Canticle follows two thousand years of history after a nuclear explosion in the 20th century, detailing the fall, rise, and fall of human civilization. It is a bit more fantastical than On the Beach, another post-apocalyptic novel, due to its forward-looking nature, but its characters discuss heady, weighed issues of faith, morality, and humanity. Read it in order to ask yourself the tough questions all of us need to face about the possibility of a global Armageddon.