.jpg) Paperback first edition | |
| Author | James Blish |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard M. Powers |
| Language | English |
| Series | After Such Knowledge trilogy |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Published | 1958 (Ballantine Books) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 0-345-43835-3 (later paperback printing) |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3503.L64 C37 2000 |
| Followed by | Doctor Mirabilis Black Easter The Day After Judgment |
A Case of Conscience is a science fiction novel by American writer James Blish, first published in 1958. It is the story of a Jesuit who investigates an alien race that has no religion yet has a perfect, innate sense of morality, a situation which conflicts with Catholic teaching. The story was originally published as a novella in 1953, and later extended to novel-length, of which the first part is the original novella. The novel is the first part of Blish's thematic After Such Knowledge trilogy and was followed by Doctor Mirabilis and both Black Easter and The Day After Judgment (two novellas that Blish viewed as together forming the third volume of the trilogy).
Few science fiction stories of the time attempted religious themes, and still fewer did this with Catholicism.