A Canticle for Leibowitz

Walter M. Miller, Jr. is one of science fiction's best writers. And I'll bet you know diddly about his works.

A Canticle for Leibowitz of the best books in the "post-Holocaust" genre. The book opens some time after an atomic war, when a young postulant in the Order of Saint Leibowitz encounters what might be the Wandering Jew. He is pointed towards some holy relics. The rest of the book (a series of short novels?) leapfrogs us as civilization gets rebuilt, technology is found again. However men still fight and the book ends with the order going to the stars as another atomic holocaust rains down on the Earth. Lots of wonderful characters as well as excellent storytelling on the part of a (alas) largely forgotten author. Miller shows his skills as an author as well as his love of his Catholic beliefs here. I can't recommend this one highly enough!