A Case of Conscience Audiobook By James Blish cover art

A Case of Conscience

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A Case of Conscience

By: James Blish
Narrated by: Jay Snyder
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Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man - a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics...until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief.Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy -and risk the futures of both worlds . . .©1958 James Blish (P)2008 Audible, Inc. Adventure Hugo Award Science Fiction Space Opera Fiction

Critic reviews

Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1959

"Kudos to Audible Frontiers for carefully audiobooking this Hugo Award novel. A Case Of Conscience is an SF classic!" (SFFaudio.com)
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Very slow start. Had to concentrate, which is fine with me. Point well expressed and taken.

Great listen

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The Audible performance is stiff. However, this may be due to the writing. The novel, although imaginative, lacks a smooth authorial style. Yes, the novel was bestowed with prizes for its genre, the story lacked vivid clarity, convincing character development, an energetic structured plot, or a compelling story with smooth contours or a coalescence. It was a weary read, flat, unsatisfying.

Disappointed by the Audible performance and highly decorated novel

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Have you ever wonder how the Catholic church would deal with sentient extraterrestrial contact? This is a science fiction story first and a thought provoking theological and philosophical study second. Originally written as a novella, and then expanded into a novel it very much feels like two separate stories.

The strong story is of biologist, biochemist and Jesuit priest Fr. Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez. He is part of a scientific mission to determine what kind of relationship, if any, Earth should establish with the Lithians. A sentient lizard like species with no religion or concept of morality, yet instinctively established an idealistic Christian society. This causes the Priest to reach a rather unexpected, but plausible once explained, conclusion dealing with an area of theology I was unfamiliar with. I won't spoil the surprise but it causes a crisis of faith he must struggle with both internally and with the church.

The other weaker story deals with an alien egg being brought to Earth, raised essentially isolated in a lab, and introduced into human society. Without morals (not in their biology) he challenges the establishment and human nature.

The world is very well developed and thought out. The aliens are well realized, they are not just 'different humans.' They are lizard like who think differently and even scientifically evolved differently due to a lack of metals. It is well thought out and described.

However, like any classic science fiction the future didn't turn out the way the story tells it. Earth cities have turned into underground 'shelters' due to the nuclear cold war scare. It's an interesting alternative take and nothing too jarring. Interesting how influence of talk show personality and celebrity culture still relevant today.

Dealing with religion themes can be difficult but I thought it was handled well, with respect and the author has done his research.

In fact, I found the forward most interesting. The author accounts the feedback he'd received from theological scholars, including the actual Church's guidelines on dealing with extraterrestrials. Essentially there are three possibilities, the aliens have no soul, they have a soul and share our state of having fallen (original sin) or they haven't fallen an are in a state of grace.

If you like heavy themes of philosophy, morality, and not scared off by religious themes give it a read.

Sci-fi first, thought provoking theological second

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I read this on my quest to read all the Hugo SCI-FI best novel award winners. This one the award in 1959 and is no longer in print. Could not find it on amazon, but audible had it. As with much of the 50s and 60s, the story line is kind of apocalyptic, although this one has a different kind of twist. I will say it makes you think. It is a good book that pays attention to catholic doctrine (you will understand that when you read it) but takes kind of a difficult position on it.

It made me think. I was not sold in the end by the book, but it is thought provoking. The performance is good - not great.

Interesting story, okay performance

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Blish's concept of involving a man of the cloth to assess the advisability of human contact with an alien species is an outstanding entry in the seldom-touched interface between religion and sci-fi. This is complemented by masterful story-pacing and execution reminiscent of the Foundation Trilogy's economy of crisp plot progression. However, this applies only to "Book One" of the novel, which is the novella as Blish originally wrote it. "Book Two" is his attempt to make it into a full novel, and I almost wish I stopped at Book One. Nevertheless, an outstanding piece of work that should be on any serious reader's shelf--or Audible library.

Fantastic Concept Played Out Well

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