A space-traveling Jesuit priest confronts a moral but godless alien race in this Hugo Award–winning novel by the author of the Cities in Flight saga. Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man, a Jesuit priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He doesn’t feel any genuine conflicts in his belief system—until he is sent to Lithia. The reptilian inhabitants of this distant world appear to be admirable in every way. Untroubled by greed or lust, they live in peace. But they have no concept of God, no literature, and no art. They rely purely on cold reason. But something darker lies beneath the surface: Do the Lithians pose a hidden threat? The answers that unfold could affect the fate of two worlds. Will Ruiz-Sanchez, a priest driven by his deeply human understanding of good and evil, do the right thing when confronted by a race that is alien to its core? The Science Fiction Encyclopedia lauds A Case of Conscience as “one of the first serious attempts to deal with religion [in science fiction], and [it] remains one of the most sophisticated. It is generally regarded as an SF classic.” Readers of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, or Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz will find this award-winning novel a gripping, compelling exploration of some of the most intractable and important questions faced by the human species. Includes an introduction by Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear.
A space-traveling Jesuit priest confronts a moral but godless alien race in this Hugo Award–winning novel by the author of the Cities in Flight saga. Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man, a Jesuit priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He doesn’t feel any genuine conflicts in his belief system—until he is sent to Lithia. The reptilian inhabitants of this distant world appear to be admirable in every way. Untroubled by greed or lust, they live in peace. But they have no concept of God, no literature, and no art. They rely purely on cold reason. But something darker lies beneath the surface: Do the Lithians pose a hidden threat? The answers that unfold could affect the fate of two worlds. Will Ruiz-Sanchez, a priest driven by his deeply human understanding of good and evil, do the right thing when confronted by a race that is alien to its core? The Science Fiction Encyclopedia lauds A Case of Conscience as “one of the first serious attempts to deal with religion [in science fiction], and [it] remains one of the most sophisticated. It is generally regarded as an SF classic.” Readers of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, or Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz will find this award-winning novel a gripping, compelling exploration of some of the most intractable and important questions faced by the human species. Includes an introduction by Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear.
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Find A Case of Conscience James Blish in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
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8 books in catalog
Exploration of galactic conflict, biological transformations, and speculative technological futures defined hard science fiction across dozens of novels, including the cosmic catastrophe classic The Forge of God. Author Greg Bear gained prominence as both a fiction writer and an illustrator, crafting intricate speculative settings grounded in cutting-edge science and evolutionary biology. In addition to his published speculative fiction, he helped establish San Diego Comic-Con as one of its original co-founders.
Born in San Diego, California, in 1951, Gregory Dale Bear grew up in a naval family, traveling to Japan, the Philippines, and Alaska during his childhood. He began writing fiction at an early age, completing his first short story while living in Alaska at age ten and publishing his first short story in Famous Science Fiction at age sixteen. After graduating with a degree from San Diego State College in 1969, Bear worked as a teacher, bookstore employee, planetarium staffer, and part-time journalist for publications like the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union. Over the course of his career, he published more than 30 novels and over 50 books in total, served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1988 to 1990, and won two Hugo Awards and five Nebula Awards before his death in 2022. His novel The Unfinished Land was published in 2021.
Bear's speculative fiction is characterized by rigorous hard science, detailed world-building, and deep inquiries into technological impact on human culture and consciousness. His major themes include accelerated evolution, artificial realities, galactic destruction, and social organization. Works such as Blood Music, Darwin's Radio, and Darwin's Children investigate cellular mutation and human evolutionary leaps, while Queen of Angels examines consciousness, psychology, and cultural practices in a technologically advanced society. In epic space operas and hard science fiction like Moving Mars and Eon, he explored complex planetary engineering and artificial multiverses.
8 books in catalog
Exploration of galactic conflict, biological transformations, and speculative technological futures defined hard science fiction across dozens of novels, including the cosmic catastrophe classic The Forge of God. Author Greg Bear gained prominence as both a fiction writer and an illustrator, crafting intricate speculative settings grounded in cutting-edge science and evolutionary biology. In addition to his published speculative fiction, he helped establish San Diego Comic-Con as one of its original co-founders.
Born in San Diego, California, in 1951, Gregory Dale Bear grew up in a naval family, traveling to Japan, the Philippines, and Alaska during his childhood. He began writing fiction at an early age, completing his first short story while living in Alaska at age ten and publishing his first short story in Famous Science Fiction at age sixteen. After graduating with a degree from San Diego State College in 1969, Bear worked as a teacher, bookstore employee, planetarium staffer, and part-time journalist for publications like the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union. Over the course of his career, he published more than 30 novels and over 50 books in total, served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1988 to 1990, and won two Hugo Awards and five Nebula Awards before his death in 2022. His novel The Unfinished Land was published in 2021.
Bear's speculative fiction is characterized by rigorous hard science, detailed world-building, and deep inquiries into technological impact on human culture and consciousness. His major themes include accelerated evolution, artificial realities, galactic destruction, and social organization. Works such as Blood Music, Darwin's Radio, and Darwin's Children investigate cellular mutation and human evolutionary leaps, while Queen of Angels examines consciousness, psychology, and cultural practices in a technologically advanced society. In epic space operas and hard science fiction like Moving Mars and Eon, he explored complex planetary engineering and artificial multiverses.
After Such Knowledge
After Such Knowledge
