"A Case of Conscience" by James Blish

This novel was originally published in 1958. It was different for its time, because it was a science fiction novel that dealt with religious characters and perspectives. This wasn't something that had been done in science fiction very much at the time.


Originally a novella, the novel is an expansion of the original work. The first part is the original novella, with a second part of the story added. At least, that's what I've found out with a little bit of Internet-surfing, hopefully the sources I've looked at are correct.


Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez is a Jesuit and a scientist, and one of a four-member team exploring a planet called Lithia. They have had some interaction with the Lithians, intelligent, bipedial reptilian creatures.

Ruiz-Sanchez and his group have the task of making recommendations about how Lithia is to be dealt with - how openly should Earth trade with Lithia, or should they not have formal relations with this planet at all, is something the characters have to discuss.

The first part of the novel doesn't actually have a lot of action - what plot there is seemed, to me, like more of a backdrop for the characters to have discussions. I'm not sure if that's common within the subgenre of science fiction crossed with religion, but you I could make similar comments about other such books I've read, like Robert J. Sawyer's "Calculating God" or Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow." These books have some action, but quite a lot of pages consist of long discussions - which isn't a bad thing. Far from it, I think it's wonderful when an author writes a novel that's very compelling and a good read, even without a lot of action or violence or anything. Heh, in my own attempts to write, I've often been given comments that my stories need more action, which I've tried to provide - my stories are much more brutally violent and action-packed than they used to be.

Anyway, back to "A Case of Conscience" -

Ruiz-Sanchez and his colleagues discuss the various options. Ruiz-Sanchez has had a unique opportunity to enter the home of a Lithian, and has learned more about the Lithians than anyone else. The Lithians are actually a very peaceful species, apparently without crime, violence, war - or religion. They have no concept of a God or creation at all, apparently never developed it.

Now, I don't want to give away exactly what happens or what Ruiz-Sanchez recommends, since that's one of the main points that's supposed to be a surprise for the reader.

But it's not what you might have guessed.

Or maybe you would, who knows?

Anyway, the second part of the novel focuses on what happens when Egtverchi, a Lithian born and raised on Earth, becomes a well-known public figure. Not being raised on Lithia, Egtverchi turns out to be a very different sort of character, and actually encourages violence and rioting. The story becomes increasingly violent as it continues.

In the end, Ruiz-Sanchez witnesses events that bring the action back to Lithia - well, he indirectly witnesses what happens. The climax, right at the very end of the story, brings several characters together and combines the scientific with the religious, in a way that could be seen as mere coincidence, or not - I suspect Blish meant for that question to be left open for the reader to wonder about.

Which I think is good, I often like it when a story resolves some points, but leaves ideas and questions in the reader's mind afterwards, and this novel does plenty of that.

It's a little hard to say just who I'd recommend this book to, because the first and second halves are quite different, so some people might prefer one or the other. Taken together, though, they make a whole that presents a fascinating contrast - seeing what happens to the characters in different situations allows the story to explore different sides of ideas.

Some things seemed, to me, to be clearly influenced by the times the story was written in, like how Earth has a culture in which people are used to living in underground shelters. The fifties was the era of bomb shelters, after all, and I guess it was the early sixties when the Cuban missile crisis happened.

Despite, that, though, I'd say this book stands up well over time, and is still a good read today.