 Miller 's extensive experience in writing for science fiction magazines contributed to his achievement with A Canticle for Leibowitz . His strengths were with the medium lengths of the short story , novelette , and short novel , where he effectively combined character , action , and import . The success of this full @-@ length novel rests on its tripartite structure : each section is " short novel size , with counterpoint , motifs , and allusions making up for the lack of more ordinary means of continuity . " 
