A collection of Arthur C. Clarke's short stories with a new preface by the author. The last story in the volume, "The Sentinel", was the basis for the film, "2001: A Space Odyssey".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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There are many ways to recapture the sheer fun that science fiction was back when it wasn't even a bit respectable and the idea that Arthur C. Clarke would one day be Sir Arthur was more or less inconceivable. One of the best ways is to go back to a classic short story collection like this, with its bitterly ironic title story of archaeology and its misunderstandings--the classic "Breaking Strain" in which two spacemen struggle over supplies that will do for one--and "The Sentinel," the story that acted as the seed for the late Stanley Kubrick's collaboration with Clarke, 2001.
Clarke always had a more delicate and poetic side, and this collection includes one of his finest stories along this vein, "Second Dawn," in which telepathically gifted aliens without hands deal with the moral dilemmas of science. Many of the stories address a Space Age that never was--Clarke was assuming that things would happen later than they did, but that more would follow quicker; this in itself gives the book charm as an add-on to its considerable conceptual wit. Few short story collections are SF classics, but this is a major exception. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
"In his fiction he thinks at once like a poet and like an engineer--and writes, at his best, like an angel."
--H. H. HOLMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--H. H. HOLMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
This book shows why Arthur C. Clarke is a great writer. As the quotation on the front of the book so aptly puts it "In his fiction he thinks at once like a poet and like an engineer-and writes, at his best, like an angel". Indeed. Of the stories in this collection, several stand out. Superiority was issued as required reading at MIT's Engineering courses after publication. "If I Forget Thee On Earth..." is a nice short piece that is in Freshman Literature books. The Sentinel, was, of course, the "inspiration" for 2001. Second Dawn and Exile of the Eons are two other good stories in here. But my personal favorite from this collection is History Lesson, a seemingly very serious story with a last sentence that will have you howling with laughter. Typical Clarke wit. This is a nice book for the ACC fan.
Format:Paperback
There are 11 short stories in this collection and all of them are truly exceptional but 3 really stand out. The first of course is "Sentinel" which is the basis for the movie and eventually the book, "2001" "Breaking Strain" is a great book discussing the moral implications of two men trapped alone in a space ship when it is quite obvious that if there was only one of them they could survive. With interesting commentary on how people live under pressure and what actions they take, this is an exceptional piece of work. But my favorite is probably "Second Dawn" this story discusses what happens to a group of aliens without hands but with enormous mental powers when they encounter a group of aliens with hands. The interaction of the civilizations and cultures is well described, and though I think Clarke may be taking too friendly an approach to such a meeting it would be nice if all civilizational clashes resolved this way. Overall this book shows that once again Clarke has proven himself a master of the science fiction genre. Though it should be warned that Clarke's writing style is very "hard" in other words he definitely emphasizes technological capability over character development. That being said I think this collections contains some of his best character sketches yet.
Format:Paperback
One of his best collections of short stories, it includes The Sentinel, the story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I really liked this one
I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes you just feel like reading little gems of science fiction instead of plowing through large tomes. This collection did exactly that. Read more
Published on Nov 22 1999 by unmeel
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing first effort
This is the first Arthur C. Clarke book I've read, and I was disappointed. Clarke writes traditional "hard" science fiction and, sadly, the science aspects of his work... Read more
Published on Aug 12 1999 by Craig Childs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb!
Excellent. The best of Arthur C. Clarke is right here in this book . Made n=me believe in aliens again
Published on May 17 1999
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