Em Busca do Futuro

by Arthur C. Clarke

Um mundo em vias de explodir...
Uma humanidade que ruma às estrelas...
Uma caminhada na escuridão de um planeta ao encontro do que não se espera...
A passagem para uma quarta dimensão...
Um ser do futuro que vive no interior de um ser do passado...
Uma perigosa descida ao interior da Terra...
Um encontro de um bêbedo e dois extraterrestres...
Uma viagem inesperada aos satélites de Júpiter...

Narrativas dramáticas ou irónicas, mas sempre emocionantes, do grande mestre da ficção científica Arthur C. Clarke.

Contos incluídos neste livro:
- Grupo de Salvamento
- Um Passeio na Escuridão
- O Inimigo Esquecido
- Erro Técnico
- O Parasita
- Fogos Interiores
- O Despertar
- Problemas com os Nativos
- A Maldição
- A Flecha do Tempo
- Júpiter Cinco
- Os Possessos

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Collections, Anthologies, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

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

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS SERIOUSLY GEEKY

When I was reading Lee Smolin’s interesting new book Time Reborn a few weeks ago, I happened to run into the following passage, which I imagine must have occupied the author’s attention for all of two minutes. He is talking about gravity:

Newton, according to legend, had this epiphany while sitting in his garden noticing apples falling from a tree as he contemplated the motion of the moon. To complete the thought, he asked another crucial question: How does that force decrease with the distance between the objects? For decrease it must, otherwise we would be pulled upward to the sun rather than downward to Earth.

Now I’m not questioning the obvious fact that the force of gravity decreases with distance, but is Smolin’s argument valid? My reasoning was that we're in orbit around the Sun, so it shouldn't matter very much if the Sun's gravitational pull is stronger. I even remembered Jupiter Five, an SF short story in this collection by Arthur C. Clarke, which hinged on that exact question. They are on Jupiter V, a small satellite near Jupiter. The gravitational attraction of Jupiter is much stronger than the gravitational attraction of the satellite. Yet even when they push themselves gently away from the satellite and drift into nearby space, they are in no danger of falling into the nearby planet.

There was a long, complicated and rather amusing discussion, which Not is threatening to write up in detail, so I won’t spoil her fun. But here, at any rate, is the final analysis of the situation which I arrived at; it’s quite fitting in a way, since Clarke, according to this page, dedicated the short story to the astronomer G.C. McVittie, for drawing up "twenty to thirty pages of orbital calculations". My own efforts are far more modest, but read on.

So let’s try and write down some equations; it soon becomes clear just how odd the "constant gravity" scenario is. Suppose that, instead of the usual formula

(1) F = GMm/r²

you have a force given by

(2) F = G'Mm

for some G'.

Suppose the Earth is in a circular orbit around the Sun, and compare the normal case with (1) against the "constant" case with (2). (First peculiarity: the orbit has to be circular rather than elliptical. But it's going to get much weirder). Let R be the radius of the Earth's orbit, M be the mass of the Sun and m be the mass of the Earth.

In the "normal" case (1), we have that the gravitational force acting on the Earth is

F = GMm/R²

so the acceleration of the Earth towards the Sun is

A = GM/R²

In the "constant" case (2), we need exactly the same acceleration to keep the Earth in its orbit, so

G'M = GM/R²

hence

G' = G/R²

Now what acceleration does a person on the surface of the Earth experience? In both cases, there are three things to consider: the gravitational pull towards the Sun, the gravitational pull towards the center of the Earth, and the fact that they are in an accelerating frame of reference since they are moving in a circle. Irrespective of whether we have case (1) or case (2), the third term is going to be the same. We can reasonably assume the second term will also be the same. So the only difference will be in the first term, the gravitational pull towards the Sun.

Think about the situation at noon (observer nearest to the Sun). In case (2), where we have a constant force, their acceleration towards the Sun is still

A₂ = G'M = GM/R²

But in case (1), their acceleration towards the Sun is

A₁ = GM/(R-r)²

We have

A₂/A₁ = (R-r)²/R²=~ 1 - 2r/R assuming r/R is small.

So the change in gravity at noon in the "constant gravity" world will be approximately

-2Ar/R

where A is the gravitational acceleration towards the Sun, which by hypothesis is the same as it is in the real world. This is both very small and in the wrong direction, so there is no danger of “being sucked into space”, or indeed of experiencing any other weird gravitational effect.

But what is A, in fact? We have

A = ω²R

where ω is the Earth's angular velocity. The Earth takes 1 year = 3 x 10⁷ seconds to go around the Sun, and R = 1.5 x 10¹¹ m, so

A = 1.5 x 10¹¹ x (3 x 10⁷)⁻² m/s² = 1.7 x 10⁻⁴ m/s²

However, the gravitational acceleration due to the Earth is 9.8 m/s², so we have the absurd result that the Sun's gravitational pull is actually much weaker than the Earth's. Thus the assumption that the Earth is going round the Sun must be incorrect, and the Sun is actually a very small body going round the Earth.

So suppose instead that the Sun goes round the Earth. How far away is it? The angular velocity will be the same, so we have

g = ω²R

R = g/ω²= 9.8 / (3 x 10⁷)⁻² = 9.8 x 9 x 10¹⁴ =~ 9 x 10¹⁵ m = 9 x 10¹² km

i.e. more than 60,000 times further away, and thus more than 60,000 times larger - but still, somehow, much less massive than the Earth. While we're at it, let's also think about the Moon. Its period is about 1/13 that of the Sun, so its distance will be 1/13² that of the Sun, i.e. 9/13² x 10¹² =~ 5 x 10¹⁰ km instead of 4 x 10⁵ km in real life. So the Moon is also much bigger than the Earth, but also much less massive.

Bottom line: the “constant gravity” world just makes no sense, so it is very hard to talk meaningfully about what would happen there. But it is astonishing how much thought we required to come to this simple conclusion.

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grupo de Salvamento - 3*
Um Passeio no Escuro - 2*
O Inimigo Esquecido - 4*
Erro Técnico - 2,5*
O Parasita - 3*
Fogos interiores - 3*
O Despertar - 3*
Problemas com os Nativos - 3,5*
A Maldição - 2*
A Flecha do Tempo - 3*
Júpiter Cinco - 3*
Os Possessos - 3*

É um conjunto de contos algo datados mas ainda com alguns conceitos e especulações interessantes.

[Nanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rescue Party ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Technical Error ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Fires Within ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nightfall ⭐⭐
The Forgotten Enemy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Time's Arrow ⭐⭐⭐
A Walk in the Dark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trouble with the Natives ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Possessed ⭐⭐
The Parasite ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jupiter Five ⭐⭐⭐

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-De cuando el autor trataba de contar historias más que construir conceptos Hard que desarrollar después.-

Género. Relatos.

Lo que nos cuenta. Doce relatos del autor, escritos entre 1946 y 1953, con distintos tipos de amenaza subyacente como hilo conductor involuntario en mi opinión, y que nos llevarán desde varios momentos de nuestro pasado remoto a otros varios del lejano futuro, pasando por un contacto alienígena muy especial y distintos hallazgos técnicos, entre otros temas.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This is the fourth time I've read this book, that contains 12 stories, one of which (Rescue Party) is a classic. These are the stories I like best:

Time arrow: A typical story about time travel, with a surprising ending.

Trouble with the natives: Hilarious story about the first encounter with aliens.

Jupiter Five: Although Clarke takes the opportunity to smuggle in his atheism, this is an interesting sci-fi tale, one that advances the story of 2001: A Space Odyssey and made Clarke perform complex mathematical calculations.

Rescue Party: A good story, although at the end it shows a tremendous chauvinistic triumphalism.

Technical error: A more complete development of the idea under The Plattner Story by H.G. Wells.

ESPAÑOL: Esta es la cuarta vez que leo este libro, que contiene 12 cuentos, uno de las cuales (Partida de Rescate) es un clásico. Estos son los cuentos que más me han gustado:

Flecha del tiempo: Un cuento típico sobre viajes en el tiempo, con un final sorprendente.

Problemas con los nativos: Descacharrante historia sobre el primer encuentro con extraterrestres.

Júpiter Cinco: Aunque Clarke aprovecha para introducir subrepticiamente su ateísmo, este es un cuento de ciencia ficción interesante, que adelanta la historia de 2001: Una odisea espacial, y que forzó a Clarke a realizar complejos cálculos matemáticos.

Partida de Rescate: Interesante cuento, que al final exhibe un enorme triunfalismo chauvinista.

Error técnico: Un desarrollo más completo de la idea subyacente al cuento The Plattner Story de H.G. Wells.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was first published in 1956 and contains the following stories:

Rescue Party
A Walk in the Dark
The Forgotten Enemy
Technical Error
The Parasite
The Fires Within
The Awakening
Trouble With the Natives
The Curse
Time's Arrow
Jupiter Five
The Possessed

I've read a few of these stories before, but mostly so long ago that they were pretty new again. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the way Clarke puts in a twist at the end of many of his stories. A lot of sf short story writers use a tomato surprise - where an abrupt ending is out of context of the story. But Clarke's endings play on a conceptual aspect made possible earlier in the story.

"Rescue Party" is Clarke's very first publication, from 1946 Astounding. It's well-written and it still stands up today. That inspiring perspective on humanity persists in much of sf today.

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read most of Arthur C. Clarke’s novels that he wrote on his own, and really enjoyed the majority of them. However, I think before this compilation I had read only about three examples of his shorter fiction. Thus, I had high hopes for Reach for Tomorrow. Perhaps they were a bit too high.

The stories contained in Reach for Tomorrow, in an approximate chronological order, are:
Rescue Party, 1946
The Fires Within, 1949
Technical Error, 1950
A Walk in the Dark, 1950
Trouble with the Natives, 1951
The Awakening, 1951
The Possessed, 1952
Time’s Arrow, 1952
The Curse, 1953
The Forgotten Enemy, 1953
The Parasite, 1953
Jupiter Five, 1953

As I just recently read The Rescue Party, I didn’t bother to re-read it now, although it’s one of the best stories in this collection. What I found rather surprising was that many of these stories are rather grim. A Walk in the Dark and The Parasite are, according to my standards, more horror than scifi. Several others are quite dark as well. On the other hand, Trouble with the Natives is comedy, although it’s not particularly funny.

In addition to the horror stories, my favourites included Jupiter Five (although the ending was disappointing) and, as a geologist, the geological and palaeontological themes of The Forgotten Enemy, The Fires Within and Time’s Arrow were appealing.

This 1989 edition of Reach for Tomorrow includes Clarke’s original Preface (the book was first published in 1962), as well as his Introduction to 1989 Edition. Readers with good memories should read these only after they’ve read the short stories, because they actually contain several spoilers. Luckily I don’t have a good memory.

Although this wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped for, it was still highly enjoyable and certainly recommended not only for Clarke fans but also for anyone who enjoys 1950s scifi.

3.75/5

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/376820.html[return][return]A dozen vintage Clarke short stories from the early years of his career (1945-1953). More than half I already knew - I see that "A Walk in the Dark", "Rescue Party", "The Curse", and "The Possessed" were also in The Nine Billion Names of God, and "Trouble with the Natives", "The Forgotten Enemy" and "The Fires Within" are in Of Time and Stars, of which I still have a battered Puffin copy. Oddly, "A Walk in the Dark", "Rescue Party", and "The Possessed" are rather weak stories to have been collected twice; all three of them basically long set-ups for a rather trivial punchline ("It's in front of you!" "Humans are smarter than you think!" and "Lemmings!"). "The Curse" works rather better, partly because the punchline is tragic rather than funny, but mainly because it is much shorter.[return][return]"Trouble with the Natives" is sheer slapstick, but I've always liked it. "The Fires Within" is another favourite of mine which manages the twist of perception while maintaining the tone of sinister tragedy well. "The Forgotten Enemy" I've always felt is over-rated; scientifically (as Clarke admits in the prologue) it's a bit implausible, and the enemy turns out to be one that you can literally walk away from; I don't feel the denouement satisfies the build-up.[return][return]The five new stories for me were "Technical Error", an entertaining engineering story with a Fourth Dimension twist; "The Parasite", a rather unsuccessful attempt at time-travelling horror; "The Awakening", a brief but effective Sleeper Outlives Humanity story (though this has been done better since by others, eg Zelazny's "Go Starless in the Night"); "Jupiter Five", an early attempt at the themes later more successfully developed in Rendezvous With Rama which unfortunately falls a bit flat in its characterisation; and my personal favourite of the bunch, "Time's Arrow", which brings paleontologists and time-travelling physicists together - and although I saw the punchline coming from miles away, I still thought it was carried off well.[return]

[Scott Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Clarke's earliest collections; it contains several of his best stories, written in his clear, unaffected style -- which is to say that, like the pulp-style stories from the 20's & 30's that Clarke grew up reading, these stories tend to focus on the situations that the characters find themselves in, rather than the characters themselves, but the quality of the writing is much better.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como suelo decir, no soy yo de cuentos cortos (salvo los de Asimov y Cuentos de la Taberna del Ciervo Blanco de Clarke)

[Lyndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adequate collection of Clarke's early science fiction stories from the late 40s and early 50s. My favorite was Technical Error, a kind of time travel SF tale. The other 2 pure SF stories, Fire Within and Jupiter Five were pretty good. The more sci-fi oriented time travel piece, Time's Arrow, was another favorite. The other two space opera/sci-fi stories, Rescue Party and Trouble With the Natives, were just okay. Two stories, A Walk in the Dark and The Parasite, were actually light horror set in a sci-fi future - and both were basically set ups for a cutesy "ooh" ending. One story, The Curse, was a flash fiction homage to Shakespeare. And three more stories were what I'd call speculative sci-fi. Forgotten Enemy was meh, The Awakening was also meh with another cutesy ending. But The Posessed was intetesting and wss my third favorite in this collection. Clarke isn't an author I particularly enjoy but these tales were quick and easy and helped pass some time in the airport.

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

This is an early collection of Clarke's stories published from 1946 to 1953. The opening story is not just his first sale but the most famous--"Rescue Party." In the Preface Clarke writes "a depressing number of people still consider it my best." I'd rate other Clarke short stories higher, but I'd still rate this one high--it's my favorite of this collection. Partly for it's double twist--but also because it epitomizes so much I've found in Clarke--the optimism about humanity. Surprisingly it's one of the few upbeat stories here, most of which, despite scientific rather than supernatural underpinnings, could be classified as horror. Certainly that's true of "A Walk in the Dark" a fine work of suspense with a twist that has the irony of a Saki story. It's true as well of "The Parasite," with its well-drawn characters and psychological insight. "Jupiter Five" epitomizes another side of Clarke, and is another favorite out of the collection, even if I agree with the reviewer that called the ending disappointing--the awe of enormous scale--in time, space. Another strong candidate for best of the collection is "Trouble with the Natives." This isn't simply one of the few upbeat stories, it's funny! Clarke's aliens remind me of Rowling's wizards among the Muggles. I enjoyed it from amusing beginning to the twist in the tale.

Clarke in his Preface claims for science fiction that when done well at the very least it should satisfy like a "good puzzle"and be "enjoyable and entertaining." Even if few in this collection are stories I'd pluck from here to put in a collection of Clarke's best (and at his best Clarke is one of the great science fiction short story writers) at the very least, all the stories here can claim they're enjoyable and entertaining--and some are more than that.

[Jake Gest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever sat down and read a collection of short stories cover to cover before. Usually I am the type to read a few of the stories here or there between novels and epic 12 book series (uggg). I was wandering through a thrift store when I came across this book longing for something short and easy. I was not disappointed.

I think it would be silly to compare Clarke's short stories to his novels, although it is interesting to note that his most famous novel
2001: A Space Odyssey, was based an a short story of his (the sentinel). This collection offers a mixed bag of tales. That was a strong point for me, several of the stories are fairly shocking, often ending in a cliffhanger, while others were well rounded and easy going. Because of this I was never able to know what to expect. After a few stories I expected everything to be wrought with tragedy, only to be greeted by endings where everyone hugs and gets home safe, no worse for wear. My favorites were "Jupiter Five" and "The Parasite", both of which I could see made into spectacular sci-fi novels. I think it's a good sign when a bit of science fiction leaves you begging for more. Oddly enough I really enjoyed the little preface in the beginning, mainly because I love little peeks into the authors process and opinions of their own work. If I were to pick one story I did not enjoy I would lean towards the curse, which seemed a bit too melodramatic for me (then again it's not 1956 anymore). Overall a nice read for the sci-fi buff.

Attribution: http://gestclarinetist.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/reach-for-tomorrow-arthur-c-clarke/

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think this was quite on the level of Clarke's first collection, EXPEDITION TO EARTH. There are some strong stories here--my favorites, like "The Forgotten Enemy," "The Parasite," and "The Fires Within", relied primarily on atmosphere and that sense of cosmic perspective Clarke can so wonderfully evoke, rather than being hard sf--but not as many classics or near-classics as in that first collection. The original magazines where these appeared also suggest that: one was published in *Astounding*, but others come from places like *Dynamic Science Fiction* and *Marvel Science Stories* that weren't considered top-tier even in their day. [In contrast, EXPEDITION TO EARTH had two stories from *Astounding*, one from *F&SF* and one from *Amazing*, along with other magazines]. Granted, some of these tales date back to 1946-47, so I understand some allowances are in order. But "Jupiter Five", for example, outstayed its welcome for me, and doesn't compare that well to other stories from 1953; and though I wanted to like "The Awakening," because it has that far out time-scaling Clarke excels at, the ending seemed to come out of left field.

[Michael Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly the same stories as in the Collected Works of Arthur C Clarke series. Only 2 or 3 different stories, so I breezed through this one. Earlier works, so not as thought provoking and deeply rooted in science.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully well-written book by a classic sci-fi author. Having read mostly more recent sci-fi short stories, I was surprised by how negative were the endings of many of these stories.

[Alex Vilt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great bundle of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke. He had a great talent in imagining the future in different situations and from different points of view. I simply enjoy every word he wrote.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Clarke's second collection of short fiction, and is slightly inferior to its predecessor, "Expedition to Earth." The author himself seems critical of the opening piece, "Rescue Party," which was the first piece of work he sold, although, with its ending plot twist, it has not aged too badly. In fact many of these stories rely on twists which vary in their effectiveness. "A Walk in the Dark" is spine-tingling, whereas the surprise with which "The Forgotten Enemy" concludes is anti-climactic. "Technical Error" is a clever and thought-provoking piece which employs a multi-dimensional element to surprise the reader. "The Parasite" leans towards fantasy and comes off as a bit ham-fisted; "The Fires Within" may have played well in 1949, but comes off as far-fetched 70 years later; and "The Awakening" is slight. "Trouble with the Natives," however, makes up for all three misfires with one of Clarke's better tongue-in-cheek shaggy alien tales. Of the remaining stories, both "The Curse" and "The Possessed" are mere vignettes; "Time's Arrow" is a middling stab at the age-old sci-fi theme of time travel; and "Jupiter Five," one of the longer pieces here, is a gem which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

All of these stories have subsequently been collected elsewhere, but it is interesting -- especially to a Clarke fan -- to read them within the context of a collection published after his best early stories had already been cherry-picked for "Expedition to Earth." Despite the misfires, as a whole, this volume stands up better than one might expect, mainly on the strengths of the well-crafted longer pieces.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow. I wasn't expecting anything when I picked this up (in PDF at first and later on physical thanks to my library), but I think I ended up loving most stories. There are just a couple that are a little confusing, or just plain weird. Most of them, specially the last few, are utterly amazing.
Have I said I love Arthur C. Clarke as a scifi writer. He writes with so much confidence, that you believe in every single story he tells you, without a doubt. And I know they are all complete fiction... but they always sound so true. So possible. I love it. Most of these stories managed to draw me in, and once I had the physical copy in my hands (I do admit reading on the computer tires me), I really couldn't put it down.
There are some stories with rather obvious endings if you are paying attention and you know Clarke's style, like 'Time's Arrow'. And there are others like 'The Curse' where I did not exactly see that coming. But what really amazes me most of the time is the credibility. They sound real, and for science fiction, this is really important.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the latest in the stack of Arthur C. Clarke short story collections that I’ve been working my way through after winning a job lot of his stuff on eBay. The last one was Tales from the White Hart, which was one of the best short story collections in any genre that I’ve come across of late, and that left this one feeling like a disappointment in comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s some decent enough stuff in here, but it falls a little flat after you’ve read some of his better stuff. One or two of the stories just fizzled out instead of reaching a triumphant crescendo, but the good news is that there were also a couple with some great ideas that I latched onto and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

All in all, then, it’s an okay read but nothing special, and certainly not one that you’ll want to go out of your way for. It’s better suited for Clarke completionists than the general reader.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually like short stories but I love Arthur c Clarke so fucking much. The last three in order were “times arrow” which could’ve been called reaching for yesterday (hehe bc of the title) time travel Jurassic park. Then it was “Jupiter five” which was great, and you could see elements of “rendezvous with Rama” in it for sure. Both in how the universe explorers approached their discovery (no explosives unless absolutely necessary!) and the descriptions of how this other race would have had to build a miniature world that could function as a ship for generations. Last one was “the possessed” suck it loser billion year old race you picked the lizards to inhabit but it’s the monkeys that rule this world I guess. On to hammer of god !

[Gareth Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 or a 5 but I've rounded up. An interesting mix of stories which starts strongly, drops off and then makes a full recovery with the last few tales. They are certainly reflective of an early stage of his writing and have a wide range of themes, a few which just feel like Asimov set ups for a twist in the final paragraph, and some that are more reflective of his later style.

I particularly enjoyed Trouble with the Natives which revealed a very British sense of humour.

Not his strongest but well worth the read.

[Ian Martyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories that showcases Clarke's strengths as a short story author. Although I have no practical experience in the matter, I feel like writing short stories is a very different skill than writing a novel-length work. There is quite a variety of different types of stories in this collection. I don't have much more to say than to mention that I really enjoyed most of these in very different ways.

Favorites: Trouble with the Natives, A Walk in the Dark, Rescue Party

[Harriet Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely astounding - I have never read science-fiction, but these short stories are all incredibly compelling and accessible. Very nice variation in story length and themes, which were very thought provoking long after finishing.

[Ayon Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little collection of stories with interesting sci-fi ideas, though some of the endings felt a little anticlimactic or gimmicky. My favorite was "The Fires Within" - shadow biospheres is a fascinating topic that I don't see often enough in stories.

[Osman Tümay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping book of short stories from the master of science-fiction. To find ideas that initiated the search that resulted in 2001: A Space Odyssey in these little gems was a very pleasant surprise. A remarkable debut from a most remarkable man of thought and imagination.

[Steve Klemz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection from the 40's and early 50's. Short stories that started the career of the great Arthur C. Clarke. Written shortly after the A Bomb's were dropped, so naturally they are not all that hopeful for mankind. Insect beings, lizard beings and hapless mankind. Good fun, mostly for those with an interest in classic sci-fi from the period. Worth the read, especially if you are a fan of Clarke's later works.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting group of old short stories. Not his best by any means but some along the lines of Philip K Dick as far as irony.

[Andrew Bylicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the works of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, but I felt many of the stories in this collection were just downright depressing.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this collecting 5 stars simply because of the inclusion of The Forgotten Enemy and The Fires Within. Every story here is great but those two merit 5 stars automatically.