Failure to place A Canticle for Leibowitz … in its genre has caused some uncertainty and confusion in its reviews. Therefore we should first appreciate what kind of novel it is, realizing of course that all works in a given art form partake of common denominators, precluding a rigid boundary between kinds.

With this in mind we can say that A Canticle for Leibowitz belongs in the same category as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, George Orwell's 1984, and contemporary works such as Nevil Shute's On the Beach and a number of science fiction stories. These works explore the possible consequences of man's mastery of nature through technology. (p. 640)

A Canticle for Leibowitz partakes of two prime strains of American literature. One, the Gothic with its fascination with the horrible and the ominous, is rooted in medieval Christian fears of the powers of darkness and was reinforced by the influences...