Join us as we discuss the seventh Hugo Award winner: Robert A. Miller’s Canticle for Leibowitz.

Host: Christine D. Baker, a historian who lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at @klaxoncomms.com‬ on Bluesky or follow what she’s reading at her website: https://klaxoncomms.com/reading/

This month’s guest is Josh Nudell, historian and speculative fiction fan. You can find Josh on Bluesky @jpnudell.bsky.social and more of his writing on his website.

From about 6:19 to about 23:53, Christine is recapping the book, which has A LOT of spoilers. The rest of the episode isn’t spoiler free, but that section goes through the plot in detail.

New intro music by Breakz Studios!

Come find us on patreon for more info: https://www.patreon.com/cw/hugohistory/posts (Sign up for the free tier and you’ll still get extra details, links to references, and images of primary sources!)

Some things we mention, more info about some of these in the monthly free email from Patreon:

The Great Gatsby Isaac Asimov, Foundation Series Farenheit 451 Oral Traditions The Wandering Jew Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Antipopes. “bicephalous old tomato woman” Benedictines Battle of Monte Cassino Preservation of Knowledge, especially in England and Ireland Everyone who has lived has probably thought of themselves as the most modern: Ashurbanipal II and Cleopatra “Long history” Hav by Jan Morris — intro by Usula K. LeGuin Monastic movements How the Catholic Church canonizes saints Dune Sequel to Canticle: Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman Cyclical model of history

https://reactormag.com/hugo-nominees-1961/