A Case of Conscience is a 190 page Hugo-award--winning novel written by the celebrated science fiction master James Blish and first published in novel form in 1958. It tells the story of an intersteller expedition from Earth that discovers on a lithium rich planet a rational, harmonious, and peaceful reptilian race. The four scientists who make up the assessment team, one of whom is a Roman Catholic priest, struggle with the political, scientific, and religious questions raised by the discovery. The commentaries by Ballantine Books read as Follows:
Science fiction has long been the prime exploring
ground for all kinds of ideas, for
vaulting imagination, for the intelligent application
of what is known to what may be,
for cogent and revealing comment on our
time. And religion, no less than science, is a
large part of our time. This is the story of a dedicated man-a priest
who was also a scientist-whose twin vocations
confronted him with a moral problem which proved him, finally, and most of all, a courageous man.
"...a first class work of the imagination. Perhaps
even better, it is unique."-Brian Aldiss
If you wish, you can read A CASE
OF CONSCIENCE as pure sciencefiction
extrapolation-the excitement
and fascination of watching complete
new worlds unfold: or you can read it
for human values, following the tense
and moving stories of its characters.
Or you can do both. But any way you come at it, this is
not a book which you can read and
forget; it is a book which demands a
strong reaction, which throws its alternative
solutions right in the reader's
lap.
