CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY

CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY is another of my favorite science fiction books.

Written in 1957 as a juvenile book for Scribner's, this book deals with themes of slavery and freedom as a young slave boy who only knows his name as Thorby moves from planet to spaceship to planet as he grows up. And along the way he discovers that even after he is no longer a slave in the literal sense of the word, he is forced to give up a measure of his freedom in order to meet his adult responsibilities. A very complex book that was marketed to teenage boys.

My own relationship to this book is complex too. It was a gift to me from some friends of the family when I was about 12 or 13. I've probably re-read it every 5 years or so since then and I find that as I grow up more and more, I understand its complexities in new ways.

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A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ

A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ is one of my favorite books. I first read it when I was in my 20s and I've read it several additional times since then.

The book, winner of the science fiction Hugo Award in 1961, tells the story of the re-building of civilization after a nuclear war as seen through the eyes of the members of the Catholic order of St. Leibowitz, who live in an abbey in southern Utah. The book tells their story as humanity goes through a new Dark Age, a new Reniassance, and finally, a new Technological age that appears to be leading to a new nuclear war.

This book, more than any other Science Fiction book I've ever read, really lives up to the phrase "Science Fiction." At its heart, this book is about the relationship between knowledge, science, and faith and I highly recommend it.

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