A Case of Conscience by James Blish

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about James Blish's A Case of Conscience.

The Short of It

Plot: What if alien society was just too perfect?
Page Count: 188

Award: 1959 Hugo

Worth a read: No, but a soft no.
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Fail
Technobabble: Plenty
Review: Not bad, but not that great. It's mostly world building, which is half baked. Also the religion stuff doesn't really do it for me - possibly because the characters are each one character trait, so there's no depth to zealotry.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

This book is divided into two distinct halves.  The first focuses on the exploration of a planet (Lithia) with a new, sentient species (the Lithians). They are moral and reasonable, have science, and coexist peacefully. The main character is a Jesuit priest; he and a number of others have to determine whether or not the planet should become part of the broader tapestry of interconnected worlds. There are excellent dialogues between Father Ruiz-Sanchez and the Lithians as well as interesting explorations of their technology.

The other supporting cast are not particularly engaging; one is aggressive, another is not, and everyone is forgettable. 

The second half of the book is about the member of this species and his development back on Earth.  There's no good way to go spoiler-free on this section, so I will say simply that it goes in many directions that one would not expect.

Consider reading the first half, on its own. It's an enjoyable depiction of aliens who truly act alien, and has some very well written moments and interactions. Don't put it high on the list, but if you're doing a "Jesuits in Space" reading group, well, here you go!

If you do opt to read it, I'd appreciate if you use the link below. I'll get a couple cents, and I'll use that to keep chugging that sweet sweet book nectar.

This is the thing to click!

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

This is going to be pretty plot heavy, because that's the easiest way to make it clear how this story falls apart.

So, the twist is that this planet may or may not have been created by Satan. So, that's a thing.

The first half is interesting and provides a coherent narrative, if not much plot. I enjoyed the interactions with the Lithians; the aliens truly act alien, which is great. The characters are rather bland. Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a Jesuit; that is his identity, and we are therefore supposed to use that to justify his actions and perspective. His fear is that the Lithians have no religion and no concept of it, and may have been placed there by the Devil to tempt people. Part of his reasoning for this is that each Lithian evolves as it grows - from a water creature to a tadpole type thing to a land animal to a reasoning creature. He fears that this would prove evolution.  It's unclear if we're supposed to support the Lithians or Father Ruiz-Sanchez; the most likable character in the book is one of the aliens.

It's a bit much, or at least I thought so until I got to part two, which is basically incoherent.

We shift from learning about the Lithians to a military-industrial Earth where everyone lives in bunkers.  Not nearly enough time is spent on this whole situation, because we gotta go to crazy town. The Lithian brought to Earth, Egtverchi (say that three times fast) grows to be monstrous. He causes riots, which lead to the death of some of the characters from the first half. They're all forgettable, so it's fine.

Also, genetically modified bees happen. There's a longer explanation for that than most parts of this book. They don't matter, but hey, they're there.

Ruiz-Sanchez meets with the Pope, which seems way too easy to do, and is told that perhaps the planet was an illusion, or he should have done an exorcism for the whole planet.

Then they go to the Moon, which again is just a thing that happens, and use an instantaneous telescope to watch Lithia. There are experiments going on on Lithia, and Father Ruiz-Sanchez says an exorcism and the planet explodes.

The first half is fun. The second is a fever dream. I don't know what else to say about it.

Please plant some flowers to help some bees, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!