Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing sequel to an sf classic
Review: A Canticle for Leibowitz is a major classic of science fiction, one of the true must-reads of the genre. Therefore I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I found it confusing and unengaging. I had a hard time figuring out who was who (since every character seems to have two or three names) and why they were doing what they were doing. Sometimes a chapter would flash-forward to a couple of characters a few weeks later, with no explanation of the meantime. I don't know-perhaps it's just me, but I never got into it and ended up finishing it more out of duty than pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Too Bad The Flame Deluqe Didn't Devour This Sequel
Review: Dreary beyond belief. None of the ambition, novelty, or epic scope of A Canticle For Leibowitz. As a stand-alone novel, there is no particular reason to recommend the novel: no clever prose, no serious philosophical point-of-view, no compelling plot. What you do get is cardboard characters with multiple names, intricate detail of tribal customs that add little to the story, and a convoluted story it is at that. I felt, while reading this book to its long-delayed conclusion, like I was riding a lame nomad pony through a barren desert, praying for a quick end to my suffering.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed glimpse down a deep vista
Review: First, forget Saint Leibowitz. His only major appearance is on the title page. It's a hundred years or two on from the events in the second section of "A Canticle for Leibowitz." The Nomad hordes of the plains, and the clergy of the captive church in New Rome, have grown restive under the yoke of Texark. Something's got to give.

In this book, we have a large fragment of what would have been a superb novel. It doesn't have the youthful energy or the tight plotting of Miller's earlier masterpiece. And had he survived to complete and polish it, I suspect it would still lack those qualities. SLATWHW is much more a work of realism. If it moves slowly and wanders loosely, well, real life - and especially real history - are like that, too.

As we now have it, the novel breaks a few implicit contracts. First, we expect the on-again, mostly off-again love story between Brother Blacktooth and the mutant AEdrea to reach some climactic reunion or breakup. Despite the transparently tacked-on final chapter, it does no such thing. Second, we expect the forces of unambiguous evil, the Hannegan empire and its lackey churchmen, to be defeated by the forces of ambiguous good. It doesn't work out that way. Third, the Church with its supposed monopoly on miracles, and AEdrea with her secular wild talent for healing, are on an obvious collision course. No showdown comes. Though the book does have its boring stretches, I think it's this cheating of expectations that accounts for many of the one and two star reviews here.

But for all the strands left untied in the personal hopes and fears of the main characters, Miller leaves no loose threads in the four-dimensional world he has imagined. If you want to get the greatest pleasure out of the book, for instance, don't make the mistake of lumping all the "Nomads" together. Each tribe has its own history, customs, leaders - and by the time you're halfway through, you'll realize there *will* be a quiz.

What kept me reading was the density of the imagined cultural and political detail, and the fully rounded portrayals of the two main characters - Blacktooth and the ambitious Cardinal Brownpony - each full of contradictions, each always recognizably himself. The supporting cast, from the (unfortunately ever mysterious) AEdrea, to the mystical headsman Axe, to the holy fool who becomes Pope Amen II ("We should always be ashamed to speak of God in the third person"), may not be as complex, but they are worth getting to know.

Lurking in the crevices of SLATWHW is a five-star work. If only the hermit of Leibowitz Abbey had loaned Miller a few more decades of his longevity! But as it is, I rate it at three and a half stars. The writing is spotty, and too much stays unresolved. Fans will be left peering into the face of this volume, only to pull away saying, respectfully but sadly, "It's still not him."

Rating:
Summary: My work on Miller's masterpiece
Review: For those who are interested, I describe the experience of completing SAINT LEIBOWITZ AND THE WILD HORSE WOMAN after Miller's death on my website at
http://www.sff.net/people/tbisson/miller.html

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: Having read the late Walter Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz" in the 70's and reread it several times in the ensuing decades, I was pleased, and a bit surprised, to see a copy of his newest work "Saint Leibowitz and the Wild horse Woman" in a second hand book shop. After reading it I am no longer surprised at where I found it . The book is opaque and disjointed with only a vaguely outlined plot that goes nowhere in particular. I got the impression that Miller was trying to recapture the sprit of his earlier work but he ended up being a poor imitation of himself. If you want to read "Saint Leibowitz and the Wild horse Woman" to compare it to the earlier work, there will be at least one used copy back on the market.

Rating:
Summary: Not "everyone" needs their sci fi fed to them from a bottle.
Review: I am giving this book five stars to try to somewhat offset the plethora of "1 star" reviews. As I don't plan to "stuff the ballot box", it is more a token gesture. Walter M. Miller Jr. was one of the most gifted writers ever to write science fiction. A Canticle for Leibowitz, yes, but also his short fiction shows a command of the language that few of his contemporaries could match. I won't even begin to talk about current day writers, as the majority of their output compares favorably with the old "Dick and Jane" learn-to-read books.

I read A Canticle for Leibowitz in 1971, believe it or not, it was assigned reading in an English class. When I chanced upon Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman last year, I was thrilled to find it. What did I find? No, it's not up to A Canticle for Leibowitz in grace or content, but it is still an absorbing read. For those readers who can't take a little off-the-middle-of-the-road sexuality, and characterizations, relationships and plotting that makes them use the parts of their brains that TV and movies never awaken, I don't recommend it. For those who like to be enriched and challenged by what they read, try it. By all means, please read A Canticle for Leibowitz first, and then approach Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman not so much as a sequel but as a new story set in the same world, a possible future world that should chill you to the bone.

Rating:
Summary: Not "everyone" needs their sci fi fed to them from a bottle.
Review: I am giving this book five stars to try to somewhat offset the plethora of "1 star" reviews. As I don't plan to "stuff the ballot box", it is more a token gesture. Walter M. Miller Jr. was one of the most gifted writers ever to write science fiction. A Canticle for Leibowitz, yes, but also his short fiction shows a command of the language that few of his contemporaries could match. I won't even begin to talk about current day writers, as the majority of their output compares favorably with the old "Dick and Jane" learn-to-read books.

I read A Canticle for Leibowitz in 1971, believe it or not, it was assigned reading in an English class. When I chanced upon Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman last year, I was thrilled to find it. What did I find? No, it's not up to A Canticle for Leibowitz in grace or content, but it is still an absorbing read. For those readers who can't take a little off-the-middle-of-the-road sexuality, and characterizations, relationships and plotting that makes them use the parts of their brains that TV and movies never awaken, I don't recommend it. For those who like to be enriched and challenged by what they read, try it. By all means, please read A Canticle for Leibowitz first, and then approach Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman not so much as a sequel but as a new story set in the same world, a possible future world that should chill you to the bone.

Rating:
Summary: There is no pleasure in reading this book
Review: I bought this book from the $5 sale table, knowing nothing of the author. It invokes confusion through increasing convolution of names, plot, characters and places, and through minutiae of description. Several times I asked myself if I could be reading something better, but doggedly pushed on to the end. Disappointingly the purpose and payoff of all the confusion and detail comes to naught. In fact the last few chapters appear to be of a different style, and while limply tying up the loose ends of the main plot simply fail to capture any spirit or tension from the prior convolution and confusion. This a 100-page idea laboured into a 400-page disappointment. As a reading experience it is a huge effort for no reward.

Rating:
Summary: I was truly immersed
Review: I don't really understand the overwhelming negative reaction to this work. I can see how someone who has loved and reread Canticle many times may have had their hopes of a true sequel left unfulfilled. Personally, I was amazed at the maturing of Miller's style and content, and his credible and immersive attempt at world building. I thought the tone, although more modern, was sufficiently similar to Canticle that I felt the connection necessary for "sequel nostalgia". I felt connected to the main characters, though, their thoughts and actions were sometimes mysterious, foreign, and often displeasing. But these were the things that affected me most about the story. The characters' world IS mysterious, foreign, and displeasing, as well as dangerous and primitive. From the gut-wrenching descriptions of death and illnesses, to the touching, if strange, relationship between the fallen monk Blacktooth and "genny" AEdrea, I found this novel to be an emotional and mind opening rollercoaster.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible. A shame.
Review: I don't understand how the family (or the co-writer) could have allowed this book to ever come out. It shouldn't even be put at the same shelf as the "Canticle", one of the 10 best science-fiction books of all times. I should have believed my instinct and stopped at the first 10 pages...