Product Description
In *A Fall of Moondust,* time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist-cruiser "Selene," incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the pitiless and unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.

*The Lion of Comarre* presents the far-flung future where one city of extraordinary means was built on Earth—Comarre—and it is rumored to still exist. None but a few know of its location and they hold it a secret, afraid that the knowledge would subvert society. A young man with great prospects and no worries in the world gives them all up to hunt for the fabled city, and what he finds is something mankind has only dreamed of.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Kindle Edition is Unreadable
The Kindle edition is FULL of typos. I had to give up after the first two pages because it was virtually unreadable.

A very pleasant surprise!
Since I got my kindle a year ago, I have been waiting for a larger amount of Clarke's work to become available.Much of what is available is the more recent collaborations, which I don't care for.

I found this last night, and bought it immediately."A Fall of Moondust" has been a favorite of mine for over 30 years, I have read it at least 5 times.It is described most often as a "hard" SF story, meaning it revolves around science and technology.That is true, but not accurate. This is a great story with several compelling characters, and a few plot twists to add to the excitement.It's like watching Apollo 13 for the 20th time, you know what is going to happen, but it is still exciting.

One of the things that I have always liked about this book is how it illustrates the differences, and similarities, between what a scientist does, and what an engineer does.

Sir Arthur tells an amazing amount of story in a small space, the print editions come in at under 250 pages.More modern authors would probably use 800 pages to tell the same story.

There are two other stories in this set, both of which are vintage Clarke, and highly enjoyable.However, I think "Fall of Moondust" shines above them.

Now, if only the publisher would make "Collected Stories" available, along with the Rama and 2001 series. ... Read more

Product Description
An overly ambitious senior US Senator, who has sacrificed friendship, marriage, daughter and grandchildren in pursuit of a political career contracts a terminal illness. His only hope for a cure is to accept a innovative treatment which he campaigned against funding, a decision for which he will be branded a hypocrite. The decision has placed him in the crucible of his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
A Science Fiction Story

Zero G cardio cure.


3 out of 5 ... Read more

Product Description
Dare Chin, responsible for the safety of the Martian Plaque­the priceless artifact which proves that intelligent beings existed on Mars a billion years ago; and Dr. Morland, a visiting scientist to the Labyrinth City of Mars­interested in experimenting on the plaque; are both found dead and the plaque stolen. Sparta alias Inspector Ellis Troy is sent on an interstellar hunt to retrieve the plaque and trace the killers. Will she be able to overcome the life-threatening pain she frequently experiences and the evil designs of the killers, is the ultimate question?
SUMMARY:
The third volume in a series of science-fiction thrillers evolving from the works of Arthur C. Clarke, grandmaster of science fiction and author of 2001: a space odyssey. Her code name is Sparta. Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities far surpassing those of a normal human? The first product of advanced biotech engineering.At long last, evidence of extraterrestrial life has been found: a plaque discovered on the edge of the north polar icecap on Mars. And when the theft of that alien artifact leads to two murders in the Labyrinth City, Sparta must risk her life?and her identity?to solve the case.As the mystery unravels, the investigation becomes a race across the stars to retrieve the plaque?a quest which willultimately uncover even more evidence than Earth¹s scientists have ever discovered!This star-spanning adventure brings together the genius of Arthur C. Clarke and the talents of distinguished science- fiction writer Paul Preuss.Introduction by Arthur C. Clarke.
www.BrickTowerPress.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

And we are off to yet another planet.
I'm going to skip the plot synopsis, because you can read it elsewhere.What I will say is that by the third book in this series the format seems to get a bit repeatative.Sparta, a.k.a. Ellen Troy, works for the Board of Space Control and is sent to yet another planet/satellite to solve yet another crime that, while on the surface may seem unrelated, are actually connected by a secret group of people who are also connected to her biological enhancements.She's been to Venus and the Moon and now she visits Mars.I'm beginning to think Preuss is simply attempting a tour of the solar system.

Preuss' writing still seems to hold up throughout the book and I was still eager to find out how this one wrapped up.However, the overall mystery of the series is being drawn out a little too much.I think this could have been wrapped up nicely in three rather than six books.

I wish I could meet Sparta
Personally I enjoyed the story (not to mention that I became in love with Sparta since the first pages), you should not expect Clarke's style even in the pages where his stories are described, it's another author (and i think a good one). Perhaps a litlle barroque when describes environments but very, very pleasant.

Clarke's view of Mars through the eyes of Paul Preuss
I first read this series when it came out in the late 1980's.They are highly entertaining and among my favorite books, it is high time they got a second printing.This third installment which takes us to Mars is as enjoyable as the rest, though my favorite is the second installment, "Maelstrom".

Over the years I've had a lot of fun with Sparta and "The Free Spirit".I just wish I knew how to get my hands on one of those "Snark" attack helicopters.Ellen Troy and Blake Redfield are captivating heros, who like the rest of us, have their flaws.Any Clarke faithful who doesn't enjoy this series might want to think about going one size larger the next time they buy new skivvies.

Anyone who enjoys this and other "Venus Prime" novels should look for "Core", another enjoyable work by Preuss.(For anyone who's curious, the origional names for the Venus Prime books are "The Breaking Strain", "Maelstrom", "Hide and Seek", "The Medusa Encounter", "The Diamond Moon", and "The Shining Ones" respectively.)

Your right it's not Clark it's Preuss
I don't think Paul Preuss is attemting to take Clark's place in science fiction history. The three installments thus far of Venus Prime are clever and enjoyable mysteries. The books are well written (if not carefullyedited - Clark's intro in the second book refers to the first manned orbitof the moon by Apollo 8 Christmas 1969 - AFTER the first moon landing) andfun to read. Enjoy them for what they are, and leave the comparisons to2001 out of the experience.

sustained energetic preuss
preuss captures clarke's tone and complexity--a nice entry in a superior series ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A Book from My Youth
I read this book first when I was probably 15, 45 years ago, and it became a book with a story that has haunted me my whole life.It has always seemed a masterpiece of science fiction and, with City and the Stars - a richer novel than Against the Fall of Night, but the title less so! - one of Clarke's finest works.I found it's depiction of a human culture set billions of years in the future so alien to our own to be engrossing because of the characterizations and the mysteries as absorbing as they are strange.There are no real villians in the piece, and their world was one in which I wanted to live.I also identified strongly with the protaganist, who seeks to discover the secrets of his culture's lost past.The City of the novel, Diaspar, is as also a character in the story. I would recommend this novel very highly, especially to young readers.However, I must say that City and the Stars, a later re-conception of Against the Fall of Night, is a much richer expansion of Against the Fall of Night, and it is the the former that has stayed with me for so many years.

great page turner
Far far in the future man has began to decline and all that is left of the once great empire is two vastly different cities and cultures.

Possibly, the oddest view of humanity I have read.
"Against the Fall of Night" is a book I have read several times.I think that it offers, possibly, the oddest view of humanity I have read.

We have a single city of humanity left.Apparently, humanity has reached a sort of immortality within the physical world and, yet, has chosen to huddle together.Then, it appears that there is a 'joker' in the pack of human cards.You can read about it yourself.

I am smart enough to see what Clarke wants to explore here.However, I kept coming up with odd ideas that Clarke never intended.My major problem was the question of why Clarke insists on giving us such a cast of sheep.In reality, I feel there would be many more people having problems with such a long-standing status quo.Oh well, it is a good read.

Read the book.

Misleading cover
While the novel is entertaining, the cover is deceiving.First it states that the book includes the short story, "Jupiter 5."It doesn't.Then appears that the cover blurb was taken from the later revised version of the novel, "The City and the Stars."It states that this was the story of the first child born in 10 million years.It isn't.It was the first child born in 7,000 years as stated clearly in the novel at least twice.The "City and the Stars" is about the first child born in 10 million but not this version of the story.

A Fable
This was my first foray into the writing of Arthur C. Clarke.It's a fantastic book, very imaginative, and it even has a lesson of sorts.It was hard adjusting to the writing style; it's written in third person-omniscient, so the reader's point of view seems to move from inside one character's head to the next without any kind of warning, unlike many third person-limited narratives.Once I adjusted, though, it was a rewarding read. ... Read more

Product Description
The second volume of the spectacular science fiction thriller evolving from the works of Arthur C. Clarke, the grandmaster of science fiction. Her code name is Sparta, whose beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities of superhuman dimension­the product of advanced biotech engineering. When a team of scientists is trapped in the gaseous inferno of Venus, Sparta must risk her life to save them, unaware that her actions will help recover a mysterious artifact: irrefutable evidence of life on another planet.
SUMMARY:
The second volume of the spectacular science-fiction thriller evolving from the works of Arthur C. Clarke, grandmaster of science fiction and author of 2001: a space odyssey..Her code name is Sparta.Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities of superhuman dimension-the product of advanced biotech engineering. When a team of scientists is trapped in the gaseous inferno of Venus, Sparta must risk her life to save them, unaware that her actions will help recover a mysterious artifact: irrefutable evidence of life on another planet. .As the secrets of the artifact are revealed, Sparta uncovers a mystery which may lead her to the truth of her own destiny. This gripping saga brings together the genius of Arthur C. Clarke and the talents of distinguished science-fiction writer Paul Preuss. The book has an introduction by Arthur c. Clarke. www.BrickTowerPress.com. ... Read more

Product Description
Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar; for millennia its protective dome shutout the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it held powers that rules the stars. But then, as legend had it, The invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man, A Unique to break through DiasparÂ’s stifling inertia, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

A thought-provoking early Clarke novel
This book is a revision and expansion of Clarke's first science fiction novel Against the Fall of Night, which Clarke completed in 1946 and revised in 1954. The story takes place many years, perhaps billions of years in the future. Millions of people live in an enclosed world where daylight exists the entire day and people do not sleep. The name of the city is Diaspar, which Clarke does not explain, but which may be a reference to "diaspora," a place away from the true homeland, or a place where people do not really belong. A computer controls the city.

The life span of people in Diaspar is thousands of years. After this time, they return to the computer, their bodies are somehow decomposed, but they themselves are put into a kind of sleep and resurrected thousands of years later, their resurrection is randomly chosen, in a new body. They do not remember their past lives until they have lived again for about a hundred years. Every once in a while, the computer produces a unique person, this happened fourteen times in the past. Now, Alvin is born and he is a "unique."

Alvin has a strong desire to leave Diaspar and see what is outside the enclosed city. All other city inhabitants are afraid of doing so. They fear the invasion of some evil empire. Alvin accomplishes his escape and discovers a second city where the people live only about ninety or a hundred years and, unlike the citizens of Diaspar, they can communicate by reading minds. These people know about Diaspar, but do not want to join them. They consider the Diaspar inhabitants as being improperly passive.

Alvin ultimately discovers what happened in the past that resulted in the creation of the two cities, why "uniques" were programmed into the computer, other beings, whether what the two cities believe to be true about their history and the world is really true, what lies outside of earth, and whether it makes sense for the two cities to join together.

Is this really Arthur Clarke?
One aspect of Arthur Clarke's writing is the intelligence and thought on which the fiction is base.Yet as one reviewer noted, Clarke seems to devolve into sillines at times.The writer that brought staggering works such as "Childhood's End" to our culture seemed to be writing a script for a bad B-movie in "The City and the Stars".

Following the death of civilization as we know it, society has evolved into a world that exists in a dome on Earth known as Diaspar.This city in the bubble is the epitome of synthetic in all aspects of life, even recycling lifes.Alvin enters as a "unique", not being born previously.As a consequence, Alvin questions why things are the way they are in Diaspar.

Alvin rediscovers another lost city because an apparent subway exists after an exceptionally long period of time of not being used.After trying to create a peace accord between the two cities, Alvin tries to create a peace accord with the rest of the universe.If nothing else, Alvin in ambicious.

Along his journey, Alvin meets alien life forms that could easily could have been rejected from the cast of "The Great Space Coaster" or some B-level horror movie.The purpose of the aliens in the plot is to explain what humans can no longer understand or know.

It is unintentionally humourous when Clarke explains humans have lost hair, nails, and external genitalia.While Clarke may have been a scientist, he must have missed the lesson on evolution.

It is quite apparent that the overriding theme which Clarke is seeking to highlight is an anti-ritualism/anti-religion theme.In the story, the human have fallen in to a pattern of ritualism and refuse to try to explain what they do not understand.Though there is nothing wrong with the theme in itself, Clarke failed to deliver a good story.Characters spent too much time on frivolous matters that take away from the story.And when the action finally occurs in the ending, it is very rushed.

I love this book.
This is my favourite book by Arthur C. Clarke.It really captured my attention when I first read it at the age of twelve.I re-read it again in my 30's and found it just as good.I feel really sad that Arthur is dead now, he was such a great author.

Reviews at Brizmus Blogs Books
WARNING: I did my best, but this review contains something that could potentially be considered a spoiler.
I read this book in French, but I'm guessing I'd say the same things about its' fantasticness had I read it in English. The futuristic world that Arthur C. Clarke describes is horrifyingly believable. It is beautiful while at the same time being freakishly simplistic and, dare I say, communistic (is that even a word?). In Diaspar, the last human city in existence, everyone and everything finds beauty in sameness, except Alvin. We follow him on his quest for something different, watching as he is shunned for being different, watching as he struggles to find more. Watching as he struggles to deal with that more, which he finds when he discovers that Diaspar is NOT the last human city. There is another. And THAT is what makes this book so amazing. Over millions and millions of years, two cities of humans have developed in such completely different yet possible ways; one focuses on sameness and technology, the other on diversity and nature. Discovering these two worlds, Arthur C. Clarke gives the reader the feeling that HE has already been there; the clarity of his descriptions are poetic.
This book makes you feel, it makes you think; it makes you step back and wonder what is the purpose of man; it is pure genius. Reading this, one can't help but believe that the human imagination has no boundaries.

Grand ideas and infinite ambition.
You have to give it to Mr. Clarke.He can restrain himself and keep himself grounded, as he did in Rendezvous With Rama, a novel about a modest crew of nearly modern-day astronauts feebly peeking inside a giant space ship clearly intended for unknown and grand things.

Or, he can go all out and practically show you the entire universe, as he does in this novel.

Clarke doesn't go a hundred years in the future, or a thousand.No -- this book is about a BILLION years in the future, and not in some galaxy far, far away, either -- but here, on Earth.We humans are still around, though trapped in a self-imposed utopian prison, the city Diaspar.A human life lasts centuries, and even when it's time to die, one's memory is merely saved in a computer bank, to be restored again thousands of years in the future.Man-kind has conquered death, boredom; everyone is a genius; the city takes care of everything.Sounds pretty good?Well, it is.However, beyond the city lies nothing but endless desert.Men and women can't fathom exiting Diaspar due to millions of years of phobias about the dangers of the outside world.

There is one exception, the 20-year-old protagonist of the book named Alvin.He is the first actual new person to be produced by Diaspar in millions of years, as opposed to just being a reincarnation of someone else.He not only isn't afraid of the outside world but wants to explore it more than anything.

I'll leave the plot description at that.Alvin does get out, and what happens then goes far, far, far beyond the scope of what I've described so far.In fact, Clarke takes the story into almost shamelessly ambitious directions.I'd criticize this, as it does potentially stretch credulity, but I think he more than pulls it off.

This is a work of real wonder.Honestly, even if the entire book were set in Diaspar, it would already be a triumph in my eyes, the world Clarke creates being as vibrant as it is.Since it goes so much further than that, it is even more fascinating.Certainly, one could criticize the characters in the book for being a bit straight-edged and bland, however this isn't a book about individual people.It is about ideas.
Highly recommended to readers of nearly any age, teens and tweens included. ... Read more

Product Description
In the year 2110 technology has curedmost of our worries. But even as humankind entersa new golden age, an amateur astronomer pointshis telescope at just the right corner of the nightsky and sees disaster hurtling toward Earth: achunk of rock that could annihilate civilization.While a few fanatics welcome the apocalypticdestruction as a sign from God, the greatestscientific minds of Earth desperately search for a way toavoid the inevitable. On board the starshipGoliath Captain Robert Singh and his crew must raceagainst time to redirect the meteor form its deadlycollision course. Suddenly they find themselveson the most important mission in human history--amission whose success may require the ultimatesacrifice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Not great, not bad.
This book is more about the future society in which this story takes place and less about the plot (stopping an asteroid from slamming into earth).I'm not a big fan of books solely about future societies, so I wasn't terribly enthralled about this one.

Death from the skies
The story of what has happened and what could easily happen again.

An asteroid, loosed from its orbit, is sent hurtling towards the Earth.Below, humanity plies one scheme after another in an effort to avoid extinction.

Though this ground would come to be heavily traveled, this novel was one of the first major sorties into this area.

And as can be expected from the man who helped give us 2001:A Space Odyssey, Arthur Clarke delivers an excellent tale of the efforts made by man to avoid his own demise.

For those who've given this book negative reviews, I would suggest that when reading an Arthur C. Clarke book, one come with an appropriate set of expectations.

If you approach the work with an expectation of great character exposition or flourid prose, you should probably head for one of the traditional literary masters like Ernest Hemmingway.But if what you want are great descriptions of the actual mechanics of what would be involved in...say...preventing global oblivian than this is the place to look.

From his description of where these heavenly bodies can be found to what actually could be done to prevent diasasters associated with them, Clarke is top notch.

In fact, I probably would have preferred a book where he focused even more on these aspects of the story.When, for example, he predicts the rise of new religion mixing Christianity with Islam, one finds themself noticeably wishing for the story to return to its more exciting territory.Similarly, when he briefly discusses his characters and their lives, one also finds their mental eyes glazing over.

But on the whole, it's still an Arthur C. Clarke book and it's still good.

I highly recommend this book.

The Hammer of God
This book by Arthur C. Clarke describes a possible asteroid hit or near fly by within 200 years of now. Exceptionally Clarke tells about similar event in old history (65 million years) and in new history (Tunguska and others) within last 100 years. Exceptionally Clarke also has written a long epilogue to the book.

In the prologue Clarke states: "All the events set in the past happened at the times and places stated: all those set in the future are possible. And one is certain. Sooner or later, we will meet Kali."

Kali is the name of a 5 km large asteroid that came from near Jupiter and that was shifted a bit in it's trajection not to hit directly earth. I agree, sometimes in future that will happen.

One of Clarke's worst
This reads like the notes for a novel, instead of the novel itself. Large type and lots of unnecessary "book sections" with long passages taken from other authors are filler for what should have been a short story. Clarke seems disorganized and scattershot in this book, tying together a lot of unrelated things to attempt to fill out a story. Anytime any bit of tension is built up he deflates it nearly immediately. The prose is particularly uninspired and in an absolutely bizarre instance he spends a chapter describing a signal from an alien intelligence, "proving the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence" only to never mention it again. At many points he brings up interesting moral and ethical quandries to never address them, something Clarke would have never done in earlier work. Clarke never once engaged me for me than a page or two. This is the worst piece of writing I've ever read by him.

Can technology save the Earth from an apocalyptic astroid strike?
It is the twenty-second century, and while humans have not yet reached for the stars, they have established viable colonies on the Moon and Mars and are expanding their presence throughout the Solar System.Recognizing that a catastrophic astroid strkie on Earth is statistically likely, mankind begins to plan a response to save the planet.When the apocalyptic astroid is discovered, Captain Singh and his crew head out to meet it, in the hopes of giving it enough of a push to miss the Earth.

With lots of emphasis on scientific details, and an interesting overview of the social and political structures of a multi-global society, this is science-fiction of a classic style.While Clarke does try to provide some character development for Captain Singh, this story is idea and plot driven, rather than character oriented.But for fans of hard science-fiction who like to contemplate "big" ideas, this book is packed with them. ... Read more

Product Description
Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment. A brilliantly imagined story of human ingenuity and survival, A FALL OF MOONDUST is a tour-de-force of psychological suspense and sustained dramatic tension by the field's foremost author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A Dusty Disaster
Though it's a little low on deep thoughts, this is one of Arthur C. Clarke's more reliable and readable space operas. The themes aren't that compelling and the story is based on a now-discredited theory about seas of dust on the moon (note that it was published in 1961, before we ever saw the moon up close and personal). But this is an exciting and dependable disaster thriller, and for fans who are okay with this book's lack of Clarke's usual cosmological philosophy, all should be happy with the read. Clarke managed to avoid standard disaster clichés and delivered a strangely plausible tale of heroism and horror backed by real science (notwithstanding that weird old dust) and believable interactions amongst characters trapped in a mishap together for days with no guarantee of survival. While this book is not high on Clarke's list of immortal classics, and it doesn't reach his great philosophical heights, it also avoids over-reaching and provides more excitement and empathy than standard sci-fi thrillers. For fans wishing to dive into Clarke's more obscure and under-appreciated works, be sure to give this under-achiever a chance. [~doomsdayer520~]

SUSPENSE
A Fall Of Moondust, by the late Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood's End, Dolphin Island) is really a suspense disaster story that takes place on the moon, science fictional in the setting and the author's speculation, clever at the time, that deep dust in the low-gravity craters would be similar to liquid water on Earth.And so the premise is that a "boat," carrying passengers across a crater on the moon, sinks in the dust.Rescue operations are oviously trickier than on Earth, communication through the dust seemingly impossible.Suspense mounts as engineers devise means to locate the boat, communicate with it, provide air, and commence rescue operations all while the passengers await their fate.One of my favorite sf novels due to the effective blend of suspense, the clever sci-fi idea, and Clarke's scientific accuracy.

SUSPENSE
A Fall Of Moondust, by the late Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood's End, Dolphin Island) is really a suspense disaster story that takes place on the moon, science fictional in the setting and the author's speculation, clever at the time, that deep dust in the low-gravity craters would be similar to liquid water on Earth.And so the premise is that a "boat," carrying passengers across a crater on the moon, sinks in the dust.Rescue operations are oviously trickier than on Earth, communication through the dust seemingly impossible as the passengers await their fate.One of my favorite sf novels due to the effective blend of suspense, the clever sci-fi idea, and Clarke's scientific accuracy.

The Prophet strikes again
This is an astounding book from the greatest Science Fiction writer of all time. Reading large scale "space operas", one would expect that the action in this novel is not as gripping since it revolves around a very confined area. Most SciFi writers are able to convey a story, but fall through on their deficiency in technology. Sir Arthur C. Clarke never misses a step when he describes the extremely thrilling story, and so skilfully describes the surrounding technologies and landscapes. What absolutely unbelievable is that this book was written even before the lunar landings in 1961, but all his observations of the moon, the computer technology, descriptions of plasma drives still holds to this day. This novel was one of his most successful, and Clarke has since been humoristically called the "prophet" since the manned and un-manned space flights seem to confirm his observations of space and our nearby planets. He never quantizes technologies, but describe how the story actually revolves in the future technology environment. Where Gibson in "Neuromancer" wrote about the main character "..stole 4Mb of hot ram..." one immediately sets the story to the 90'ties when 4 Mb of Ram was significant memory, even if it was supposed to be in the far future. Clarke never makes such mistakes, making this novel, written in 1960, as relevant today as it was then. In "A Fall of Moondust". Add to this the uncanny ability to explain the action so well it is almost as watching a movie whilst reading the story, this is one book that is highly recommended.

Technically fascinating disaster yarn, but no more than that
In this classic disaster yarn the all-too-human crew of moon ship Selene and its 22 passengers are trapped in a vast dust bowl on the lunar surface, and it's up to Chief Engineer Lawrence to find a way to get them out before it's too late.There are lots of twists and turns as various setbacks arise, and plenty of practical science and engineering, despite the fact it's now known that no such dustbowls exist, but that doesn't really matter because the main attraction is trying to figure out how they'll get out of each successive crisis.There are plenty of secenes with Lawrence, and with a newshound who thinks he's got the scoop of the century, and with a disagreeable astronomer whose infra-red observations save the day, but much of the book takes place onboard Selene where we get to see a cross-section of humanity and how they react to their deadly predicament.Suffice it to say that on the whole, Clarke's passengers behave like typical Brits, and for many American readers, this is always the most endearing aspect of his work.His characters (and the scientists particularly) have an unflappable reserve that sustains them through all adversity.They are reading books and putting on plays in circumstances in which Americans would be eating each others' flesh.Not to say that these characters' behavior is unbelievable - just different - almost National Geographic different.

As for the prose, Clarke is often as dry as the dust on which the moon ship Selene sails, but his science is just about impeccable and he knows how to tell an engrossing story.This entire book is basically a tightly interwoven set of technical puzzles.Once the mainstay of science fiction, puzzle stories challenge the reader to solve the technical problem posed - kind of like the "whodunit" of the detective genre.Selene systematically works its way through each successive danger only to face another one, but each arises naturally from the laws of physics as they apply to the given situation; there's no melodrama or coincidence here.Not many readers will be able to guess how these problems will be solved, but Clarke makes sure that we're on the edge of our chairs waiting to find out.

Many of Clarke's most famous works feature a philosophical bent that takes them beyond the mundane: the classics "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Childhood's End" come quickly to mind.Unfortunately there's nary a hint of such in this book.The man-against-nature conflict in this novel is clever, well-thought-out, and admirably executed, but it's still a puzzle story and nothing more, and a largely dated one at that.
Clarke's legions of fans will certainly enjoy this book, but the few ideas in it are no longer very relevant.If you're looking for a pleasant diversion that will make you think more about physics than about humanity, Captain Harris has an exciting ride in store for you. ... Read more

Product Description
One thousand years after the Jupiter mission to explore the mysterious Monolith had been destroyed, after Dave Bowman was transformed into the Star Child, Frank Poole drifted in space, frozen and forgotten, leaving the supercomputer HAL inoperable. But now Poole has returned to life, awakening in a world far different from the one he left behind--and just as the Monolith may be stirring once again . . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (310)

Like 2061, Flawed But Part of a Great Story
The black monoliths of this series of books by Clarke are one of the great inventions of science fiction.They convey the utterly alien, the utterly unknowable, and the incredibly powerful.They turned Jupiter into a star.They advanced primitive man to tool-users.And they trigger the evolution of life on Europa.

Up until this book, the monoliths, and the unseen monolith makers, have been our watchers, beginning even in Clarke's original story, The Sentinel.In this book, we may have grown up, grown up enough to challenge the monoliths.We question their mission, and we try to defeat them.

There are many themes that are worth thinking about here -- species evolution, machine intelligence, the relation between religion and the drive for knowledge, between immortality and meaning, . . .

The only thing that bothered me about the book is what bothered me about the earlier book in the series, 2061.So much is devoted to reporting what has happened "off camera."Frank Poole is the perfect vehicle for Clarke's reporting what has happened since 2001.At the beginning of the book, in 3001, he's been rescued from his apparent death in 2001, with a millennium to catch up on.And catch us up on.It's only halfway through the book that Poole's new mission starts.

Still, I can't complain.
Can't wait for Google or Apple to come out with a black monolith.I'd like one for my desk.

Ok, but could have done better!
The book was ok but, lets just say, it will never ever be made into a movie. Its interesting looking into the technology that will be here 1000 years from now but the book only gives us slight insights into how earth's society has evolved for the better. That's where Star Trek does a much better job. The ending is not really an ending to the series.

Who needs perfection?
I find myself really surprised by the number of negative comments "3001" has received here, and I think some of those comments have been made without proper context and knowledge.

Regarding the discontinuities between this book and its predecessors: Clarke always said the four books take place in slightly different realities. Thus, Poole's birthdate of 1996 here is fine, NOT idiotic or careless as some people have suggested. The author was publishing "3001" in 1997, and because it was very clear "2001" wasn't going to HAPPEN by 2001, he moved everything back a few decades. BIG DEAL. Get over it and roll with it -- it's science fiction anyway!

Regarding the Monoliths being somehow diminished as the author treats them more as supercomputers and less as mystical objects: Again, what's the problem? Clarke wrote each of these books to explore certain themes; though connected, each volume stands on its own.

Finally, regarding the absence here of Heywood Floyd and the apparently major discrepancy between this book and "2061": Again, get over it! Perhaps Heywood Floyd somehow separated himself from Dave and HAL during the centuries, or the Monolith did it somehow for some reason. Who knows? Who CARES?! I never thought having Floyd fuse with Dave and Hal in "2061" was such a hot idea anyhow.

I do agree with some reviewers here that the ending seems a bit rushed. And overall, the tone of the book is less ... hmm ... majestic than the earlier ones. But it's anything but "sarcastic," as one reviewer said, and I don't find it at all sour, either, as others have suggested. The feeling of the book is vintage Clarke: Open, curious, wide-eyed with a sense of wonder at the marvels that may exist in the Universe. "3001" is a terrific read.

3001 review
I am not an avid reader by any means. But when I found out there was a final chapter to the infamous 2001 Space Odyssey, I couldn't wait to get the book. The book explains all that I didn't understand in the previous ones and keeps you on your toes from cover to cover. I plan to read it again and again. Excellent reading!

Wow
Wow, as in after having been blown away by the surreal experience of "2001: A Space Odyssey" the movie and the book, and after being brought to tears by both, and even given moments of stunned shock and amazement at events in the two sequels, that it all comes down to this.


In my own experience, "3001: The Final Odyssey" is the fastest science fiction book I've ever read.It's also the most offensive, horrifying, and utterly pointless I've ever read.

And I feel bad about saying that.Arthur C. Clarke's forewords and post-word acknowledgements in all four books is incredible and does wonders in personalizing him and his books to us.He even explicitly states that the books are not really canonized sequels, but "variations on a theme" in his words---sequels in separate universes.

It allows for the 2061 epilogue of Lucifer suddenly disappearing in 3001 to be done away with in this book, which extends to approximately 3021 or so.


But that's the very least of the book's problems.


First, the good, or at least what can be passed off as good: It's well-written.Mostly.I say "mostly" because a lot of the pages are full of details, explanations, and descriptions that become so convoluted and complex as to become completely opaque.

But even worse, there are instances where ENTIRE PAGES of text are completely copy-pasted from "2010" or "2061"."2061" repeated the ENTIRE transmission of Dr. Tsien revealing there is life on Europa."3001" DOES THIS AGAIN!"3001" ALSO completely copy-pastes Dave Bowman's revelation of life on Jupiter before the explosion.It also copy-pastes an entire CHAPTER from the previous book, WITHOUT EVEN GIVING CONTEXT TO IT!As in, when copying Bowman's description or Tsien's transmission, it was done in the context of people listening to the transmission, or Bowman revealing the information to Frank Poole.One entire chapter is a total copy and paste from the previous book, even down to the NAME OF THE CHAPTER.

This is no exaggeration: At least 10 pages of the book can be skipped over if you have read the previous books.They are word-for-word copies from the previous books.


Now, the bad:

- Anyone with even the slightest affection for any religion, or even atheism, will find reason to be offended.Clarke defends himself in the epilogue, not really claiming to be bashing any religion, and he can claim plausible deniability in claiming that the statements on religion only come from one particularly unlikeable and poorly characterized character, Dr. Khan, but it's still coming from the author, and not only are his views not in the least countered by Frank Poole (though he claims to think about doing so), but they're all but ACCEPTED by him by the end of the book


He equates any and all religious belief as essentially mental illness.


But don't worry!Even atheists are considered in some way childish and immature for being so dogmatically certain of no God.Instead, the spirituality in the future is divided into Theists and Deists.I forget which one believes what, but honestly it doesn't make a damn bit of difference anyway, not out of any failure to identify the potential satire on the many subdivisions of Islam or Christianity, but just because no one in the book gives a damn, and it's one of the only true Red Herrings in the book.It makes no damn difference in the book.

Essentially, the beliefs are narrowed down to: Believing there cannot be more than one God, and Believing there cannot be less than one God.Whooopee.


So everyone out there who follows a religious belief, no matter how secular, how radical, how peaceful or tolerant: You're mentally deranged.That is what this book states.


The book, also under Dr Khan's moronic rantings, essentially states that RELIGION is the SOLE REASON that people have murdered one another in such large numbers, aside from personal conflict or emotion.

The scary part is that some people seriously believe this.I think South Park did a fun job of disproving this with their episode in which Cartman is frozen and goes 500 years into the future, where everyone is an atheist... and they are at total war with each other.


My own statement is that RELIGION is NOT the REASON people have committed atrocities throughout the ages.RELIGION has simply been the common banner.It's common sense that if you want to gather a huge force of people, you must appeal to what they have in common.Religion is what they have in common, because everyone has thoughts and fears and ideas and beliefs on life, death, and the surreal and supernatural.Claiming religion is somehow a disease responsible for atrocities is like saying the bomb is responsible for such mass death of innocents.Spoiler alert: Guns are cheaper.

Anyway, the book basically points to mad religious freaks, essentially cultists, people like Aum Shinrikyo, who masterminded the Sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subways in 1995, or Warren Jeffs, polygamist who has raped underaged girls and forced them to marry older men, who arise once out of a thousand over centuries, and an even fewer number end up acting out acts of religious terrorism.Dr Khan has the sheer AUDACITY to hold these TINY TINY TINY MINORITY of religious extremist terrorists as evidence that RELIGION is bad and evil.


Holy Fail, Batman.That logic would give Mister Spock a heart attack or two.



- Regardless of Clarke's own political beliefs, the future world in this novel is essentially one where every single technological nightmare and horror story of science fiction (short of evil alien/robot overlords) has come and gone, but unlike "Futurama" which plays this effectively for comedy, it's played so straight in this book, it is TERRIFYING.

One example which seems horrifying and yet is so casually tossed aside, it's almost COMICAL is the concept of the Braincap, which produces essentially a virtual reality entirely within a person's mind.Frank Poole wisely states this sort of thing could become insanely addictive, and Dr. Wallace casually says "Oh yeah, it is---millions of people have died from it" or whatever.MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE DIED, SO UTTERLY ADDICTED TO THIS ULTIMATE ROLEPLAYING FANTASY DEVICE THAT THEIR BRAINS SIMPLY OVERLOADED AND DIED, and it's not only cast aside in one sentence, but is treated almost humorously, AND THE BRAINCAP IS STILL IN USE IN 3001!

As someone who has a family member who has suffered from a crippling addiction, this is NOT a humorous idea for a book that is supposed to be hard, cerebral science fiction.

Further making this horrifying, Braincap sessions are MANDATORY in this future, for some reason, and somehow it has become the style of the day for EVERYONE to shave their heads bald and wear wigs.



- "3001" features essentially a "1984"-ish future without the historical revisionism.A seemingly apathetic Big Brother.There's even a point where one of the characters, having trouble focusing their thoughts in a telepathic message, QUOTES A 1984-ISH PARTY MANTRA TO CALM HERSELF."Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party".There is even a point in the book where the character claims Communism is the most perfect style of government, though quickly states that it's not the system they use.

If that isn't disgusting or horrifying enough, there are people (whom Clarke tries to justify as claiming they are criminals undergoing rehabilitation) who are essentially mentally manipulated in order to serve as work slaves to pay off their debt.THEY ARE LITERALLY CALLED "NONPERSONS".I think only Frank Poole uses that term, but it's REPEATED EVERY SINGLE TIME.And what sort of Unfortunate Implications arise that the much-esteemed Dr. Khan is a blonde-haired Nord, the lovely Dr. Wallace is mostly Japanese, and the NONPERSON CRIMINAL SLAVEMAN is brown?



Further adding to the 1984 theme is identification implants in the palm of people's hands, complete with name, birthdate, and something like a social security number, and what amounts to eugenics, or at worst the concept of "Pre-Crime" like in Philip K. Dick's "Minority Report"---AND THIS IS TREATED LIKE A GOOD IDEA!The Braincap is used essentially to detect people with mental diseases or illnesses or handicaps of any sort.Those who are found to have signs of major psychosis are then separated from humanity if they cannot be cured.


I have Asperger's Syndrome, also known as High Functioning Autism.This is NOT a mental disease or illness or defect.It is not curable.

The mere IDEA that this (NOT the "regular" Autism) is something that SHOULD or CAN be cured is offensive to my entire existence.HFA has shaped the person I am in a great many ways.If it could be "cured" I would cease to exist---you cannot create a personality out of nothing.



This all takes up a huge portion of my review because it takes up a huge portion of the book, close to 150 pages before the actual "story" starts.


I put "story" in quotations because it's not so much a real story as it is a short plot-thread executed just to end this fantasy of terror.Dave Bowman re-appears, contacting Frank Poole, explaining that the aliens behind the Monolith have apparently re-activated it.


There then proceeds to be an explanation which not only COMPLETELY DESTROYS all the mystique, awe, mystery, and ultimately the beauty of the previous three books.While logic and rational explanations always exist for romance, there's always a satisfaction in knowing.

Unfortunately, the creativity seemingly ran out before Clarke could finish this.The Monolith's big mystery is... exactly what was revealed from the very first book: it's essentially a high-level computer holding all the programs and information the aliens left it with to oversee the development of species.

Okay, so that wasn't very satisfying, but what makes it WORSE is that Clarke insinuates that this computer can essentially not only INTERACT but FALL VICTIM TO THE EXACT SAME ISSUES THAT BEFALL MODERN-DAY AND FUTURE HUMAN COMPUTERS.

Clarke openly acknowledges in the postludium that the movie "Independence Day" used this exact same concept in its movie, but what differentiates this is that the aliens in the book have FROM THE VERY START OF THE SERIES been described to be BEYOND MACHINES.THEY ARE PURE ENERGY.THEY DO NOT NEED SPACESHIPS BECAUSE THEY -ARE- SPACESHIPS.And their great technological marvel is taken down by a few trojan horses Norton AntiVirus 3022 would be able to detect but not fix?

You've completely disconnected me, no pun.


Worse, the essence of Dave Bowman and HAL, as displayed in the previous two books, are reduced from cosmic mystery between being ghosts and being sort of "hybrids" between human/computer and Alien, to MERE COMPUTER PROGRAMS.

That's right.The Being that Was But Still Contains the Essence of David Bowman... is a highly advanced computer program with highly advanced Artificial Intelligence.

This cannot even be dismissed with that famous quote of Clarke's "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" because the aliens ARE energy beings like Bowman had become, and it was even implied in earlier novels that he had BECOME one of them.

So now he's just reduced to a computer program of the Monolith.


But there's always hope with the PURPOSE, as Kane would say...

But no.The purpose is as human and easily deconstructed and destructed by even a mere human bastard philosopher like me.These aliens are apparently testing various species.An example is given of failure in the form of a planet many lightyears away which suffered a huge vacuum explosion so massive, it caused its star to go supernova.

So apparently it's implied these aliens are going to do the same to us... based on what?On a moral system completely beyond our own understanding?And yet it's treated as though it is going by Clarke's own moral system, in which Humanity in the 20th century is apparently guilty of extinction.

Mister Spock would die of multiple heart attacks from the insanely faulty logic of that.


And to make sure Spock dies as painfully as possible, this is based on OUTDATED INFORMATION!Apparently since these aliens are located 450 lightyears away, the original Monolith transmission from "2001" reached the aliens nearly 500 years later, and so based on information THEY SHOULD KNOW TO BE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OUTDATED, they send instructions of destruction (no pun) to the Monolith, which will take ANOTHER FIVE HUNDRED YEARS.

Imagine if the people of the world were to be judged by a modern-day legal system based on what our species did in the 1000s AD, from a frame of mind of modern-day law and morality.


Wow.This book is a marvel in how it manages to thoroughly offend the sensibility of any and every living thing with a sound and thinking mind.


But I can still love Arthur C. Clarke as an author, because as he says in his postludium, copying from the phrase a US president once used:


"It's fiction, stupid" ... Read more

Product Description
Her code name is Sparta. Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities of superhuman dimension--the product of advanced biotechnology. Renowned professor J.Q.R. Forster's expedition to Jupiter's moon has not proven uneventful. In a blaze of ice-geysers, the moon's surface rips off to reveal an ancient alien world-ship. But when the world-ship suddenly hurtles through space toward a black hole, Sparta must find out why from a mysterious alien. This star-spanning adventure brings together the genius of Arthur C. Clarke and the talents of distinguished science-fiction writer Paul Preuss. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A brilliant if somewhat confusing finale
Was quite suprised with this book. Blake and the crew of the "Ventris" are taken on board of the the Worldship that was Amalthea, joining Sparta who had made contact with the alien, Thowintha.The alien entity on board takes them on a journey of knowledge throughspace and time, which changes many things for them, perceptionally and inSparta and Blake's case, physically (gills are somewhat handy when livingin a vessel that is filled with water). The finale of the book leaves a lotof questions, and you sit back a little thinking, "ok, how?" buttypical of Preuss's good work, it is a very enjoyable story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Standard Arthur C. Clarke writing

Not his best work, but by far not his worst. It's a cohesive story from start to finish, with just enough science on one main topic (a space bridge) to make it all worth while. It's not a fast read and is more character driven than topic driven, but a good read if you liked his "Rama" (the first one) and "Childhood's End."

First time Clarke reader: ok but not overwhelming
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke

Even though I am a fairly frequent reader of Science Fiction since my teens (I could not get enough of Asimov's Foundations at the time), I had never read anything by Clarke until I got the Fountains of Paradise for my Kindle. I could not really explain why, but I was under the impression that his main book was 2001. Having watched and loved the Kubrick movie, I just could not see myself reading the book. Probably counting against him were the many books he co-authored, which just does not seem right to me (for no good reason in all honesty).

My perspective changed after listening to a class about fantastic and science fiction litterature, where the lecturer clearly seemed to hold him in high esteem. So I went looking for something, and this is what Amazon had to offer. Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Am I overly impressed, not quite: while the book developed thoroughly some neat ideas and had some pretty good sections scattered here and there, it also contained too many dead ends and themes not fully exploited, giving the impression of reading a very good draft rather than a finished product. I'm providing further details below, but you may want to skip this, as it contains spoilers to some extent.

* Neat ideas

First and foremost, this is the concept of space elevator. Described in details. It could have been fastidious, turned out to be pretty good. Clearly the author was very enamoured with the concept and he was often pretty close to getting over the top with the science and the technology, but he set-up a few pretty good scenes, especially the rescue one, where the main protagonist must go out of the elevator and where Clarke captures fairly well the odd concept that he's in space, but still subject to gravity.

The second neat idea is that of the "Gibraltar Bridge", as a precursor to the space elevator. I felt dizzy thinking about the massive arch in the sky.

Then there's the technology underpinning the elevator: diamond cables in particular.

* Good Sections

Pretty much the entire part dedicated to Sigirya and the old Singhalese kingdom (he calls them differently). This was well written and evocative: I visited the rock a long time ago (I was 18!) and was awed by the paintings. Many sensations and memories came back through Clarke's prose.

The scene where the builder of the elevator journeys to the summit of the mountain where he wants to install his device. The mountain is occupied by buddhist monks. The prose is very evocative. The idea to watch the shadow of a peak stretching through the plain during sunrise is wonderful (apparently this truely occurs at Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka)

The end, with the engineer dying as a gets back to earth after saving a team of scientists. Clarke uses the "automated health monitor" he had introduced before to maximimum dramatic effect.

* Dead Ends and Themes Not Fully Exploited

There are shallow dead ends and deep ones. Those I call shallow are mostly minor characters inexplicably given "air time" beyond what is needed to advance the plot and who are not particularly interesting in themselves (the old ambassador, the world famous journalist, the nephew of the builder, the scientist turned buddhist). They end up feeling like fillers. The deeper dead ends have to do with the structure of the book:
- one gets a prelude dealing with an historical king in Sri Lanka, and for the first two chapters the historical narrative is intertwined with what turns out eventually to be the main story. So one is led to expect a deeper connection between the deep past and the deep future, but this just falls flat: we never hear again about the ancient king. One may have expected some sort of spell, or dramatic analogy, but one gets nothing.
- then one gets aliens exploring the solar system, with again the story alternating with that of the space elevator. Again, we get no connection in the end. While the way the aliens are introduced is actually pretty neat and opens wide perspectives, this is just not weel fitted in the overall scheme of the book.
- there's also the entire sub-plot about getting the buddhist monks to agree to the installation of the elevator. One gets a fairly promising scene between the engineer and the abbot and his aide, who turns out to be a scientist: is this a prelude to a match of intellects? a match between science and mysticism? between hubris and wisdom? It turns out to be none of it, as the buddhists leave their precint later as an accident in the elevator fulfills a prophecy. That's pretty weak and uninspired.

Leave this one to the sci-fi devotees.The book is "hard science" fiction, not much of a novel
The problem is an endemic one for sci-fi: the non-hardcore reader often doesn't feel drawn to the characters or the plotlines.That reader, such as myself, often feels that the characters are at the service of some "hard science" idea: they are useful gadgets to help bring life to Mars, peer into alien ships, or--in this case--get going a space elevator.The who and why of the novel become rather forgettable.Of course, the best sci-fi says so very much more, but this book, I'm afraid, is typical of swaths of the genre that serve only to explore a futuristic idea.

An insightful and low key science fiction award winner...
Coming in to this one I knew nothing about it.The only reason why I picked it up was because it won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards and thus had to be a good read.I was not disappointed, although it was a little slow at times.

Clarke certainly took his time developing his characters and plot.It was very slow going.The science fiction is very low key and not always present.In the peripheral you know you are in the future, that planets have been colonized and that genetic defects and disease have been fixed and cured.But other than that you don't really get too much science fiction.Eventually the plot begins to thicken and form, molding itself around the novel concept of a space/rail station attached to earth to facilitate space travel.Add to that other concepts such as harvesting asteroids and...well lets leave the rest for the reader to find out.

Ultimately I have read better sci fis, but what makes this book stand out, and why he won both prestigious awards, is the actual science behind the story, the stuff that could quite possibly work in the future.Clarke is an amazingly insightful writer and I look forward to reading more of his.I would recommend.

4 stars.

4 1/2 stars - excellent!
Beautifully written, with some memorable and moving sequences. The story about the space elevator is fascinating, and the descriptions put you in the seat as the elevator moves you up, impossibly high. I loved the side stories of the monks and the aliens, but had hoped they would be a more integral part of the story (only a minor disappointment). But it is really about the miracle and beauty of science and progress, and man's determination to pursue it against all obstacles. ... Read more

Product Description
THE GHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKSA hundred years after the epic disaster, two powerful geniuses compete to turn fantasy into fact-by raising the Titanic. But beneath the rival technologies, fortunes, and egos, two fatal obsessions rage...and the Titanic may again become a deathtrap.

THE DEEP RANGEIn the aftermath of a Martian disaster, space is denied to traumatized astronaut Walter Franklin. He finds a new life as a submarine warden protecting ocean-dwelling farmers and scientists...only to find that the underwater realm holds dangers as dark and deep as the stars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Two novels: one self-indulgent, one near-classic
The Ghost from the Grand Banks: I'd never heard of this novel before finding it at the library, and I quickly found out why. It's a rather self-indulgent outing by the master, spending more time demonstrating his erudition than furthering the rather thin plot, which involves raising the Titanic. He has some successful predictions in here (the Y2K problem, though he misjudges both its impact and solutions), and some unsuccessful ones (the Mandelbrot set as a fashion object). All in all, this is an uncharacteristically forgettable outing.

The Deep Range: Now this is more like it. The first sentence -"There was a killer loose on the range" - grabbed me, bringing me back to the days when I first read this book as I was just getting into science fiction. Here we have a future world where food is becoming scarcer, and whales and plankton must be harvested to feed the teeming millions. Into this comes Franklin, a traumatized astronaut looking for a new career. We cover the problems he encounters, both personally and professionally, concluding with the moral one of eating whales at all.

Still something of a rambling tale, but it's out of the classic days of sf, and it brought back fond memories for me, and I enjoyed it, regardless.

Two Tales from the Sea--in the classic SF mode.
THE GHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKS was written more than a decade ago, telling a tale of an attempt to raise the Titanic in the early 21st century. It was only a few years later that James Cameron's TITANIC caused enough stir in interest for the old ship's future fate that such attempts to raise the old tin pot now don't seem so outlandish at all. This novel, written in typical Clarkean style, is filled with science and technology fitted to a spare and efficient fromework of a plot. Diversions into the world of mathematics via the 'Mandelbrot set' makes for a fascinating counterpoint to the main story.

In 1957, the year the Space Age began, ACC penned THE DEEP RANGE--about near-future undersea farming and exploration of Earth's "inner space." The author's love of the sea and it's creatures was prominently shown in this evocative novel. In the decades since it was published, the world has undergone a true revolution in attitude toward marine mammals and their habitats. Whale song has been studied, protective covenants established to preserve endangered species, and exploration of the seas continues. A classic tale that sometimes rankles the contemporary mindset, but exposing all kinds of future possibilities. ... Read more

Product Description
“[A] combination of mystery and science fiction almost reaching the level of Isaac Asimov’s classic Lije Baley—Daneel Olivaw novels.”
—Chicago Sun Times

Her code name is Sparta. Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities far surpassing those of a normal human. For she is more than human: Sparta is the first product of advanced biotech engineering. But now she is little more than a cipher to herself—crucial memories of the past three years are locked away in the dark recesses of her brain.

When the crippled freighter Star Queen arrives at Venus Station with a lone survivor on board, Sparta must risk her life to investigate what really happened during its deadly voyage in space.

She must solve this mystery even as she unlocks another—the truth behind her own identity . . .

This tautly paced story brings together the genius of Arthur C. Clarke and Paul Preuss, whose work has been described by The New York Times as “Lively, intelligent . . . hard-driving.”

Arthur C. Clarke is the world-renowned author of such science fiction classics as 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which he shared an Oscar nomination with director Stanley Kubrick, and its popular sequels, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001: Final Odyssey; the highly acclaimed The Songs of Distant Earth; the bestselling collection of original short stories, The Sentinel; and over two dozen other books of fiction and non-fiction. He received the Marconi International Fellowship in 1982. He resides in Sri Lanka, where he continues to write and consult on issues of science, technology, and the future.

Paul Preuss began his successful writing career after years of producing documentary and television films and writing screenplays. He is the author of twelve novels, including Venus Prime, Volumes 1, 2, and 3, and the near-future thrillers Core, Human Error, and Starfire. His non-fiction has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, New York Newsday, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Besides writing, he has been a science consultant forseveral film companies. He lives in San Francisco, California. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The publisher should be ashamed
The publisher (and Amazon) should be ashamed of this title. While the content is fine -- I'm a Clarke fan from way, way back -- the presentation is abysmal.

This title is priced like a print book; in fact, far higher than a paperback. Given that, I expect print book quality typesetting. Instead, paragraphs break at random places, indentation and spacing varies, words are run together. In short, completely unprofessional.

The editor should be fired.
... Read more

Product Description
She lay exposed on the operating table whilst they worked on her. Linda, now known as­Sparta was the same woman in love with Blake. She had been through some trying periods in her life: terrifying childhoods, homelessness, addiction and despair before first contact with the prophetae. She renewed her faith after recruitment, indoctrination and training in the tenets of the Free Spirit. Linda had been shot and her parents lost in the night sky. Now, by the witness of these files, Sparta­living what they felt, feeling what drove them­confirmed that it was the duty of the prophetae to kill anyone who had successfully resisted indoctrination. She needed to find the truth about her parents and investigate the Space Board. Would she be successful before time runs out? Find out in "Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime".
SUMMARY:
The fourth volume in a series of science-fiction thrillers evolving from the works of Arthur C. Clarke, grandmaster of science fiction and author of 2001: a space odyssey.Her code name is Sparta. Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities of superhuman dimension -- the product of advanced biotechnology.Recovering from her mission on Mars, Sparta finds herself the guest of the Space Board. But relaxation is short-lived as she sets out on an interplanetary investigation -- of the Space Board itself.!Members of the Free Spirit, a religious cult intending to gain control of all the worlds of our galaxy, have infiltrated the Space Board. As the date of the manned mission into the clouds of Jupiter approaches, Sparta's suspicions grow. She is certain the mission has fallen into the hands of the cult, and she is determined to stop it.This breathtaking adventure brings together the genius of Arthur C. Clarke and the talents of distinguished science-fiction writer Paul Preuss.Introduction by Arthur C. Clarke. COVER ART BY JIM BURNS, WITH A SPECIAL SECTION OF COMPUTER-GENERATED TECH SPECS AND BLUEPRINTS OF THE SPACECRAFT AND HARDWARE FROM VENUS PRIME BY DARREL ANDERSON.
www.BrickTowerPress.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kindle book too expensive
19.99$ for a kindle book which can be had for 15.99 as a real book and which is quite old. Is unacceptable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Focus on orbital mechanics rather than plot
Only Clarke's second novel (1952), the novel doesn't focus on the plot as much as it does on the outpouring of ideas. There's little or no plot escalation but rather we're met by quaint surprises throughout. A teenage boy (in the year 2060 or so) wins a trip to anywhere on earth, but he argues that near earth orbit qualifies as earth. Having his wish granted, he makes his way to Inner Station three hundred miles above earth. Once there, he makes friends with station staff and we follow their games, follies, adventures and jokes.

It's not so much an action/sci-fi novel as it is a sci-fi/journal of orbital mechanics and mayhem. It's all terribly easy to read, probably aimed at the same age group as the main character, Roy. Unlike much of the sci-fi written in the 1950s, there's a notable lack of presence from the red Communists. Instead, Clarke focuses the entire 149 pages on one boy's aspiration to travel to earth orbit, one boy's explanations of orbital mechanics and one boy's rambunctious adventure around earth's orbit. Given its age, the reader is also met by a few cheesy lines such as "Maybe there's a robot waiting in the air lock with a ray gun!" and there are a few fallacies such as "Mercury always keeps one face turned towards the sun."But if you can look past its simplicity, time worn fallacies and predictable cheesiness, then this book holds a certain charm.

Wonderful
This work of fiction that centers around communication satellites was written before any such thing existed. Arthur C. Clarke not only came up with the idea (like other Sci-fi authors come up with ideas), he also made com. satellites practical. He is credited with their invention. This genius work by this genius man should not be missed. ... Read more

Product Description
Using his own computer-generated color illustrations, the best-selling author of 2001 presents his vision, founded in fact, of the colonization of Mars, showing what humans could do to make it inhabitable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Clarke book but too much computer generated pics
I'm a huge Arther C Clarke fan. The worldmisses this one in a hundred million futuristic visionary and superb writer.Years and years ago I read almost everything he wrote. I missed this one.

This book is 120 pages and is well written. I give the written material a 5 star. However 1/3 of the book is older computer generated pictures on different areas of Mars that have been terraformed at different times centuries and centuries from now.

Clarke was a realest about terraforming. He realized Mars terraforming would take centuries and centuries. Clarke explains why we must explore space and expand the human race into space or face stagnation and eventual collapse of civilization. He explains why it is essential for us to work with other nations together in the conquest of space especially Mars. He explained the need of cooperation in the cold war.

Different propulsion systems are discussed ( nuclear, ion, and antimatter). Read Dr Robert Zubrin's.... The Case for Mars (5 stars) for the real deal about Mars Direct on how to get to Mars.

Clarke shows support for a limited moon base but explains a Mars Colony is the key.

There is limited explanation as to the detailed methods of terraforming Mars. Many computer generated pics of Olympus Mars ( highest and largest volcano in the solar system), the Labyrinth of Night,and other spectacular areas of Mars.

Its interesting to see Clarke's genius older view of terraforming of Mars but I'm sure there are better books on terraforming Mars.
His computer generated pics are dated 1990ish. Its nice seeing some of them but he over did it. Wish Clarke had only 1/3 the computer generated pics and the space used for actual terraforming detailed info. This is a classic book. A good book for any Clarke collection. 4 stars

A wonderful book, but a bit too many pictures
As a reader of many of Arthur C. Clarkes books, I just had to get this one too. I love the topic of this book. And to see how with available technics it would be possible to develop a "Garden on Mars" is very amazing to read about. Unluckily, in my opinion, Clarke put a bit too much work into playing around with this picture creating tool. I am a computer techie and I know how much fun it can be to work with stuff like that. But a view less pictures would have worked just the same. ... Read more

Product Description
The best collection ever of Arthur C. Clarke's short fiction, including the stories on which 2001: A Space Odyssey and Childhood's End were based.The Sentinel is a magnificent retrospective showcase of Arthur C. Clarke's finest shorter fiction. Spanning four decades of writing, this book includes many gems of a genius at the height of his powers. The title piece is the story that inspired 2001. 'Guardian Angel' is a rarely anthologised work that gave birth to Childhood's End, and 'The Songs of Distant Earth' is the original version of Clarke's own favourite novel. Along with other vaulting tales of imagination are fascinating introductions telling the history of each story from conception to completion. From one of the greatest science-fiction writers of all time. The Sentinel is one of those all-too-few collections that must be read, re-read, then treasured.Amazon.com Review
Originally published in 1983, the "2001 Anniversary Edition" of Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel offers insight and commentary on 10 ofClarke's most notable short stories.

In Clarke's introduction, he explores why he became the kind of writer hedid, and he offers a look at the very first paragraph he ever published--in1933. This anthology spans three decades, beginning in 1946 with the secondstory he published, "The Rescue Party," and offers a chance to read some ofthe short stories that later germinated into his most spectacular works.

It's a special treat to be able to see the beginnings of 2001: A Space Odyssey andChildhood's End,along with Clarke's thoughts on how each story came about. The truly amazing thing is that Clarke's short fiction still holds up, by and large. It's unavoidable that time would catch up with Clarke, though. In fact, he almost apologetically reminds the reader that while "Jupiter V" is dated, Sputnik was still six years in the future when it was written in 1951.

While it would have been wonderful if Clarke had added an additionalintroduction about the human race's journey into 2001 and beyond for thisspecial edition, that was not to be. His most recent words in thisanthology were written in 1983. But that's a minor quibble. Withexceptional illustrations by Lebbeus Woods, The Sentinel is a must-read, not only for Clarke fans, but for all readers of science fiction. --KathieHuddleston ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The Nine Short Stories of Clarke
This book contains nine short science fiction stories written by Arthur C. Clarke in the early part of his career.They are a good sample of the themes of his larger body of writing.Two stories here were later expanded into full-length novels."The Sentinel" became 2001: A Space Odyssey and "Guardian Angel" became Childhood's End.My three favorites are described below.

"Guardian Angel" follows the careful communications between Earth's representative and the leader of an alien delegation that has come to help us.As always, the devil's in details.

"Breaking Strain" is an interesting contrast to Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" published in 1954.It was written in 1948.Two spacefarers traveling to Venus survive a meteor strike to find their reserve oxygen gone--leaving not enough for both of them to reach their destination.

"The Sentinel" tells of an unexplained alien artifact uncovered on the Moon.As all Earth wonders who made this object, it creates quite an outcry.

The stories in this book are recommended as well-written and entertaining.I agree with another reviewer's recommendation to read them in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke along with more stories by this science fiction Master.

The Germinal Stories of Clarke's Greatest Works
For me this anthology of the short stories that led to Arthur C.Clarke's seminal works of "2001" and "Childhood's End" is a gold mine.It's true that the stories are not all great, but they show you how a great author extends his original idea(s) to create a masterpiece.

It's easy to tell from "The Sentinel" how Clarke expanded to "2001" and then "2010" "2061" and "3001".But the germ of the original idea is there for all to see in this story.If you wanted to catch the 'eye' of a new spacefaring race, placing a note on their nearest neighbor would be the smart thing to do.Everything else leads from here.

In "Guardian Angel" Clarke creates two powerful stories.How would we fair if a superior race found us and was willing to help us along but would not meet with us?The more interesting is the idea of 'racial' memory.Could the Earth have been visited (say around the time of the building of the Egyptian and Meso-American Pyramids) by an alien race that interfered with our culture?Could this interference have manifested itself in a race memory where the visitors were 'bad guys'? If they returned, how would we view them?

The other stories are just as unusual, though I found "Jupiter V" to be awkward and boring."Songs of Distant Earth" is an outline, as per ACC in his preface to the story. But you can see the story line waiting to be expanded.A great treasure trove for all ACC fans.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Interesting, but not much more
Some time back I became embroiled in an online debate over what constitutes science fiction. There are those who feel that only things that are actually possible should be regarded as "science fiction"; and that all else (including "Star Wars" and virtually everything else) should be considered "science fantasy". Others feel that that such distinctions are pointless and the term "science fiction" need not be so particular. I fall in the latter category, while, at least based on this volume, Clarke falls in the former.

I purchased this book in the hope it would be a "primer" to reading some of Clarke's novels. I am very big on chronology; I am reading all of the James Bond novels in order (even though I find most of John Gardner's entries bland) and was considering reading Clarke's "Childhood's End" until I noticed that the story that prefaced it ("Guardian Angel") was in this collection. Seeing that it also contained "The Sentinel", which I had always been curious of since seeing "2001" in a college film course, I decided this book would be a good place to start.

Reading this book was, for me, sort of like eating a salad. I knew the stories were good, but I didn't really enjoy them. Clarke is clearly a brilliant man, but his writing just isn't my cup of tea. The stories in this collection were interesting, but little else. I think the only one that will really stick with me is the titular story, which has piqued my interest enough that I may well read "2001" someday, but not anytime soon.

This could be a good purchase for the casual science fiction looking to explore the different realms of the genre and see if Clarke's work is what they are looking for. More serious fans will likely be more interested in the larger collections of Clarke's work.

Don't Bother, But Get Collected Stories Instead
Being a Clarke fan since childhood, my first book was literally Childhood's End. I was looking forward to the re-release of this title, but I won't pay for a new intro when I have all these short stories elsewhere (TheCollected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke).I recommend Collected Stories to everyone contemplating buying The Sentinel.Collected Stories covers nearly every worthwhile short story that Clarke has published or you can buy a dozen or so shorter volumes with a lot of overlap.This single omnibus is a much better deal.

the seeds of 2001
In 1948, Arthur C. Clarke submitted a short story, The Sentinel, to a BBC contest;which he did notwin.However, the story was published in the Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader in 1951, andin 1964 he returned to the story and began expanding it into a novel.He and the filmmaker StanleyKubrick used this as the basis for a movie script which, in 1968, became 2001 : A Space Odyssey; forwhich both received Oscar nominations.

Especially considering the opacity for which the movie is notorious, the story is remarkably spare andstraightforward.The narrator, a lunar geologist, recalls cooking sausage one morning at a researchbase on the Moon, when the rising sun revealed a metallic glimmer on the rock wall of Mare Crisium. He and a compatriot climbed the crater rim and found :

[A] roughly pyramidal structure, twice as high as a man, that was set in the rock like a gigantic, many-faceted jewel.

Though they initially believed it to be a relic of a lost lunar civilization (notice it is much differentthan the black obelisks which were eventually used in the movie), they soon realized that it must havebeen placed there billions of years ago by an advanced race from another planet.It took twenty years,but finally they were able to penetrate a protective shield around the crystal by using atomic upon it. Now they understand the structure to have been a kind of sentinel, waiting to alert the beings whoplaced it there that finally the human race has achieved a sufficient level of development to be worthyof their notice.

I particularly like the way that this tale, written by a renowned futurist at the dawn of the space age,actually resonates with age old religious concerns.The simple idea at its core is that it is by increasingour knowledge and developing our technological prowess that we will become superior beings, evengods.The geologist sagely worries, as must anyone who recalls the Fall of Man and the Tower ofBabel, that the beings who left behind this early warning signal may even be jealous of our advancesand may not be all that happy to find that they finally have company.Like all of the best tales of thefantastic, The Sentinel, though ostensibly about the future, illuminates the very mundane concernswe've always had about the nature of our being and our role in the order of things.

GRADE : A ... Read more

Product Description
Sentinels: A collection of stories and essays by some of Clarke's many colleagues and friends who were influenced by his writings and thoughts about human possibilities, and who continue as his sentinels by the doors to the future that he opened...Stories and essays by: Isaac Asimov, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Russell Blackford, Damien Broderick, Pat Cadigan, Sheila Finch, James Gunn, Robert A. Heinlein, A.A. Jackson IV, Christopher McKitterick, Charles Pellegrino, Frederik Pohl, Pamela Sargent, Joan Slonczewski, Allen Steele, Howard Waldrop, Jack Williamson, George Zebrowski. ... Read more