- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (15 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857989244
- ISBN-13: 978-1857989243
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 539,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez S.J., is a part of a four man scientific commission to the planet Lithia, there to study a harmonious society of aliens living on a planets which is a biologist's paradise. He soon finds himself troubled: how can these perfect beings, living in an apparent Eden, have no conception of sin or God? If such a sinless Eden has been created apart from God, then who is responsible?
About the Author
SALES POINTS * #30 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. * Winner of the Hugo Award in 1959 * Brilliants as fireworks J. D. Scott, Sunday Times * Blish brings to this case of conscience one of the most powerful intellects and one of the most diverse stories of knowledge, I would say ever to apply itself to science fiction Brian Aldiss
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Mish Mash of Ideas.,
By
This review is from: A Case Of Conscience (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)
I have to say I was disappointed with this book.It is only around 190 pages long and this means that there is very little scope to develop plot or characters. The premise of the story is that a planet inhabited by a Reptillian Race are monitored by a group of four scientists who each have a different fields to ascertain whether a relationship with Earth should ensue. One of the characters is a Jesuit who really does not know whether this Garden of Eden is all it seems -- Is Satans' work at hand?? Certainly the first 80 pages or so are interesting enough and sets the story up but all the religious arguments really become bogged down and I don't think really go anywhere. The final half really becomes silly and abit of a mish mash. It does become jumbled and seems to jump forward without a real explanation of whats happening. This book is really for the Masterwork Completist and would not recommend to the casual reader. Decent premise but ultimately a disappointment.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profound and unsettling, but brilliantly written.,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Case Of Conscience (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)
As a confirmed atheist who has always had trouble understanding how some people can be religious but still believe in evolution, I approached this novel with trepidation, and was close to giving up on a couple of occasions. However, the brilliance of Blish's earlier entry in the SF Masterworks series - Cities in Flight, persuaded me to continue, and I have to say that I'm very glad I did. Some people would say that religion has no relevance to science, and it is an opinion that the priest Ruiz Sanchez hears a great deal throughout the novel. By giving the character the chance to defend himself throughout the story, I have started to understand one thing about science and religion - that a person's beliefs do not have to be at odds with their skills as a scientist. Ruiz Sanchez is a biologist who believes in God, and as he points out himself in the book, that belief is a constant whether he is praying on earth or praying on a distant planet. He has reconciled the theory of evolution with the theory of Adam and Eve, and sees his faith and his science as being irrevocably intertwined, to the point where he is prepared to face eternal damnation for his decision about Lithia. As for the ending of the book : I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it, but who can really say what is responsible - the science of man or the hand of God ? A perturbing book but fabulously insightful, both for those with faith and those without.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true masterwork,
By
This review is from: A Case Of Conscience (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)
I have long known 'A Case of Conscience' as a rather long "short story", and did not realize that Blish had later added a second part to make it into a novel. I am still reading the latter, and finding it a little difficult to get into, but the first part is reason enough to buy the book. I ordered it for a Catholic priest friend of mine, since the hero is a Catholic priest, and I want to know what my friend thinks of Blish's theology (which, oddly for a science fiction work, is crucial to the plot - without making it a religious work, Blish himself having been agnostic). Now I have to finish the second part before I can give it to him, so that I can either recommend it in full or dismiss the second part!
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