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Science Fiction Stories #37
Солнечный ветер
Лауреата многих литературных премий Артура Кларка можно без преувеличения назвать основоположником жанра научной фантастики. За выдающийся вклад в британскую и мировую науку и литературу писателю было пожаловано рыцарское звание.
В книгу вошли лучшие произведения великого мэтра фантастики; некоторые рассказы публикуются на русском языке впервые.
В книгу вошли лучшие произведения великого мэтра фантастики; некоторые рассказы публикуются на русском языке впервые.
1104 pages, Суперобложка (Dust cover)
First published April 1, 1972
23 people are currently reading
1268 people want to read
About the author
Arthur C. Clarke
1,647 books11.6k followersStories, 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.
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.
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August 17, 2024
Aug 16, 2024 ~~ Doing some housekeeping on the Zapata Reading Club list. The first year or so of this project I did not add new read dates to some titles and I did not update the original reviews. I still won't be doing that, but I wanted to have the dates properly recorded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the preface to this book, Clarke states that all of the short stories he wrote in the 60's (and three from the early 70's) are included. There are 18 stories here, most of them quite short but all packing a punch as relevant today as back in the Space Age when they were written.
We spend time in deep space, in the deeps of Earth's oceans, and deep within Clarke's amazingly creative imagination. He asks What If? about many topics, and builds answers that make you think.
What If a newly installed satellite telephone network took over the world? Dial F for Frankenstein, June 1963
What If the biggest giant squid we know about is just a scout for a true giant? The Shining Ones, December 1962
What If there was only one way to avoid destruction by a rogue Black Dwarf? Love That Universe, October 1966
What If an ancient Intelligence from the far reaches of space has come to the conclusion that something must be done about the illogical signs of supposed intelligence coming from the third planet from the sun? Crusade, October 1966
What If Man could visit Jupiter? A Meeting With Medusa, February 1971
These were the ones I liked best, but my favorite story of the collection was when Clarke asks What If a race of Beings whose ancestors had colonized Earth arrived with the cure for the disfiguring disease that ruined lives and changed history millions of years ago? Reunion, November 1963.
I've read this book many times, but I never get tired of it. Thank you, Mr. Clarke!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the preface to this book, Clarke states that all of the short stories he wrote in the 60's (and three from the early 70's) are included. There are 18 stories here, most of them quite short but all packing a punch as relevant today as back in the Space Age when they were written.
We spend time in deep space, in the deeps of Earth's oceans, and deep within Clarke's amazingly creative imagination. He asks What If? about many topics, and builds answers that make you think.
What If a newly installed satellite telephone network took over the world? Dial F for Frankenstein, June 1963
What If the biggest giant squid we know about is just a scout for a true giant? The Shining Ones, December 1962
What If there was only one way to avoid destruction by a rogue Black Dwarf? Love That Universe, October 1966
What If an ancient Intelligence from the far reaches of space has come to the conclusion that something must be done about the illogical signs of supposed intelligence coming from the third planet from the sun? Crusade, October 1966
What If Man could visit Jupiter? A Meeting With Medusa, February 1971
These were the ones I liked best, but my favorite story of the collection was when Clarke asks What If a race of Beings whose ancestors had colonized Earth arrived with the cure for the disfiguring disease that ruined lives and changed history millions of years ago? Reunion, November 1963.
I've read this book many times, but I never get tired of it. Thank you, Mr. Clarke!
March 2, 2025
Clarke no necesita presentación alguna. En su momento fue uno de los tres grandes maestros de la ciencia ficción clásica, una trinidad que se completaba con Isaac Asimov y Robert A. Heinlein, este último quizá el más olvidado de los tres. La inmortalidad del británico es, sin embargo, incontestable, en gran medida gracias al cine. Su saga 2001: Odisea en el espacio y El fin de la infancia crearon el mito ufológico de que los extraterrestres siempre han estado ahí, y que su sibilina tutela ha sido la causa que ha permitido nuestro avance científico y tecnológico, y de que nuestra destrucción vendrá, en parte, precisamente al uso que demos a esa tecnología; el ojo rojo de HAL 9000 es hoy día más actual que nunca. Sin embargo, Clarke no era un ludita. Fiel representante de esa ciencia ficción de la Edad Oro, Clarke veía el progreso con optimismo, y como cada nuevo avance nos acercaría a la utopía. No en balde esta colección lleva por subtítulo "relatos de la era espacial": nada refleja de manera más manifiesta el poder del progreso humano que un transbordador venciendo a la gravedad con una espectacular llamarada.
Quizá por eso estos cuentos, escritos entre finales de los 60 y principios de los setenta, un momento fronterizo en que los paradigmas del género estaban cambiando, se vean como artefactos fuera de tiempo, unos anacronismos. El optimismo y el sentido de la maravilla de algunos de estos relatos son casi incompatibles con ese cinismo experimental de la nueva era. Incluso en lo formal estos cuentos se sienten anticuados, abundando los microrrelatos de finales sorprendentes, más propios del pulp. Pero pese a este ligero tufo alcanforado, cuando Clarke acierta sigue siendo agudo y letal, y nunca tanto como cuando habla de la inteligencia artificial. Y que uno también tiene sus debilidades: no me puedo resistir a un buen relato de ciencia ficción clásica, optimista y maravillosa.
Los relatos recogidos en esta antología son los siguientes:
El alimento de los dioses (***): el tópico que apasiona a los veganos, a saber, que comer carne es indistinguible del canibalismo.
Maelstrom II (***): un hombre aislado en un vehículo espacial deberá afrontar, al igual que el protagonista del cuento de Poe, una muerte segura a manos de las indómitas, en este caso más indiferentes, fuerzas de la naturaleza.
Criaturas abisales (****): los soviéticos han elaborado un método para producir energía limpia e ilimitada aprovechando la diferencia de temperatura entre la superficie terrestre y los gélidos fondos abisales. Cuando se disponen a estrenar la primera estación experimental descubren que algo anda mal con los cables submarinos. Y es que esa instalación se hizo de forma unilateral, sin consultar antes a los habitantes abisales...
El viento del sol (****): la tecnología de las velas solares ha permitido la creación de las regatas espaciales, carreras de naves impulsadas por la energía solar que comienzan en la estratosfera terrestre y terminan en la Luna. Esto sí es pura Edad de Oro; esto sí es sentido de la maravilla.
El secreto (***): en una estación lunar, un equipo médico ha hecho un descubrimiento que cambiará la historia de la humanidad para siempre, un descubrimiento que no saben si deben de compartir...
La última orden (***): en plena guerra fría se inventó el concepto de destrucción mutua asegurada, que decía que, en caso de un ataque nuclear, la respuesta provocaría que ambos contendientes, y la humanidad en general, se fuera al carajo. Este cuento lo popularizó.
Marque F de Frankenstein (****): una noche, todas las redes telefónicas del planeta se han conectado. A la mañana siguiente, toda la humanidad recibió una extraña llamada telefónica: la IA había nacido.
Reencuentro (*): de esas piezas breves que apuestan toda su trama en su sorprendente final. Y no, en este caso, no.
Playback (***): un hombre ha sufrido un accidente en mitad del espacio sideral. A las puertas de la muerte, por suerte, ha sido auxiliado por una nave alienígena con la tecnología suficiente como para repararle. Pero, ¿cómo reparas a una especie que hasta ahora nunca habías visto? En cierto punto recuerda a Moscas de Robert Silverberg, aunque su terror es menos visceral y más existencial.
La luz de las tinieblas (***): un científico ha encontrado la manera de librarse del dictador de su país sin convertirlo en el proceso en un mártir.
La más larga historia de ciencia-ficción jamás contada (**): otro microrrelato que juega con la repetición y el infinito. Más interesante su continuación, en la que el propio Clarke nos habla de sus lecturas favoritas y de cómo la memoria nos juega malas pasadas.
Amad ese universo (**): nuestro planeta está a punto de desaparecer en una hecatombe cósmica, y solo lograr contactar con otras civilizaciones extraterrestres podrá salvar a la humanidad de su extinción segura. Para ello deberán mandar una señal de enorme potencia. Muy cursi, muy hippie.
Cruzada (***): hasta ahora, la civilización estelar de las máquinas no había descubierto vida inteligente en el universo. Hasta ahora.
El cielo cruel (**): un millonario impedido por la talidomida y uno de sus científicos han desarrollado un ingenio mecánico que le permitirá cumplir su sueño: coronar el Everest.
Flujo de neutrones (**): una lección de humildad para esos arrogantes mandatarios que creen nuestras creaciones serán eternas.
Tránsito de la tierra (**): un hombre deberá enfrentarse estoicamente a su muerte segura en una estación espacial.
Un encuentro con Medusa (****): el protagonista, un hombre que comienza a dejar de serlo gracias a los aumentos tecnológicos que le han implantado, ha sido encargado de explorar la atmosfera de Júpiter en busca de vida. Un relato maravilloso que no solo habla de transhumanismo, sino que claramente influyó a Carl Sagan a la hora de inventar esa fauna joviana que vimos en el doblemente maravilloso Cosmos. Ay, cómo echo de menos Cosmos...
Quizá por eso estos cuentos, escritos entre finales de los 60 y principios de los setenta, un momento fronterizo en que los paradigmas del género estaban cambiando, se vean como artefactos fuera de tiempo, unos anacronismos. El optimismo y el sentido de la maravilla de algunos de estos relatos son casi incompatibles con ese cinismo experimental de la nueva era. Incluso en lo formal estos cuentos se sienten anticuados, abundando los microrrelatos de finales sorprendentes, más propios del pulp. Pero pese a este ligero tufo alcanforado, cuando Clarke acierta sigue siendo agudo y letal, y nunca tanto como cuando habla de la inteligencia artificial. Y que uno también tiene sus debilidades: no me puedo resistir a un buen relato de ciencia ficción clásica, optimista y maravillosa.
Los relatos recogidos en esta antología son los siguientes:
El alimento de los dioses (***): el tópico que apasiona a los veganos, a saber, que comer carne es indistinguible del canibalismo.
Maelstrom II (***): un hombre aislado en un vehículo espacial deberá afrontar, al igual que el protagonista del cuento de Poe, una muerte segura a manos de las indómitas, en este caso más indiferentes, fuerzas de la naturaleza.
Criaturas abisales (****): los soviéticos han elaborado un método para producir energía limpia e ilimitada aprovechando la diferencia de temperatura entre la superficie terrestre y los gélidos fondos abisales. Cuando se disponen a estrenar la primera estación experimental descubren que algo anda mal con los cables submarinos. Y es que esa instalación se hizo de forma unilateral, sin consultar antes a los habitantes abisales...
El viento del sol (****): la tecnología de las velas solares ha permitido la creación de las regatas espaciales, carreras de naves impulsadas por la energía solar que comienzan en la estratosfera terrestre y terminan en la Luna. Esto sí es pura Edad de Oro; esto sí es sentido de la maravilla.
El secreto (***): en una estación lunar, un equipo médico ha hecho un descubrimiento que cambiará la historia de la humanidad para siempre, un descubrimiento que no saben si deben de compartir...
La última orden (***): en plena guerra fría se inventó el concepto de destrucción mutua asegurada, que decía que, en caso de un ataque nuclear, la respuesta provocaría que ambos contendientes, y la humanidad en general, se fuera al carajo. Este cuento lo popularizó.
Marque F de Frankenstein (****): una noche, todas las redes telefónicas del planeta se han conectado. A la mañana siguiente, toda la humanidad recibió una extraña llamada telefónica: la IA había nacido.
Reencuentro (*): de esas piezas breves que apuestan toda su trama en su sorprendente final. Y no, en este caso, no.
Playback (***): un hombre ha sufrido un accidente en mitad del espacio sideral. A las puertas de la muerte, por suerte, ha sido auxiliado por una nave alienígena con la tecnología suficiente como para repararle. Pero, ¿cómo reparas a una especie que hasta ahora nunca habías visto? En cierto punto recuerda a Moscas de Robert Silverberg, aunque su terror es menos visceral y más existencial.
La luz de las tinieblas (***): un científico ha encontrado la manera de librarse del dictador de su país sin convertirlo en el proceso en un mártir.
La más larga historia de ciencia-ficción jamás contada (**): otro microrrelato que juega con la repetición y el infinito. Más interesante su continuación, en la que el propio Clarke nos habla de sus lecturas favoritas y de cómo la memoria nos juega malas pasadas.
Amad ese universo (**): nuestro planeta está a punto de desaparecer en una hecatombe cósmica, y solo lograr contactar con otras civilizaciones extraterrestres podrá salvar a la humanidad de su extinción segura. Para ello deberán mandar una señal de enorme potencia. Muy cursi, muy hippie.
Cruzada (***): hasta ahora, la civilización estelar de las máquinas no había descubierto vida inteligente en el universo. Hasta ahora.
El cielo cruel (**): un millonario impedido por la talidomida y uno de sus científicos han desarrollado un ingenio mecánico que le permitirá cumplir su sueño: coronar el Everest.
Flujo de neutrones (**): una lección de humildad para esos arrogantes mandatarios que creen nuestras creaciones serán eternas.
Tránsito de la tierra (**): un hombre deberá enfrentarse estoicamente a su muerte segura en una estación espacial.
Un encuentro con Medusa (****): el protagonista, un hombre que comienza a dejar de serlo gracias a los aumentos tecnológicos que le han implantado, ha sido encargado de explorar la atmosfera de Júpiter en busca de vida. Un relato maravilloso que no solo habla de transhumanismo, sino que claramente influyó a Carl Sagan a la hora de inventar esa fauna joviana que vimos en el doblemente maravilloso Cosmos. Ay, cómo echo de menos Cosmos...
May 27, 2010
I think I'd like Arthur C. Clarke a lot better if he admitted women exist.
Most of these stories were good, but even the good ones had a real dated 70's smell to them, not only because of the many references to the Cold War.
But also because he's just such a classic sci-fi writer, who uses sci-fi to, you know, expose the problems of our current world. Self-righteous, indulgent, and defiantly against the ills in society. Especially racism. Sexism? Well, women like to be wives and wait and worry about their spacemen husbands, right?
A fair few of these stories were not good at all. "Star-mangled spanner," indeed.
More than anything, I think I liked these short stories because so many of them are truly short. Some were only 1 page long, which makes them perfect for waiting at the bus stop. And probably all a recovering sci-fi dork needs to remind her why she stopped reading sci-fi in the first place.
Most of these stories were good, but even the good ones had a real dated 70's smell to them, not only because of the many references to the Cold War.
But also because he's just such a classic sci-fi writer, who uses sci-fi to, you know, expose the problems of our current world. Self-righteous, indulgent, and defiantly against the ills in society. Especially racism. Sexism? Well, women like to be wives and wait and worry about their spacemen husbands, right?
A fair few of these stories were not good at all. "Star-mangled spanner," indeed.
More than anything, I think I liked these short stories because so many of them are truly short. Some were only 1 page long, which makes them perfect for waiting at the bus stop. And probably all a recovering sci-fi dork needs to remind her why she stopped reading sci-fi in the first place.
October 7, 2023
Interesting collection. This is the first collection of short stories by an author I’ve read, so perhaps some of my challenges with the content here can be attributed to that.
Many of these stories are 8-10 pages long with multiple characters and scientific concepts to explore. Clarke has a great ability to flesh out these elements and make them seem simple. That being said, the stories are all just so dense with material. I swear, every paragraph in these stories moves the plot forward leaps and bounds. There’s some great storytelling and interesting concepts here, but often the content is so stuck in the weeds.
Most of the narrators feel the exact same as well. I understand that constructing a full narrative in less than 20 pages might make it harder to harder to achieve detailed characterization, but it’s still a weak point in my opinion.
That being said, there’s some really good stuff here.
Many of these stories are 8-10 pages long with multiple characters and scientific concepts to explore. Clarke has a great ability to flesh out these elements and make them seem simple. That being said, the stories are all just so dense with material. I swear, every paragraph in these stories moves the plot forward leaps and bounds. There’s some great storytelling and interesting concepts here, but often the content is so stuck in the weeds.
Most of the narrators feel the exact same as well. I understand that constructing a full narrative in less than 20 pages might make it harder to harder to achieve detailed characterization, but it’s still a weak point in my opinion.
That being said, there’s some really good stuff here.
May 5, 2023
Love that Universe ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maelstrom II ⭐⭐⭐
The Shining Ones ⭐⭐⭐
The Secret ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dial F for Frankenstein ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Wind from the Sun ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Food of the Gods ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Last Command ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Light of Darkness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Longest Science Fiction Story Ever ⭐⭐⭐
Playback ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Cruel Sky ⭐⭐⭐
Herbert George Morley Robert Wells, Esq. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crusade ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Neutron Tide ⭐⭐
Reunion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Transit of Earth ⭐⭐⭐
A Tale from Medusa ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maelstrom II ⭐⭐⭐
The Shining Ones ⭐⭐⭐
The Secret ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dial F for Frankenstein ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Wind from the Sun ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Food of the Gods ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Last Command ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Light of Darkness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Longest Science Fiction Story Ever ⭐⭐⭐
Playback ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Cruel Sky ⭐⭐⭐
Herbert George Morley Robert Wells, Esq. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crusade ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Neutron Tide ⭐⭐
Reunion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Transit of Earth ⭐⭐⭐
A Tale from Medusa ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
April 24, 2015
THE WIND FROM THE SUN brings more sense of wonder from Arthur C. Clarke
OK, maybe I'm on a real Arthur C. Clarke kick right now. But after all, he is my favorite SF author, perhaps my favorite author, period.
THE WIND FROM THE SUN is a collection of short stories, some of them trivial, others full of the sense or wonder that Clarke seemingly evoked so easily.
I didn't re-read this entire volume, instead I concentrated on the more substantial stories. The title story, "The Wind from the Sun," is a suspenseful tale of a race using spacecraft that use only the pressure of sunlight as propulsion. It's also famous for being published only a month apart from a Poul Anderson story using similar themes but a very different storyline. The Anderson story was titled "Sunjammer," and in a further coincidence that was the title Clarke's story appeared under in its magazine appearance. The fact of the stories appearing only a month apart made it clear that one couldn't have stolen the idea or title from the other.
I can also recommend "Maelstrom II," which has one of the great opening lines: "He was not the first man, Cliff Leyland told himself bitterly, to know the exact second and the precise manner of his death." Leyland is, after all, in quite a pickle. He was hitching a ride aboard an otherwise unmanned cargo craft being shot from the Moon toward the Earth, but a malfunction sent the capsule heading back toward the Moon with no one to rescue him.
Another highlight is "Transit of Earth," in which an astronaut trapped on Mars fulfills his duty to record the sight of the Earth moving across the face of the sun.
But the best-known, and deservedly so, story here is "A Meeting with Medusa." A 1972 Nebula Award winner, it concerns an astronaut who pilots an airship down into Jupiter's atmosphere. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story because much of its enjoyment comes from the many delights of the physical world that Clarke evokes with scientific believability and smooth prose. But it's one of my favorites, and I've read it at least three or four times. It would make a great short film.
Some of the other, shorter tales here are pretty minor, many of them aiming at humor. The success rate is hit-and-miss. But the four stories detailed above are themselves worth the price of admission.
OK, maybe I'm on a real Arthur C. Clarke kick right now. But after all, he is my favorite SF author, perhaps my favorite author, period.
THE WIND FROM THE SUN is a collection of short stories, some of them trivial, others full of the sense or wonder that Clarke seemingly evoked so easily.
I didn't re-read this entire volume, instead I concentrated on the more substantial stories. The title story, "The Wind from the Sun," is a suspenseful tale of a race using spacecraft that use only the pressure of sunlight as propulsion. It's also famous for being published only a month apart from a Poul Anderson story using similar themes but a very different storyline. The Anderson story was titled "Sunjammer," and in a further coincidence that was the title Clarke's story appeared under in its magazine appearance. The fact of the stories appearing only a month apart made it clear that one couldn't have stolen the idea or title from the other.
I can also recommend "Maelstrom II," which has one of the great opening lines: "He was not the first man, Cliff Leyland told himself bitterly, to know the exact second and the precise manner of his death." Leyland is, after all, in quite a pickle. He was hitching a ride aboard an otherwise unmanned cargo craft being shot from the Moon toward the Earth, but a malfunction sent the capsule heading back toward the Moon with no one to rescue him.
Another highlight is "Transit of Earth," in which an astronaut trapped on Mars fulfills his duty to record the sight of the Earth moving across the face of the sun.
But the best-known, and deservedly so, story here is "A Meeting with Medusa." A 1972 Nebula Award winner, it concerns an astronaut who pilots an airship down into Jupiter's atmosphere. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story because much of its enjoyment comes from the many delights of the physical world that Clarke evokes with scientific believability and smooth prose. But it's one of my favorites, and I've read it at least three or four times. It would make a great short film.
Some of the other, shorter tales here are pretty minor, many of them aiming at humor. The success rate is hit-and-miss. But the four stories detailed above are themselves worth the price of admission.
March 19, 2023
ENGLISH: This is the fourth time I've read this book, which contains 18 stories. This is the first time I've read it in the original English. The first three I read it in a Spanish translation. These are the stories I like best:
Dial F for Frankenstein: Another prediction by Clarke exploded by time, although I don't think he really believed it would happen: Self-created Artificial Intelligence.
Playback: Downloading conscience to a computer? Apparently it wouldn't work.
Maelstrom II: Interesting story of an incredible rescue.
The wind from the sun: Interesting race from Earth to the Moon.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la cuarta vez que leo este libro, que contiene 18 cuentos. Esta es la primera vez que lo leo en el inglés original. Las otras tres lo leí en traducción española. Estos son los cuentos que más me han gustado:
Marque F de Frankenstein: Otra predicción fallida de Clarke, aunque no creo que él realmente creyera que esto iba a suceder: Inteligencia Artificial Auto-creada.
Playback: ¿Descargar la consciencia en una computadora? Al parecer, no funcionaría.
Maelstrom II: Interesante relato de un salvamento increíble.
El viento del sol: Interesante carrera de la Tierra a la Luna.
Dial F for Frankenstein: Another prediction by Clarke exploded by time, although I don't think he really believed it would happen: Self-created Artificial Intelligence.
Playback: Downloading conscience to a computer? Apparently it wouldn't work.
Maelstrom II: Interesting story of an incredible rescue.
The wind from the sun: Interesting race from Earth to the Moon.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la cuarta vez que leo este libro, que contiene 18 cuentos. Esta es la primera vez que lo leo en el inglés original. Las otras tres lo leí en traducción española. Estos son los cuentos que más me han gustado:
Marque F de Frankenstein: Otra predicción fallida de Clarke, aunque no creo que él realmente creyera que esto iba a suceder: Inteligencia Artificial Auto-creada.
Playback: ¿Descargar la consciencia en una computadora? Al parecer, no funcionaría.
Maelstrom II: Interesante relato de un salvamento increíble.
El viento del sol: Interesante carrera de la Tierra a la Luna.
September 20, 2021
Colección un tanto irregular de cuentos de Arthur C. Clarke escritos en la década entre 1960 y 1961. Algunos son ingenuos y no indispensables, otros contienen algo de la fascinación que me causaron sus cuentos anteriores. es notable en algunos casos la ciencia detrás de sus relatos, como la mecánica celeste y la astronáutica, lo que los hace más verosímiles. La traducción no es excelente, subrayé muchas expresiones poco afortunadas que quisiera cotejar con el original en inglés. Ya había leído algunos de estos cuentos pero no todos. En particular la noveleta "Encuentro con medusa" al final del libro me parecií fascinante.
June 3, 2017
I read this as a teenager about 25 years ago, and I remember liking it. The title story, in particular, stuck with me. I recently picked it up again to read "A Meeting with Medusa" before reading The Medusa Chronicles by Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds. I stuck around for several more stories, but didn't re-read every single one. A lot of the stories feel dated this time around (particularly with regard to gender issues), but most of them have the expansive sense of wonder that has always made Clarke my favorite of the Big Three.
September 29, 2024
A friend gave this to me - I've read some of these stories before but it was fun to revisit them as well as read some that were new to me. Sci-fi from the late 60's / early 70's is always interesting as some things aren't sci-fi anymore while other pieces haven't happened as quickly as imagined.
May 4, 2020
Hacía tiempo que no leía nada de C. Clarke, o de ciencia ficción en general. Regresión mental total y absoluta a mi época de devorar constantemente tomos ajados (como este mismo, que ha perdido páginas mientras leía) de hace 50 años, que sacaba a puñados de la biblioteca y... cómo lo echaba de menos. La pluma de Clarke es ingeniosa, científica y humanista, y sus relatos manejan el ritmo y los giros de forma magistral. El volumen reúne algunos de unas pocas páginas, y otros, más largos, que llegan a las cincuenta: de los primeros, "Reencuentro" o "La última orden" son una auténtica delicia, mientras que entre los segundos destaca "Un encuentro con Medusa", que ahora veo influyó mucho en ciertas ideas sobre vida joviana que presentaba Sagan en "Cosmos".
Genial también la traducción de Francisco Torres Oliver para esta edición que, sin duda, recomiendo a cualquier fan de la ciencia ficción de los años 60-70.
Genial también la traducción de Francisco Torres Oliver para esta edición que, sin duda, recomiendo a cualquier fan de la ciencia ficción de los años 60-70.
May 14, 2012
This book is an oldie but goodie! I first read a couple of the short stories in Boy's Life Magazine back in the 60's. It was great seeing those, and reading some of the great late Master's works. If you see it somewhere, check it out. ;-D
August 30, 2022
Pretty strong short stories anthology, took me longer to get through than it should have as some bits weren't as strong, but overall enjoyable.
December 27, 2017
Though lacking the melodic prose of Bradbury, Clarke's short stories are nonetheless interesting and surprising in turns, containing the same wonder at the universe that makes classic sci-fi so enjoyable. This has been my favorite work of his thus far and I'm sure I'll pick up more in the future.
July 11, 2025
An excellent book of short stories.
April 8, 2022
As a kid, in the 80s, I loved the SF masters, but 40 years on most of these short stories are either tedious or embarrassing.
(Mild spoilers)
* 0 The Food of the Gods - too long for a minor payoff
* 0 Maelstrom II - too long
* 1 The Shining Ones - just gets going then stops
* 2 The Wind from the Sun - whimsical, but invalidated by Voyager 1 just 14 years after this was written
* 1 The Secret - 'Don't you understand?', well, not really, because this story assumes that listing facts makes the conclusion obvious and not worth actually stating, whereas I see at least three possible interpretations
* 0 The Last Command - sentimental pap, obvious, and jingoistic
* 1 Dial "F" for Frankenstein - this feels like someone painstakingly explaining a joke that you've already heard many times
* 0 Reunion - maybe reverse racism was progressive in the 60s (?) but it's appalling now (not to mention the suggestion there are 'almost two separate species' on Earth!)
* 1 Playback - I guess it's ok, not particularly believable though due to a fundamental mistake about future tech
* 1 The Light of Darkness - the setting is somewhat questionable but the story's reasonable - I didn't see the ending coming
* 0 The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told - ha ha
* 0 Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq. - just an errata
* -1 Love That Universe - childishly crude
* 2 Crusade - a bit long for what it is, but an interesting idea
* 1 The Cruel Sky - a bit of a silly ending but somewhat interesting
* -1 Neutron Tide - just awful
* 1 Transit of Earth - whimsical, tragic but a bit... empty? And some story elements don't go anywhere
* 2 A Meeting With Medusa - a longer whimsical story, the first part is too long and just serves to explain why/how a man must/can go to Jupiter. Quite interesting but the ending veers off at a tangent
(Mild spoilers)
* 0 The Food of the Gods - too long for a minor payoff
* 0 Maelstrom II - too long
* 1 The Shining Ones - just gets going then stops
* 2 The Wind from the Sun - whimsical, but invalidated by Voyager 1 just 14 years after this was written
* 1 The Secret - 'Don't you understand?', well, not really, because this story assumes that listing facts makes the conclusion obvious and not worth actually stating, whereas I see at least three possible interpretations
* 0 The Last Command - sentimental pap, obvious, and jingoistic
* 1 Dial "F" for Frankenstein - this feels like someone painstakingly explaining a joke that you've already heard many times
* 0 Reunion - maybe reverse racism was progressive in the 60s (?) but it's appalling now (not to mention the suggestion there are 'almost two separate species' on Earth!)
* 1 Playback - I guess it's ok, not particularly believable though due to a fundamental mistake about future tech
* 1 The Light of Darkness - the setting is somewhat questionable but the story's reasonable - I didn't see the ending coming
* 0 The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told - ha ha
* 0 Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq. - just an errata
* -1 Love That Universe - childishly crude
* 2 Crusade - a bit long for what it is, but an interesting idea
* 1 The Cruel Sky - a bit of a silly ending but somewhat interesting
* -1 Neutron Tide - just awful
* 1 Transit of Earth - whimsical, tragic but a bit... empty? And some story elements don't go anywhere
* 2 A Meeting With Medusa - a longer whimsical story, the first part is too long and just serves to explain why/how a man must/can go to Jupiter. Quite interesting but the ending veers off at a tangent
August 6, 2016
Short stories -- many of them are very short. Most of the stories are exploring a single scientific idea or futuristic speculation. Some of my favorite include:
The Food of The Gods. Describes veganism taken to extremes. Disgusting.
Maelstrom II. A traveler from the moon to the earth faces impending death when his rail gun launcher fails.
The Wind From the Sun. Sailplaning on sunlight. Plus, the perils of sunspots. (Both aspects illustrate how far ahead Arthur C. Clark was ahead of most scientific people.)
Dial F for Frankenstein. Worldwide AI.
Reunion. On the merits of being caucasian.
Transit of Earth. An astronaut stranded on Mars all by himself, with no chance of rescue. (Sound familiar?) This is a lot better than "The Martian" though.
The appeal of these stories, even the best, is the scientific observations, not the story per se. Worth reading.
The Food of The Gods. Describes veganism taken to extremes. Disgusting.
Maelstrom II. A traveler from the moon to the earth faces impending death when his rail gun launcher fails.
The Wind From the Sun. Sailplaning on sunlight. Plus, the perils of sunspots. (Both aspects illustrate how far ahead Arthur C. Clark was ahead of most scientific people.)
Dial F for Frankenstein. Worldwide AI.
Reunion. On the merits of being caucasian.
Transit of Earth. An astronaut stranded on Mars all by himself, with no chance of rescue. (Sound familiar?) This is a lot better than "The Martian" though.
The appeal of these stories, even the best, is the scientific observations, not the story per se. Worth reading.
January 23, 2019
A re-read of the old classics. In this collection of short stories, Arthur Clarke has demonstrate the basic elements of SF in various surprising ways.
In one story, the carnivore or even cannibal desire etched deeply in our DNA will still not change after centuries of civilization and progress. In another story, the bias basing on races is just meaningless when skin color dominating this world nowadays is considered a plague by the returning star-faring cousins of humanity.
In one story, people use apparatus to help overcoming the disadvantage of deformed body. Yet in another story, humanity throw away the body and opt for a different way of lives.
Of course, my favorite one is still The Food of Gods.
In one story, the carnivore or even cannibal desire etched deeply in our DNA will still not change after centuries of civilization and progress. In another story, the bias basing on races is just meaningless when skin color dominating this world nowadays is considered a plague by the returning star-faring cousins of humanity.
In one story, people use apparatus to help overcoming the disadvantage of deformed body. Yet in another story, humanity throw away the body and opt for a different way of lives.
Of course, my favorite one is still The Food of Gods.
August 7, 2016
Arthur C. Clarke proves a master of hard science fiction: believable stories that at the same time are at the edge of imagination. My two favorite stories in this collection were the namesake Wind From The Sun (a story of humanity committing one of its own creation to the stars, foreshadowing the Pioneer and Voyager plaques), and Meeting with Medusa (a story of exploration and wonder in a strange yet familiar environment).
June 9, 2011
Fans of Arthur C. Clarke will like this collection of short stories.
The thing I liked the most about several of them was the twist at the end. While taking the story in a whole new direction, it also wrapped it up nicely and left me fairly certain of where it would go.
Clarke was a master of the art, and these stories are no exception. If you like his other work, you will like this book.
The thing I liked the most about several of them was the twist at the end. While taking the story in a whole new direction, it also wrapped it up nicely and left me fairly certain of where it would go.
Clarke was a master of the art, and these stories are no exception. If you like his other work, you will like this book.
August 9, 2025
An amazing collection of science fiction short stories about space travel, explorations of different possibilities for alien creatures, and technological developments.
All of the stories are written incredibly well.
It’s crazy to see how the future was perceived in the past, and to think about elements in today’s reality that were inconceivable to even sci-fi authors before they were invented.
All of the stories are written incredibly well.
It’s crazy to see how the future was perceived in the past, and to think about elements in today’s reality that were inconceivable to even sci-fi authors before they were invented.
January 31, 2025
This was such a banger! I honestly love sci fi. This was such a fun and fantastical way to contemplate our world.
My favorites from the anthology included Maelstrom II. Immediately, Cliff Leyland is the most important character you’ve ever read about. Quite a compelling first line: “ he was not the first man, Cliff Leyland told himself bitterly, to know the exact second and the precise manner of his death.” Absolute chills! And the story was so vivid and surreal. Really well done storytelling as he must risk his life for the slim chance that he might survive his trip home to Earth from the Moon. Just fantastic.
I also loved The Wind from the Sun. This has to be my top pick. The inconceivable concept of “sun yachts” racing through space for entertainment and sport was wild. The descriptions of such a feat were so impressive, like how did he even think of the details for these vessels and all the actions they took. Such a well defined world, with so little information. Context is almost irrelevant, we are just here and this is how the world looks. That’s what I love about this book Clarke just plucks you out of one world and gently places you into another so gracefully and so believably. He builds worlds effortlessly and gives just the right kind of specific details so that you understand what’s happening. It’s hard to explain.
Notable mention: Reunion. The story is only a page and a half and it’s from the perspective of intelligent life who have known about Earth/humanity for its entire existence. Last paragraph is a banger: “perhaps it has run its course- but if not, we have good news for you. People of earth, you can rejoin the society of the universe without shame, without embarrassment. If any of you are still white, we can cure you.” Like this dude was critiquing white supremacy in the early 60s. That’s so tough.
Crusade was another favorite for me. The idea is that a form of intelligence on a far away planet developed (through like superconductivity in crystals or some thing) millions of years ago, obviously independently of human-“made” intelligence. And the society becomes threatened with extinction after they calculate that their planet will someday be destroyed by an imploding universe. So they send out scouts to find other hospitable planets. It’s just cool because he basically types out the computation that the intelligent species goes through to reach particular conclusions. They reason through different options. And when one scout discovers humanity, they can’t comprehend why humans claim to have invented intelligence similar to theirs.
Lastly, probably a close second favorite after The Wind from the Sun was A Meeting with Medusa. It was just so freaking cool omg. This talented pilot has two really historic flights that change humanity. There’s a cool time skip but he ends up exploring Jupiter which is just so imaginative. Anything could be out there so it’s wild to think about.
This book is ahead of its time. It’s contemplative and highly applicable to our world today with important ideas about controlling the ambitions of man, recognizing the smallness of our world in the greater galaxy, and finding peace in the uncertainty of the universe. I enjoyed reading this thoroughly and would recommend it to anyone.
My favorites from the anthology included Maelstrom II. Immediately, Cliff Leyland is the most important character you’ve ever read about. Quite a compelling first line: “ he was not the first man, Cliff Leyland told himself bitterly, to know the exact second and the precise manner of his death.” Absolute chills! And the story was so vivid and surreal. Really well done storytelling as he must risk his life for the slim chance that he might survive his trip home to Earth from the Moon. Just fantastic.
I also loved The Wind from the Sun. This has to be my top pick. The inconceivable concept of “sun yachts” racing through space for entertainment and sport was wild. The descriptions of such a feat were so impressive, like how did he even think of the details for these vessels and all the actions they took. Such a well defined world, with so little information. Context is almost irrelevant, we are just here and this is how the world looks. That’s what I love about this book Clarke just plucks you out of one world and gently places you into another so gracefully and so believably. He builds worlds effortlessly and gives just the right kind of specific details so that you understand what’s happening. It’s hard to explain.
Notable mention: Reunion. The story is only a page and a half and it’s from the perspective of intelligent life who have known about Earth/humanity for its entire existence. Last paragraph is a banger: “perhaps it has run its course- but if not, we have good news for you. People of earth, you can rejoin the society of the universe without shame, without embarrassment. If any of you are still white, we can cure you.” Like this dude was critiquing white supremacy in the early 60s. That’s so tough.
Crusade was another favorite for me. The idea is that a form of intelligence on a far away planet developed (through like superconductivity in crystals or some thing) millions of years ago, obviously independently of human-“made” intelligence. And the society becomes threatened with extinction after they calculate that their planet will someday be destroyed by an imploding universe. So they send out scouts to find other hospitable planets. It’s just cool because he basically types out the computation that the intelligent species goes through to reach particular conclusions. They reason through different options. And when one scout discovers humanity, they can’t comprehend why humans claim to have invented intelligence similar to theirs.
Lastly, probably a close second favorite after The Wind from the Sun was A Meeting with Medusa. It was just so freaking cool omg. This talented pilot has two really historic flights that change humanity. There’s a cool time skip but he ends up exploring Jupiter which is just so imaginative. Anything could be out there so it’s wild to think about.
This book is ahead of its time. It’s contemplative and highly applicable to our world today with important ideas about controlling the ambitions of man, recognizing the smallness of our world in the greater galaxy, and finding peace in the uncertainty of the universe. I enjoyed reading this thoroughly and would recommend it to anyone.
April 25, 2021
There are 3 kinds of short story compilations in scifi. You get "top stories by various authors during a certain time period", you get "stories selected around a central theme" (which are my favourite collections) and "stories by the same author". Each is good for different reasons. This is one of the last, with all of them by Clarke. And the reason I think this type of collection is good is that if they're done properly they're brilliant at showing an audience the RANGE of an author and the breadth of stuff they're able to write.
This is going to be a very short review with me talking about a few of the stories in here with more detail. I do still struggle to review short story collections, but if you've got any advice leave it in the comments, I'd appreciate the feedback!
These were all written by Clarke during the 60s, one of the most important decade of scientific leaps ever. You had lasers, genetic codes, mars probes, craft sent to venus, the lunar landings. A lot of the time, for many of the stories in this and other collections, especially with Clarke and Asimov it's almost as if they learn of a new scientific innovation, and immediately their brain starts working a way to slot it into real life, a way to make it commonplace, and the social implications it would have, or a personal and human story INVOLVING that new "sciencey thing". I felt like I knew that was the genesis of quite a few stories in here. One thing I didn't know though that is interesting. The titular story The Wind From the Sun is about people who race solar sailed ships to the very outer edges of our solar system, and they're super expensive so it's an international sport where countries fund a ship built with all the latest tech. And I was looking up when the idea for a solar sail originated, and it's much much earlier than this book. People were thinking about it in the late 1800s. Pyotr Lebedev demonstrated light force, and even before that Jules Verne was talking about light as a mechanism of motion in space, and I came across a really nice quote from a letter written to Galileo by Johannes Kepler.
"Provide ships or sails adapted to the heavenly breezes, and there will be some who will brave even that void".
One of my favourite short stories in here I'd actually read before. When you read enough short story collections from the same genre you eventually start to bump into stuff you've seen before. But this one was really cool so I didn't mind. It's the longest story in the collection and it's called "A meeting with medusa" and it's this person who's riding a probe sent down into the lower atmospheres of jupiter and describing to the reader the creatures living, floating forever and never touching land, like some weird opposite world to Earth's deep oceans. Creatures using buoyant gas, hunting with static electricity and us coming face to face with new kinds of intelligence and having to re-examine what sentience means.
Talking about the genesis of each story, it feels like some of them which are quite plot weak are written as an excuse to include a beautiful scene, or an impressive action sequence. And you can really tell where the passion of the writer shines through, and which little tiny segments the rest of the story is built around.
UNFORTUNATELY, he does the same with punchlines. Arthur C. Clarke's novels are very serious, but I don't think he's a super serious person. There's a sense of humour in a lot of his shorter works, BUT several of these stories literally end in a punchline so bad they'll make you groan. Where he writes like 3 or 4 pages building up to a BADUM TSHHHH. So yeah it was super weird reading those ones, because its not something I've seen other scifi authors do, and not something I would have expected from an author that's not douglas adams or brian aldiss or someone known for being witty.
---
But yeah I always will recommend short story collections, but sometimes I think reading the "single author" collections (not modern ones but definitely older ones) can seem a bit monotonous because while the subject of the stories change, the tone doesn't really at all. So I think it's best to come across stories and discovering authors in big mixed author or themed collections.
This is going to be a very short review with me talking about a few of the stories in here with more detail. I do still struggle to review short story collections, but if you've got any advice leave it in the comments, I'd appreciate the feedback!
These were all written by Clarke during the 60s, one of the most important decade of scientific leaps ever. You had lasers, genetic codes, mars probes, craft sent to venus, the lunar landings. A lot of the time, for many of the stories in this and other collections, especially with Clarke and Asimov it's almost as if they learn of a new scientific innovation, and immediately their brain starts working a way to slot it into real life, a way to make it commonplace, and the social implications it would have, or a personal and human story INVOLVING that new "sciencey thing". I felt like I knew that was the genesis of quite a few stories in here. One thing I didn't know though that is interesting. The titular story The Wind From the Sun is about people who race solar sailed ships to the very outer edges of our solar system, and they're super expensive so it's an international sport where countries fund a ship built with all the latest tech. And I was looking up when the idea for a solar sail originated, and it's much much earlier than this book. People were thinking about it in the late 1800s. Pyotr Lebedev demonstrated light force, and even before that Jules Verne was talking about light as a mechanism of motion in space, and I came across a really nice quote from a letter written to Galileo by Johannes Kepler.
"Provide ships or sails adapted to the heavenly breezes, and there will be some who will brave even that void".
One of my favourite short stories in here I'd actually read before. When you read enough short story collections from the same genre you eventually start to bump into stuff you've seen before. But this one was really cool so I didn't mind. It's the longest story in the collection and it's called "A meeting with medusa" and it's this person who's riding a probe sent down into the lower atmospheres of jupiter and describing to the reader the creatures living, floating forever and never touching land, like some weird opposite world to Earth's deep oceans. Creatures using buoyant gas, hunting with static electricity and us coming face to face with new kinds of intelligence and having to re-examine what sentience means.
Talking about the genesis of each story, it feels like some of them which are quite plot weak are written as an excuse to include a beautiful scene, or an impressive action sequence. And you can really tell where the passion of the writer shines through, and which little tiny segments the rest of the story is built around.
UNFORTUNATELY, he does the same with punchlines. Arthur C. Clarke's novels are very serious, but I don't think he's a super serious person. There's a sense of humour in a lot of his shorter works, BUT several of these stories literally end in a punchline so bad they'll make you groan. Where he writes like 3 or 4 pages building up to a BADUM TSHHHH. So yeah it was super weird reading those ones, because its not something I've seen other scifi authors do, and not something I would have expected from an author that's not douglas adams or brian aldiss or someone known for being witty.
---
But yeah I always will recommend short story collections, but sometimes I think reading the "single author" collections (not modern ones but definitely older ones) can seem a bit monotonous because while the subject of the stories change, the tone doesn't really at all. So I think it's best to come across stories and discovering authors in big mixed author or themed collections.
October 17, 2022
It's been a while since I've read any Clarke and I'd forgotten just how good a writer he is. This collection of eighteen stories contains all his short fiction output of the 1960s, stretching both sides of Apollo, and, apart from a couple of things, could almost feel modern. The two things I mention are firstly, of lesser importance, that all the (scientific) measurements are in imperial units. As a child of the late 20th century, I might still think in miles for travel distance and pints for milk, but scientific measurement will always be metric. Reading distances in inches, or weights in pounds just feels weird, when coming from the mouth of a scientist (and so many of Clarke's protagonists are, or are closely associated with, scientists).
The second problem is a bigger deal: there is a complete absence of women in Clarke's fiction, and that sticks out like a sore thumb. There's a wife mentioned in Maelstrom II, and a "woman operator" who gets a couple of lines in A Meeting with Medusa, but that's about it. Clarke was never very good with writing women but while I might not have noticed when I was first reading Clarke, back in the days of my youth, it's really obvious.
But having herded the elephant in the room back out on to the savannah where it's happiest, what about the stories? As I said, Clarke is a stonkingly good writer. And he's got a decent range too. This collection includes the longest SF story ever written (one page), a very short shaggy dog tale, that is the setup for a pun that had me laughing out loud; but also poignant stories about men trapped in the vastness of space, without any hope of rescue; an adventure on Mount Everest; a consciousness recorded by aliens after a freak accident; and other great ideas. While I might like some stories here better than others, there were none that I actively disliked or thought just didn't work. The man knew his craft.
I enjoyed this collection, although I do have a bit of a bias towards Clarke, having grown up reading him when my tastes as a reader were being formed. If you can put aside the lack of women then there's a lot to enjoy here.
The second problem is a bigger deal: there is a complete absence of women in Clarke's fiction, and that sticks out like a sore thumb. There's a wife mentioned in Maelstrom II, and a "woman operator" who gets a couple of lines in A Meeting with Medusa, but that's about it. Clarke was never very good with writing women but while I might not have noticed when I was first reading Clarke, back in the days of my youth, it's really obvious.
But having herded the elephant in the room back out on to the savannah where it's happiest, what about the stories? As I said, Clarke is a stonkingly good writer. And he's got a decent range too. This collection includes the longest SF story ever written (one page), a very short shaggy dog tale, that is the setup for a pun that had me laughing out loud; but also poignant stories about men trapped in the vastness of space, without any hope of rescue; an adventure on Mount Everest; a consciousness recorded by aliens after a freak accident; and other great ideas. While I might like some stories here better than others, there were none that I actively disliked or thought just didn't work. The man knew his craft.
I enjoyed this collection, although I do have a bit of a bias towards Clarke, having grown up reading him when my tastes as a reader were being formed. If you can put aside the lack of women then there's a lot to enjoy here.
September 15, 2020
Am I allowed to critique a book this old, written by one of the masters of the golden era of sci-fi?
Let me just say, I love being reminded how much I truly enjoy science fiction. Perhaps this is my favorite literary genre...
Clarke was a superb storyteller and this collection of stories demonstrates how a true writer does more than just explain his or her brilliant idea, but actually inserts it into a narrative. He develops dramatic tension in a variety of man vs the environment stories with little to no person vs. person conflicts, and in most cases leaves the reader satisfied that they have shared in a fine adventure, a bit of exploration, or gained a nugget of previously unknown wisdom.
I rated the collection as a whole at four stars, but I would say the stories ranged from three to four. For example the eponymous fourth tale, full of creativity and scientific brilliance, was less engaging than the three that preceeded it, but no story failed to deliver that combination of insight, drama, and humor that delights and informs (though the social/historical backgrounds are thoroughly dated to the modern audience).
More serious students of Arthur C. Clarke may trace the genesis of ideas that spring forth for more thorough development in later novels. For me the most obvious of these was the final story, "A Meeting With Medusa," in which for the first time he hypothesizes about what might be hiding in Jupiter's roiling clouds. This is an idea that he revisits for his 2001 series of novels.
I would love to hear more about other nuggets or Easter eggs that other readers found in this collection, so if you've read it, hit me up! And if you haven't, get started already!
Let me just say, I love being reminded how much I truly enjoy science fiction. Perhaps this is my favorite literary genre...
Clarke was a superb storyteller and this collection of stories demonstrates how a true writer does more than just explain his or her brilliant idea, but actually inserts it into a narrative. He develops dramatic tension in a variety of man vs the environment stories with little to no person vs. person conflicts, and in most cases leaves the reader satisfied that they have shared in a fine adventure, a bit of exploration, or gained a nugget of previously unknown wisdom.
I rated the collection as a whole at four stars, but I would say the stories ranged from three to four. For example the eponymous fourth tale, full of creativity and scientific brilliance, was less engaging than the three that preceeded it, but no story failed to deliver that combination of insight, drama, and humor that delights and informs (though the social/historical backgrounds are thoroughly dated to the modern audience).
More serious students of Arthur C. Clarke may trace the genesis of ideas that spring forth for more thorough development in later novels. For me the most obvious of these was the final story, "A Meeting With Medusa," in which for the first time he hypothesizes about what might be hiding in Jupiter's roiling clouds. This is an idea that he revisits for his 2001 series of novels.
I would love to hear more about other nuggets or Easter eggs that other readers found in this collection, so if you've read it, hit me up! And if you haven't, get started already!
March 12, 2024
Description:
A collection of all the short stories Clarke wrote in the 60s.
Liked:
Short and sweet. Plain language which neatly spotlights the 'made-up' words and makes them more intelligible, plain protagonists who are all much of a muchness; both mean that the worlds and ideas can take the foreground, and they're clearly Clarke's forte. Highlights were The Food of the Gods (future humanity is more than a little shocked at what their forebears liked to eat), The Secret (all is not as it seems on the moon colony), The Last Command (soldiers receive their orders at the end of the world), Reunion (our progenitors return to help us out), and Neutron Tide (very silly fun), were favourites. All amongst the shortest and most pointed, actually!
Disliked:
I mean, it's dated. Clarke is obviously trying to address some racial wrongs, but the only women who feature anywhere are these stories are wives waiting at home. I could have done with slightly more variance in the main characters, without it doing a disservice to the worlds and ideas being built. But, y'know, 60s.
Would recommend.
Anything Else:
Read Neutron Tide - it’ll take you about three minutes and it’s quite charmingly stupid ;)
A collection of all the short stories Clarke wrote in the 60s.
Liked:
Short and sweet. Plain language which neatly spotlights the 'made-up' words and makes them more intelligible, plain protagonists who are all much of a muchness; both mean that the worlds and ideas can take the foreground, and they're clearly Clarke's forte. Highlights were The Food of the Gods (future humanity is more than a little shocked at what their forebears liked to eat), The Secret (all is not as it seems on the moon colony), The Last Command (soldiers receive their orders at the end of the world), Reunion (our progenitors return to help us out), and Neutron Tide (very silly fun), were favourites. All amongst the shortest and most pointed, actually!
Disliked:
I mean, it's dated. Clarke is obviously trying to address some racial wrongs, but the only women who feature anywhere are these stories are wives waiting at home. I could have done with slightly more variance in the main characters, without it doing a disservice to the worlds and ideas being built. But, y'know, 60s.
Would recommend.
Anything Else:
Read Neutron Tide - it’ll take you about three minutes and it’s quite charmingly stupid ;)
March 6, 2020
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I don't often love short story collections. I find myself losing interest or not getting enough of what I want, whether it's plot or characterization or what have you.
I didn't have that problem with this. I think it was a combination of the overall length of the collection (quite short) and Clarke's writing (pretty awesome).
I love the pacing of these stories, especially the very short ones. They're snappy with a little bit of bite. This collection also included one of my favorite elements of mid-century science fiction: when the author references older adventure/fantasy/horror. Bradbury does this as well. "Maelstrom II," one of my favorites of the book, focused heavily on elements from Poe.
I also found it interesting that he arranged these in chronological order of completion, because the collection really felt like it had a natural flow. The pacing seemed right, putting shorter pieces between slightly longer ones, building up the longest.
If you want some quick but solid sci-fi on the harder side (science-wise) give this collection a try.
I don't often love short story collections. I find myself losing interest or not getting enough of what I want, whether it's plot or characterization or what have you.
I didn't have that problem with this. I think it was a combination of the overall length of the collection (quite short) and Clarke's writing (pretty awesome).
I love the pacing of these stories, especially the very short ones. They're snappy with a little bit of bite. This collection also included one of my favorite elements of mid-century science fiction: when the author references older adventure/fantasy/horror. Bradbury does this as well. "Maelstrom II," one of my favorites of the book, focused heavily on elements from Poe.
I also found it interesting that he arranged these in chronological order of completion, because the collection really felt like it had a natural flow. The pacing seemed right, putting shorter pieces between slightly longer ones, building up the longest.
If you want some quick but solid sci-fi on the harder side (science-wise) give this collection a try.
March 17, 2024
This book is a fun little collection of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories, a few of which have been published elsewhere. It’s not exactly his most notable collection, but there are still some cracking pieces here.
I particularly liked one of the earlier pieces, which has a central message to it that lines up nicely with veganism. If you’re passionate about animal rights and you’re interested in the food that we consume, it’s definitely one to read.
But then, the whole lot is worth reading because Arthur C. Clarke is a cracking writer with a flair for words, and this collection is pretty typical of his skills. If you’re new to his work then you’ll probably want to start with 2001: A Space Odyssey or Rendezvous with Rama, which is my personal favourite.
Otherwise, it’s just a cracking collection of shorts with eighteen or so for you to enjoy. The only downside for me was that I’d read a couple of them. But oh well!
I particularly liked one of the earlier pieces, which has a central message to it that lines up nicely with veganism. If you’re passionate about animal rights and you’re interested in the food that we consume, it’s definitely one to read.
But then, the whole lot is worth reading because Arthur C. Clarke is a cracking writer with a flair for words, and this collection is pretty typical of his skills. If you’re new to his work then you’ll probably want to start with 2001: A Space Odyssey or Rendezvous with Rama, which is my personal favourite.
Otherwise, it’s just a cracking collection of shorts with eighteen or so for you to enjoy. The only downside for me was that I’d read a couple of them. But oh well!
December 13, 2018
Having just read The Medusa Chronicles, a sequel to Arthur C. Clarke's "A Meeting with Medusa", I decided I might as well re-read the original. That novella is the capstone in this collection of Clarke short stories from the 1960s and early '70s. Clarke has long been my favourite SF author, so it was nostalgic and fun to go back to these stories that I haven't read for probably a couple of decades. These are not Clarke's best work, although "A Meeting with Medusa" and "Transit of Earth" are well done. Many of the stories have Clarke's sly humour, where the final sentence completely flips your expectations. I also love that many Clarke stories are open-ended, in the sense that you know more is going to happen, but you aren't certain how it will unfold.
August 25, 2025
great little book. each story is unique and really takes you into that mind set from the 50s and up sc-fi speculation. some of the technology that would seem revolutionary like Seebeck effect used on a massive scale to a whole race in space with ultra thing sails made to sail using the momentum from photons. space ships designed to float through a gas giant. truly amazing and fun read. also a good set up for other Arthur C Clarke books several of the concepts and ideas out lined In this book like "simps" super chimps are used in say rendezvous with rama. I would recommend this book especially if you're looking to get into Arthur C Clarke without tackling something massive also if you want to just view some of his early work and want a book to read when you out and about something you can dive into and leave.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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