The Wind from the Sun [Hardcover]

The stories here cover sailboat racing (aluminum sails in the solar wind); marooned ships (after launching from the Moon); voyages of discovery to Jupiter, using fusion powered hot air balloons. This is classic SF from a master, showing us how different things will be regardless of which direction the future takes, while the human factors will remain the same. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

These stories are quick, thought-provoking and not burdened with angst or attempts at deep meaning. They are stories of people living their lives, or dying, against backgrounds somewhat familiar and strikingly strange. Every student of classic SF should have this in their library.

The stories here cover sailboat racing (aluminum sails in the solar wind); marooned ships (after launching from the Moon); voyages of discovery to Jupiter, using fusion powered hot air balloons. This is classic SF from a master, showing us how different things will be regardless of which direction the future takes, while the human factors will remain the same. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

These stories are quick, meaningful and not burdened with angst or attempts at deep meaning. They are stories of people living their lives, or dying, against backgrounds somewhat familiar and strikingly strange. Every student of classic SF should have this in their library.

Some of the stories, though, are really short, therefore they don't have much development, being just interesting concepts and mind teasers.

The longer ones are mostly the struggle of one central character against some hazard or life threat, based on scientifical facts used to develop the whole plot.

Since Clarke wrote those stories between the sixties and early seventies, it's also interesting to see what expections people related to science had thiry or forty years ago, and notice that science developments had taken a totaly different turn, now mostly applied to our day-to-day life.

In all, this book is less complex than other Clarke books, like "Songs from distant Earth", or "Rendezvous with Rama", and easier to read, but not more enjoyable. Read it to complete your Clarke-knowledge.

Grade 8.0/10