Reserved for one of the book buffets at the 2011 convention in Washington, DC.

Note: Registered copy is different from that described above.

Book buffet at 2011 BC Convention.

I caught this at the Convention, took it home in a bag of SF as a Convention souvenir for a friend. She chose other books, so I kept this.

These stories were originally published in the 1950's, and most of them haven't stood the test of time all that well. Our vernacular and worldview have changed a lot in sixty years, and maybe the stories weren't all that great to start with.

But one story still drops me in my tracks: Crucifixus Etiam. It is an absolutely perfect depiction of hopeful migrant labor dazzled by the recruiting brochures, and finding themselves trapped on the gritty surface of Mars. As long as there are painful, tedious, dangerous jobs around, they will be filled be people like Manue Nanti.

Here's a haunting musical setting of the text by Antonio Lotti, which includes the score so you can follow along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9dXLmRlpo Hope you enjoy the story and the video. They will both move you.

Placed in Erishkigal's Science Fiction Bookbox

I chose this book from Erishkigal's Science Fiction Bookbox.

Not having read Miller’s classic Canticle for Leibowitz, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this short-story collection, which includes 9 stories originally published in the 1950’s. Several of the stories felt very dated, and "The Big Hunger" was rather abstract for my tastes. Still, I was impressed by the quality of Miller’s writing and the depth of some of his characters, especially in the context of the short-story format. Like JudySlump612, my favourite story was also "Crucifixus Etiam" and I enjoyed very much the video that she had recommended in her JE.

I was at Cafe 1842 for a science-fiction book-club meeting today and passed this book to another BookCrossing member.