-6:33 I'd say that both of those are equally true and realistic. Sometimes changing the world takes a group effort by many people. Sometimes it takes an individual or a small group.
Need to read this again.
What stuck with me from the last time I read it was the monks' understanding, building over generations, of what they were copying.
That and the holy significance attached to what was essentially the contents of an abandoned lunchbox.
Makes you wonder about our contemporary understanding of what went before us.
One of my fav sci-fi books, on a par with Clifford D. Simak's 'Cities', another very similar story of a long past era worth being revived out of the ashes (in one case, revived by monks, in the other one by dogs)...
I love Simak, and City is one of his best. I keep a copy on my bookcase. Another novel that was very Simak-like was The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett. She normally wrote space opera, crime novels and screenplays, but this stands out as her best novel.
An amazing book, one of the most underrated sci fi classics
Please make sure Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" is on your to-do list!
Yes! So good
Le Guin's Darkness, truly a unique take on the future. loved it.
I hope you get into Japanese Sci-fi and Cyberpunk.
@@jens6851 ghost in the shell, Akira, etc.
@@wheretowatch5568 Or Girls' Last Tour
Where To Watch
Serial Experiments Lain, and Texhnolyze
You'll like them if you like Akira and GitS
Likely though, they’ll do William Gibson’s Neuromancer and its influences on anime like Ghost in the Shell. Gibson is also important for also coining Cyberspace in the short story, Burning Chrome.
There are two kinds of scientific progress: the methodical experimentation and categorization which gradually extend the boundaries of knowledge, and the revolutionary leap of genius which redefines and transcends those boundaries. Acknowledging our debt to the former, we yearn, nonetheless, for the latter.
-- Academician Prokhor Zakharov
AW HECK YES, you guys talk about the best books that get neglected.
Such a good book, but don't forget Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Women, published post-mortem, also excellent, though slower paced than Canticle. (And at 5:03 did you mean "anachronism"?)
Much of the classical world that was relearned during the Renaissance was from classical works that were preserved in monasteries.
Pure awesomeness...
Is, of course, the name of a futuristic book about the dystopian future that awaits us in a world devoted to maximizing awesomeness!
My favorite book read many times since the 70's. Brother Francis pray for us!
I hope we never reach the point where such a monastic institution becomes necessary, but I fear that we may rapidly be approaching such a scenario. I hope we are smarter and more resilient than that.
Thank you so much for covering this book! Such a great novel - a fascinating use of monastic practice and faith in the post-apocalyptic landscape, and definitely a must-read in terms of the sci-fi canon.
1:35 He has three hands!
That pesky Fallout will do a number on you!
And if you like this one, you really need to read Lord of the World by Robert Hughes Benson
How much did this inspire the Galactica reboot, I wonder?
"All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again."
My steam name is Rain of Cobalt because of this novel, I’ve read it 3 times and discovered something new every read through
This is my favorite book, I love the cyclical nature and the writing style
"I ate the lizard."
So glad to see A Canticle for Leibowitz get its due!
PLEASE DO CITY! Clifford D. Simak deserves the recognition, and it's actually several dystopian/post apocalypse stories nested inside a framing device that is itself one of the greatest post apocalyptic stories ever. Whenever i even think about the dogs and Jenkins for too long i start to weep. You guys have a lot of reach, help this book gain it's classic status.
I love this Dystopian series!
Monk 1: "I finished rewriting Hogfather. Can I rewrite the Warhammer 40K lore?"
Monk 2: "Carlos is already rewriting the Warhammer 40K lore. Can you rewrite the Hunger Games books?"
Monk 1: "Aren't all the young adult books about the same stuff?"
Monk 2: "Yes, but this one has... birds?"
Monk 1: "Ah shit, here we go again."
A remarkable work. One of my favorites.
I’ve probably read this book 10 times. It just gets better with each read.
I was hoping you'd do a canticle for leibowitz soon! Such a favorite of mine.
Yo can yall do left hand of darkness, since you're covering sci fi canon pieces.
+
Good analysis of Walter Miller's classic novel.
People should know that Texarkana is a major city and a capital in this novel.
You guys need to make an Extra Sci-Fi video on Command and Conquer?
Sounds good
Guys, your videos are so addictive! I really enjoy them and watch them more than once!
Such an amazing book. The full cast free audiobook is here: www.oldradioworld.com/shows/A_Canticle_for_Liebowitz.php
I've never even heard of this book. Now I'm curious.
I love post-apocalyptic stuff, I truly do.But goddamn, was Leibowitz ever boring.Truth be told, I never even finished it.The part of mutants, pope in texarkana - I damn near nodded off.Gave the book away, never thought of it again, until this video.
Not surprised. Have seen similar reactions. I'd say the core theme of the first part is: The eduring power of patience. These days, something that's in short supply.
Just finished this book. What an amazing read!!!!
Dammit! This is almost exactly the outlier of what imagined my breakthrough novel would be about! So no Nobel prize for me I guess, but another interesting read added to the list!
Correct
Read this in high school. And then many times since. Might be time for another go at it!
This is probably what the Adeptus Mechanicus think they look like
praise the omnissiah
0101010011011011010110110101001011011010110010101
@@angelgris001 MAY THE MACHINE SPIRITS BE PLEASED
That reminded me, i've got to hit the grocery store today.. must make a list.
One of the great sci fi stories
A new video! Saint Leibowitz be praised!
My favourite sci fi/post apocalitpic media! Thanks!
OOh, I was hoping you all would do this one.
Let there be blood, iron and weeping.
As a lapsed Catholic and now atheist.
This is one of my favourite books ever.
The faith at the heart of the story really touched me.
Do a video on Pat Frank's "Alas Babylon ", please.
This is literally my favorite book of all time
My single favorite novel of all time
This was an optional book to read in one of my history classes. I bought it because it was thinner than some of the other ones. It was a good read. All of these years later I still remember it.
Isn't that the test of a great book? Remembering it years later?
I LOVE this story!
Man, I might actually need to give this a read, certainly one of the more creative types of post apocalyptic fiction i've ever heard of!
One of the few books I've keep decade after decade, move after move.
One of the inspirations for Warhammer 40,000.
Oh man this is one of my favorite books!
i really liked the illustrations in this video
One of my favorite Sci Fi books of all time. thanks!
Having read all of these books, albeit decades ago, this is a fun series.
That said, I doubt the cycle discussed. We have stripped the Earth of all easy to reach resources, I don't think anyone who survives the next collapse will ever be able to rise again.
The sequel (I'm currently listening to the audiobook) talks about how the mines are almost empty and people look for metals in the ruins of cities. They also note petroleum is a big problem.
@@Speederzzz awesome. Who wrote it?
@@PtolemyJones The first 2/3rds of the book are by the same author and the last bit was done by Terry Bisson I believe
@@Speederzzz I wonder about the differences of working iron, and worked metals like steel. Not that I expect I expect you to know, I am just curious... harder or easier.
@@PtolemyJones I don't know if there is a difference, but I do know you can forge steel into weapons with more primitive forging methodes. (Seen a few times in episodes of Forged in Fire) The main thing they discuss (up to the 1/5th part where I am) is Hannegan getting copper for a telegraph line
I absolutely adore that book!
Do one about the classical Fallout games. They are spectacular in terms of themes and writing.
Best sci-fi book ever
After the End, an game mod, is inspired by this book.
yassssss i love this channel you guys should post more often
wonderful book, truly amazing!
my great-uncle Leslie was at the battle of Casino
I was just thinking if there is some good talk about Canticle on RUclips and bang! EC to the rescue!
You guys should really consider doing world war Z as part of the apocalypse series
Yes! I was hoping you'd do this book. It's one of my favorites.
Fiat voluntas tua is a phrase in pater noster
Okay, just asking hypothetically, is this a book that can be read even when you're a bit depressed or melancholic? Or is this something that based on it's subject matter is just gonna make you feel more tiny and insignificant than you would probably already feel because that is what I get with a lot of Sci-fi post apocalyptic "in the far future the world I know has gone to shit because of geopolitical hubris" type of stuff. Is this that?
A very compelling video, the book has been added to my reading list.
Legitimately my favorite book!
always fun to learn from you guys!
Bought this after your video. Amazing book thanks.
Amazing book, highly recommended.
And, I see what you did there with the Monty Python & The Holy Grail monks at 2:43
Excited for this. Thank you!
SPOILER ALERT
The opening monologue is from the end of the book, not the beginning.