Earthlight

by Arthur C. Clarke

The time: 200 years after man's first landing on the Moon. There are permanent populations established on the Moon, Venus and Mars. Outer space inhabitants have formed a new political entity, the Federation, and between the Federation and Earth a growing rivalry has developed. EARTHLIGHT is the story of this emerging conflict.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space, Speculative Fiction, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy, Classics

155 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1955

About the author

Stories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.

He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.

Reviews

[Keyo Çalî · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story tells us that even if we live on Moon or Mars, we are the same people as before.
The author believes that history will be repeated
The coolest thing about this book for me was describing the separation of the moon and the earth to the Separation of Britain and America.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Земна светлина“ е кратък, но много добър роман! Сюжетът представлява отлично съчетание между шпионска история и военна фантастика. Действието се развива на Луната и атмосферата определено е напрегната, тъй като се очертава скоро да започне война между две човешки цивилизации. Таен агент от Земята е изпратен в лунната обсерватория, за да търси шпиони на противниците от Федерацията.



„Садлър си помисли, че умът му неволно измина пълния кръг на битието — от звездите към хората, от безмерната пустош на Космоса към самотния оазис на човешката душа.“

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fine science fiction spy novel set on the Moon. Though not a masterpiece of mid 50's scifi, it is what is to be expected by early Clarke: Intelligent, clever, inventive, efficiently executed, and as always, optimistic. I enjoyed this more than expected. Full of wild speculations of what the Moon might be like, once reached.

The novel, in parts, reminded me of Heinlein's, "The Moon is a Hard Mistress", yet it isn't anything close to that calibre, however, one can almost make a case that Heinlein might have read this and thought... Not bad, my good friend. But this story line... Hmm... Yet, with a little more 'mustard' stirred into the plot ...

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leída en 2003.
7/10. Media de los 20 libros leídos del autor : 7/10

Este Clarke era la ostia. Leer la sinopsis del libro y veréis lo que escribió en el 41 mientras veía Londres masacrado por las bombas.

Original a rabiar, siempre, siempre, siempre se puede sacar algo de la gran mayoría de sus novelas.

Lo dicho, la mejor review para hacer pensar es la propia sinopsis de eque aparece en esta edicion de edhasa Nebulae

[Jared · Rating 1 out of 5]

As per usual, Clarke has interesting ideas and a book as exciting as bending cardboard.

[Pat the Book Goblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. I saw many similarities between Earthlight and the Expanse series. The galaxy was mostly colonized and Mars and the Moon were at odds with Earth. Tensions rise and Earth threatens to withdraw its valuable resources and war begins. This was a very easy read from Clarke. I love how he can take hard science and turn it into something understandable. Great book!

[Ali Malekpoor · Rating 3 out of 5]

لذت خوندن هر کتاب از کلارک اثباتی است برای اینکه چرا ژانر علمی تخیلی را دوست دارم.کلارک به شدت شیفته فضا بود و این باعث می شد که شخصیت پردازی آثارش چندان قوی نباشد.اما قلم او صد در صد از بهترین استعدادهای نویسندگی ادبیات آمریکا محسوب میشود.

[Jaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

เบอร์แทรม แซดเลอร์ ถูกส่งขึ้นไปตรวจสอบบัญชีที่หอดูดาวบนดวงจันทร์ แต่นั่นไม่ใช่ภารกิจที่แท้จริงของเขา
เป็นแนวสายลับที่ไม่ได้มีอะไรหวือหวาโฉ่งฉ่าง เรื่องราวดำเนินไปอย่างช้าๆ เรียบๆ จนคนอ่านเกือบจะถอดใจ กว่าจะสนุกช่วงกลางเล่ม
แต่สมกับเป็นฮาร์ดไซไฟ อธิบายสภาพบนดวงจันทร์เสียละเอียดยิบ อดสงสัยไม่ได้จนต้องไปกางแผนที่ดวงจันทร์ว่าภูเขานี้หลุมนั้นมันอยู่ตรงไหน อธิบายทฤษฎีอาวุธยันทฤษฎีการสื่อสารที่ใช้ในเรื่อง

[marta the book slayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

”But Man was not content with the hazards that nature could provide. He was busily building his own funeral pyre.”

certainly not my favorite novel of his; at times it was difficult to read and get invested in the story. I appreciated the uniqueness of the idea coupled with the same old story of war.

[Bill's Chaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't got around to reading much Arthur C. Clarke yet, which is surprising, since he has been on my to read list for decades. The only works of his I remember reading are 2001 and a couple of the sequels. Possibly I read some short stories and novels of his when I was reading all the SF I could find in the school library in the early 70s. I didn't have a reading journal or goodreads to keep track of my reading back then.

This would have been a great read in my early teens, but is a little boring compared to the more modern SF that I have been reading.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

By modern standards this is a very slim novel, only 158 pages in total. First published in 1955 in many ways the ideas are dated. They reflect the times in which they were written. Set two hundred years into the future a computer needs to be fed punched tape in order to work and scientists have to wait for the developing fluid to dry before they can see the photographic images taken by their telescopes. Those scientists are all male, the few women working with them are glorified clerks.

In many other ways the ideas are fresh and at times almost revolutionary. At the beginning of the story there is a colony on the moon and humans are in the process of colonising the planets of the solar system. There is tension between Earth and the colonies over the allocation of resources and this leads to the possibility of war.

The main character in this story, Bertram Sadler, has been sent to the Moon as a spy in order to find out if there is a traitor in the colony. The examination of people's character, the reasons why some would side with the mother planet and some with the colonies is what stands the test of time. Even when a wry smile is raised simply because the way science has developed since the writing of the book means the ideas are outdated the central conceit of the story still holds true.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this early novel by Clarke, Bertram Sadler, a CIA operative, is sent to the Moon to investigate a suspected spy and prevent an interplanetary war. It's a short novel at 158 pages and straightforward plot, with imaginative descriptions of life on the moon, some of which still seem visionary, and some ludicrously dated. Punch card computers! Photographic film! Typewriters! It was published in 1955, well before the first unmanned probes explored the moon, let alone manned landings. Still enjoyable on the whole, and Clarke's optimism for the human future shines. Not what I'd recommend as an introduction for him. I'd recommend A Fall of Moondust, Childhood's End, The City and the Stars, 2001: A Space Odyssey (film or novel) or a collection of his short stories over this one.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earthlight is a classic golden age SciFi story of the kind I grew up with in the 50s and 60s. It ends so optimistically which was the general world-view back them. I took to the novel like the proverbial duck to water and felt like I was back in time.

Clarke is an excellent wordsmith and the prose flows off one's tongue. There is sufficient characterization to make for interesting characters. The novel does qualify as hard Sci-Fi for the period when written. I suspect many today would laugh at some of the science explained. What I found most interesting was his description of the moon's milieu. I could see it and feel it.

My edition has a preface by Clarke written in Nov. 1971. He explains some updates to the novel's science due to advancement made since 1941 (when the novel was started). Atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as lasers had to be considered, eg. Some things he did not change, like the direction of sunrise. He also tells of Jim Irwin and Dave Scott's naming a crater 'Earthlight' during the Apollo 15 mission to Clarke's delight.

8 of 10 stars

[Marius · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bland spy story in space. A borefest from start to finish. Interesting idea but a very forgettable book. 2.5*

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Arthur C. Clarke's children's novel Islands in the Sky about life on a space station when I was a child, and still love it as an adult; I must have read it about twenty times. I've always wanted to explore Clarke's adult work, but hit a few dead ends; Childhood's End was just too weird for me, though I wrote an academic article where it features! At last, I've hit gold; Earthlight is basically Islands in the Sky for grown-ups. Clarke imagines a future where humanity has colonised a number of planets in the solar system, but is now running short of crucial resources, which leads to tensions between Earth and 'the Federation' of other home-worlds. This short novel, set on the Moon, follows an agent sent to find a spy who's passing crucial scientific information to the Federation. As with Islands in the Sky, Earthlight is short on character growth but long on imaginative incident. Clarke's clarity is still unmatched for me, creating a fully convincing lunar world without ever getting bogged down in detail. I also love how practical his characters are in the face of danger: whether they're trying to drive a crawler out of a dustbowl or hyperventilating oxygen so they can escape an ailing spaceship without suits, they could never be accused of getting emotional about it. Finally, it's fascinating to witness this mix of accurate prediction and period detail play out: Clarke basically imagined geostationary communications satellites into being, but on his futuristic Moon, people still use computers with punch-cards, send telefaxes, and there's of course no internet. A novel that just does what it says on the tin, and I enjoyed it immensely.

[Martin Doychinov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Напрежението между Земята и Федерацията, породено от неотделянето на достатъчно ресурси от първата за втората, избухва в кратка студена, и още по-кратка "гореща" война. Конкретният повод за нея е откриването на големи залежи от тежки елементи на Луната (част от Земята), които са и много нужни на отделилите се в самостоятелна Федерация човешки средища по други планети, спътници и астероиди. Конфликтът е представен от гледната точка на счетоводител, пратен в лунната обсерватория уж да напише доклад за разходите й. Всъщност той е агент на военното разузнаване, чиято задача е да намери "къртица" на Федерацията, от която изтича информация към нея.
За произведение, публикувано за първи път през 1955-а не е лошо. Леко остаряло, но не по някакъв дразнещ начин. Проблемът е, че няма нищо запомнящо се в него. Главният герой е не особено интересен, а и е по-скоро наблюдател на основното описвано от Кларк, отколкото участник в него. Няма оригиналност (може преди шейсети кусур години да е бил) или впечатляващи идеи/концепции (може би само една). Силен социален елемент, който може би е отнел мястото на основния сюжет, който е поо-скоро вторичен елемент на произведенето.
В заключение - добра фантастика, но нищо особено... а с това име на корицата - още повече. 3,5 *

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old, scientifically dated, boring, and appallingly sexist.

(The only women mentioned, besides a wife back on Earth, are the six "girls" from computing who have fragile reputations, and an expensive mistress. Only the wife has a name, and none have voices.)

Normally I don't need interesting characters so much in SF, as I'm more interested in the What If ideas... but this doesn't even have a sense of wonder.

[Derek Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monumentally boring in a short space.

[Rudi]

A book from the 50s about mankind on the moon. Earth has expanded to bases on the moon and several planets in the solar system, and for the first time since the 1940s the world is at the brink of war.

I loved this book. You follow an accountant sent to the moon to check the books of the observatory there - but it ends up being a spy thriller. The setting is vintage and scifi, and it works really well. Clarke's predictions are way off, but they're never dumb.

I see no reason for why this has not been adapted to film or TV yet. I hope when it's done, they decide to go with visuals fitting to what Clarke must have imagined - meaning a future with radios and few screens.

[دانیال بهزادی]

‫این ترجمه رو به هیچ عنوان نگیرید، به‌جاش می‌تونید زمین افروز غیاثی‌نژاد یا نور زمین قصّاع رو بخونید. در این حد بده که من به این کتاب فحش می‌دادم، بعد یه ترجمهٔ دیگه رو ازش خوندم و تا آخر کتاب نفهمیدم این همون کتابه! جملهٔ آخر اون ترجمه رو که خوندم، تازه فهمیدم این همون کتابیه که دو سه ماه پیش خوندمش!

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was my first space / sci fi book. it was a little hard for me to get into but once I did I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the world building and researching the different moon landscapes. I like how the characters are depicted - at some points tho I did get a little lost with who’s who. Most of all I enjoyed the exploration of human relationships and the complexities of trying to remain human while living in a place so far from home


Ps. I appreciate the count of Monte cristo reference at the end

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it interesting the Apollo 15 crew gave this name to a crater as they drove by in the lunar rover.

[Matthew Talamini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has a good laser battle scene, a good spaceship rescue scene, and a good spy mystery. It’s short, but it should have been shorter. The first hundred pages spent a lot of time navigating a protagonist through various boring encounters that had nothing to do with the interesting events of the climax; and the protagonist had nothing to do with the interesting events of the climax, either. I suppose, given its early date, that the hard sci-fi descriptions of life on the Moon would have been more impactful than they were to me, reading it 70 years after its publication date.

[Tilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mõnus, rahuliku kulgemisega spioonikas, võimalik, et veidi kuivem kui „Ajaodüsseia“, kuid eriti ei häirinud. Maailm on suur, inimkond on asustanud Kuu, Marsi ja Veenuse, ma pole kindel, kas veel midagi. Maa kolooniad on ühinenud Föderatsiooniks, mis tahaks nüüd iseseisvust ja üksnes Maal leiduvaid ressursse (raskemetallid jm). Olukord on kriitiline, kardetakse kosmosesõja puhkemist.
Suurem osa tegevusest toimub Kuul, kust, nagu maalased kahtlustavad, lekitatakse infot vaenlasele. Raamatu peategelane on maalane, spioon Sadler, kes saabub raamatupidajaks maskeerunult Kuul asuvasse teaduskeskusesse, et leida info lekitaja. Lugu ise ülemäära põnev ei ole, kulgeb kuidagi muuseas, kusagil tagaplaanilm, intriig minu meelest ei kanna. Hoopis huvitavam on maailm ja inimesed, ka nende omavahelised suhted. Nt on Sadler koguaeg mures oma maale jäänud kaaslase pärast, keda ta suhte aastapäeval koju õnnitlema ei jõua. Kas naine pahandab, või mõistab, või … Hästi on kirjeldatud Sadleri sisse elamist teaduskeskusesse ja teadlaste elu selles. Inimesed on teadupoolest erinevad, igaühel oma motiivid, oma liikumapanev jõud, mured ja rõõmud jne. Eriti hästi on kirjeldatud teadlaste, kellest enamus eelistaks vaikselt oma teadust teha, mõtteid ja tundeid olukorras, kus on selge, et sõja puhkedes jäävad nad kahe tule vahele.
Kuul elamise tehnilised üksikasjad, põhjalikult, detailselt. Väga huvitav on lugeda, kuidas kirjanik seda asja, tuleviku, (vist) kuuekümnendate alguses ette kujutas. Mõeldud on suht kõigele, kirjeldatud on Kuu nõrka atmosfääri, kliimat ja loodust, neis valitsevaid ohte. Inimesed on ehitanud kuule terve linna, mida katab kuppel ning milles jäljendatakse Maal valitsevat ilma, nt sajab perioodiliselt vihma ja on äikest, nii üks kui teine on tehislik, inimesed naudivad neid nagu vabaõhuetendust. Teaduskeskuse töötajad käivad seal vaba aega veetmas või koguni meelt lahutamas. Liiklus ja liiklusvahendid, üldse kogu elukorraldus on huvitav. Kas sa olete mõelnud, kuidas oleks ujuda basseinis, mis asub planeedil, mille gravitatsioon on palju nõrgem, kui me harjunud oleme. Mina ei olnud, aga lugesin vaimustunult. Veidi lõbus on see, et Clarke tulevikus on hirmus palju paberit. Kuul elavad inimesed saadavad Maale paberist kirju ning perfokaarte on kõik kohad täis. Ja palju muud. Uudiseid kuulavad raadiost, jpm.
Raamatu kõige vägevam osa on lahing kahe kosmoselaeva vahel ja hilisem SOS vahejuhtum, mida ma ei hakka ära rääkima. Igatahes, võidab inimlikkus. Raamat on sõjavastane, eelkõige vist sõja mõttetusest ja inimsoo osas jällegi, optimistlik. Mulle ikkagi meeldis, lähen nüüd Goodreadsi ja tõstan hinnet, kolmelt neljale, böö.

[Mahdiye HajiHosseini · Rating 5 out of 5]

اوایل کمی یکنواخت بود، شاید حتی تا اولین سفر ویلر و جامیسون و اولین حضور پروژه تور. اما وقتی جنگ شروع شد به طرز غافلگیرکننده ای با وجود فاصله ای که روایت داشت نفسگیر بود. باید اعتراف کنم حتی برام مهم نبود جاسوس کیه اما به هر حال سوالی بود ک باید پاسخ داده میشد و به شدت قابل قبول هم بود.
**این ایده در خلا بودن بدون لباس کلارک که توی فیلم ادیسه هم استفاده شده، واقعن یکی از وحشت های خود منو ازم گرفت، برای همین یک چیز هم که شده خوشحالم ک خوندمش.

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Το σύνδρομο της Σελήνης", εκδόσεις Λυχνάρι

Πρόκειται για το σχετικά γνωστό Earthlight, που κυκλοφόρησε και ως Γαιοφώς από τις εκδόσεις Κάκτος. Και δεν ξέρω πως θα σας φανεί, αλλά είναι μόλις το δεύτερο βιβλίο του Άρθουρ Κλαρκ που διαβάζω. Το 2009 ήταν που είχα διαβάσει τους Επικυρίαρχους και από τότε δεν έτυχε να διαβάσω ούτε μια αράδα του! Όμως σιγά-σιγά θα επανορθώσω. Ποιος βιάζετε άλλωστε;

Η ιστορία έχει να κάνει με μια διαμάχη ανάμεσα στη Γη και την Ομοσπονδία των Πλανητών, το κέντρο της οποίας είναι μια ανακάλυψη στην Σελήνη. Όλη η ιστορία διαδραματίζεται στην Σελήνη και η πλοκή κινείται κυρίως γύρω από τον Σάντλερ, λογιστή και κατάσκοπο της Γης, και τους επιστήμονες του Αστεροσκοπείου.

Το μυθιστόρημα είναι πολύ μικρό και έτσι δεν υπήρξε χώρος για βαθύτερη πλοκή, εκβάθυνση στους χαρακτήρες και μεγαλύτερη ανάπτυξη στις ιδέες του Κλαρκ, όμως διαβάστηκε γρήγορα κ��ι ευχάριστα και είχε κάποια λίγα και ενδιαφέροντα πραγματάκια να δώσει για περαιτέρω σκέψη. Η γραφή αρκετά ικανοποιητική και ευκολοδιάβαστη, αλλά δεν θα έλεγα ότι ξεχωρίζει ιδιαίτερα.

Γενικά είναι ένα μικρό βιβλιαράκι που θίγει κάποια σημαντικά ζητήματα, χωρίς να εκβαθύνει και τόσο πολύ σ'αυτά, και διαβάζεται μονορούφι. Εφόσον πετύχετε την έκδοση του Λυχναριού με ένα-δυο ευρώ, τιμήστε το, κάτι θα κερδίσετε από την ανάγνωση.

[Regie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The age of this book, like do much vintage SF, is revealed by its somewhat naive attitude to technology (the characters are using extrapolations of fifties tech, rather than the sort of stuff we actually are using in the future - an unavoidable issue which never the less gives the narrative a rather quaint feel) and by the social attitudes on display. These things don't matter and are quickly tuned out.

The narrative takes place on the Moon, in a not terribly far future where humanity has spread to the moon and throughout the solar system. Tensions are rising between Earth and her colonies, and an unwilling secret agent is tasked to search fro a spy in the observatory on the far side of the moon.

It's a tight little thriller masquerading as a hard SF novel and it's quite brilliant. Notable for what is probably the most realistically describes space battle ever written, and the most unlikely rescue ever written, it's an excellent and highly rewarding read.

[Dusty Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clarke's books are always worth reading, even if it's his lesser work. Which is what I would consider this book.

I enjoyed the science, even if it's outdated. In fact, the outdatedness is kind of cool. Clarke writes about plants on the moon and the breathable environment on Mars. It's a beautifully optimistic view of our solar system that has been ruined by that darn pesky scientific research.

The real negative for me is that this book basically gives up on it's original premise. It starts off as an espionage story in space. But it seems Clarke couldn't find a good way to continue down that thread so the main protagonist gives up his hunt for a spy and the latter half of this short novel turns out to be a war story.

Still, it's a very good read and it won't take up much of your time.

[Simón · Rating 3 out of 5]

With mankind spreading around the Solar System, scarcity of certain resources leads to tensions between the governments of Earth (covering Earth and Moon) and Federation (covering other planets and satellites). As the conflict for resources develops, an agent from an Intelligence Agency of Earth travels to the Moon, trying to uncover a spy passing information to the Federation.

Earthlight is a short book, and tells a simple but interesting story. Its descriptions of a Moon society, although dated by the technology described there, are detailed and satisfying, and a certain amount of optimism and hope can be perceived all throughout the book. However, the ending is a bit anticlimactic -and the fact that the author himself repeats the word anticlimax a couple of times doesn't help much.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather boring. The spy aspect of the story takes up most of the pages and it’s rather bland. It all goes something like this:

“Is scientist #1 guilty? No he’s too honest. What about scientist #2? No he only cares about science, not politics. How about scientist #3, 4, and 5? No because...”

The idea of politics between interplanetary colonies has been handled far more adeptly by other books (eg Red Mars Trilogy).

If you set aside that the story is set on a lunar colony, I’d say there’s only about 10 pages of “science fiction” in the whole book. Most of the rest of it is just shallowly developed characters engaging in plot filler. Pass on this one.