This Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel is reissued in this trade paperback edition. Vannemar Morgan's dream of linking Earth with the stars requi...
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reviews
Jul 01, 2010
Stephen
rated it: 
4.5 to 5.0 stars. Definitely one of Clarke's best novels, which is saying something given his tremendous body of work. The novel, as most of Clarke's work, was respectful of the scientific basis required for the story but never let itself get bogged down in overly long technical explanations. A superb story that once again reaffirms that man can do just about anythign if he sets his mind to it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1980)
Winner: More...
Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1980)
Winner: More...
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Aug 18, 2008
Matt
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I was disappointed in this book, though I confess that part of it is my fault. Clarke didn't tell the story that I wanted him to tell, and this is always an unfair expectation on the part of the reader. "If you want a particular story, you should write it yourself." is the rightful reply of the writer. But I'm only human, and when I get figs when I was expecting chocolate, I'm disappointed (even if I like figs, which I do).
'The Fountains of Paradise' is about mankind's f More...
'The Fountains of Paradise' is about mankind's f More...
Apr 12, 2010
Shirari
rated it: 
I'm a fan of Buckminster Fuller's world-changingly-big ideas for future human housing and transportation, so this book was right up my alley. Arthur C. Clarke tells the story of the construction of a "space elevator" and couches his suspenseful, fun narrative in a rich, invented history that has so many parallels to our own it's positively believable. Clarke seems to fall in the atheist camp, but the story playing with the "Tower of Babel" concept and the idea that engineerin
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Jan 26, 2012
Prashanth
rated it: 
This is about an engineer's dream project - building a "bridge" to space (or rather the orbit around earth). Half through, there are indications of a future world that advances to a greater extent all thanks to this bridge. So, no surprises there - we know the bridge gets built and, as the book indicates at the very end, there's a human population permanently residing at the geo-sync orbit.
There are a few things going on in parallel to begin with. The story sadly doesn't sust More...
There are a few things going on in parallel to begin with. The story sadly doesn't sust More...
Dec 06, 2011
Christopher
rated it:
This was a great read! Truly, the literary world of Science Fiction lost a giant when Arthur C. Clarke died. After all, few modern sci-fi authors could write a story about a space elevator, or "space bridge" as the main protagonist calls it, and make it interesting without resorting to some big action set piece we have come to expect from the genre. In many ways, this is a very tame book. Clarke treats the subject of the clash between science and religion in the first half of the novel
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Jul 27, 2011
Steve
rated it:
This is classic science fiction written by an absolute master. As ever, Clarke balances the human story with a heavy science bias, but written in an engaging and accessible way.
The premise of the book is essentiallly that an engineer decides to build the ultimate structure - a space elevator - making rockets into orbit unnecessary and making the solar system more accessibel to mankind. The science is basically sound, and most of the technology that he writes about now exists. I think thats what More...
The premise of the book is essentiallly that an engineer decides to build the ultimate structure - a space elevator - making rockets into orbit unnecessary and making the solar system more accessibel to mankind. The science is basically sound, and most of the technology that he writes about now exists. I think thats what More...
Apr 05, 2011
I don't own a copy of this book, though I've read it. By the time I thought of collecting Clarke, bookstores had taken to selling only a few books each by prolific authors, and always the same three or four in all the new book stores, and three or four different ones in the used bookstores--but always the same three or four in each used bookstore, as well. I blame a change in the tax laws that taxed publishers for books kept in warehouses, which made it too expensive to keep slow-selling books
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Aug 22, 2011
Luka
rated it:
4.5 Really liked this one. Winner of both Hugo and Nebula award.
I always wanted to start reading Clarke with 2001 Space Odyssey, but I couldn't find it. So I took Fountains of Paradise, and haven't regretted. Main theme of this book is building space lift, or so called bridge, between Earth (more precisely Taprobane, today's Sri Lanka, more or less) and geostationary satellite. Something which, on first hearing looked to me as quite improbable idea, Clarke turned in very much possib More...
I always wanted to start reading Clarke with 2001 Space Odyssey, but I couldn't find it. So I took Fountains of Paradise, and haven't regretted. Main theme of this book is building space lift, or so called bridge, between Earth (more precisely Taprobane, today's Sri Lanka, more or less) and geostationary satellite. Something which, on first hearing looked to me as quite improbable idea, Clarke turned in very much possib More...
Dec 24, 2011
Eric
rated it:
As I think I mentioned in my review for “Childhood’s End,” my interest in reading Clarke was spurred by an episode of “Prophets of Science Fiction” on the Science Channel. This was another book they talked about in that episode (the third, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” is also on loan from the library and I will probably be starting it this week sometime). Unlike that book, however, this one just didn’t quite work for me.
The premise is that an architect designs and then builds a “Space El More...
The premise is that an architect designs and then builds a “Space El More...
Jan 13, 2012
Jim
rated it: 
Because of the project I'm working on, I was obligated to read Clarke's 1978 clunker, The Fountains of Paradise. The glue binding on the novel had broken down and I had to keep the whole thing together with a rubber band, which is a pretty apt metaphor for reading this novel.
This is exactly the kind of book that made the Cyberpunk movement a historical necessity. Clarke follows a myopic engineer, Morgan, who wants to follow up a successful bridge project with a space elevator. We More...
This is exactly the kind of book that made the Cyberpunk movement a historical necessity. Clarke follows a myopic engineer, Morgan, who wants to follow up a successful bridge project with a space elevator. We More...
Dec 14, 2011
Rob
rated it:
...The Fountains of Paradise is an intellectually stimulating novel. I enjoyed reading it very much, in particular for the detail of the construction process on the space elevator. That being said, I'm not sure it is worthy of the awards is won. It contains a lot of stuff that Clarke had done before. Stylistically, Clarke is not a brilliant author and his characters are mostly fairly flat. By 1979 rigid scientific accuracy and a sense of wonder were no longer enough, or sometimes not even necess
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Jul 15, 2011
Magpie
rated it:
Strange. I have finished the book, and while I am still not sure what the main conflict is, I quite enjoyed it. It starts two thousand years ago, spends most of its time about five hundred years from now, and ends two thousand years in the future.
The Fountains of Paradise is a true science fiction book -- heavy on the science, as one might expect from an Arthur C. Clarke book. The reality he has made in the book now weighs heavily on my dreams for the future. The ideas described herein More...
The Fountains of Paradise is a true science fiction book -- heavy on the science, as one might expect from an Arthur C. Clarke book. The reality he has made in the book now weighs heavily on my dreams for the future. The ideas described herein More...
Feb 28, 2009
Mike
rated it:
This is one of my favorite books and I come back to it yearly. I love new technologies and when I read about one that is years in advance of it's time, I get a feeling. I don't know when anyone is going to build a space elevator. The best thing about this story is it is about more than just the Sci-Fi. It's a great story.
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Mar 27, 2010
holy_fire
rated it:
two words: space elevator....
short plot description: in the not so far future a very determined engineer wants to build Earth's first space elevator on the site were about 2000 years earlier a king build another marvel of engineering but has to overcome many obstacles, both scientific and political...
my thoughts: Clarke at his best. Science is sound as always but also presented in a non-boring fashion, the subplot regarding the building of the palace 2000 years early is i More...
short plot description: in the not so far future a very determined engineer wants to build Earth's first space elevator on the site were about 2000 years earlier a king build another marvel of engineering but has to overcome many obstacles, both scientific and political...
my thoughts: Clarke at his best. Science is sound as always but also presented in a non-boring fashion, the subplot regarding the building of the palace 2000 years early is i More...
Feb 26, 2009
Patrice
rated it:
Don't you just love Arthur C. Clarke? I certainly do.
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Apr 08, 2011
Andreas
rated it:
A classic from one of the great masters. The book tells the story of the construction of a space elevator on an island closely based on Sri Lanka. The author also took a bit of license and moved it to the equator in order to make things actually work.
While one might think that the story is only about the technical aspects, it delves much deeper into the spiritual past and future of bridge building. For what is a space elevator if not a bridge to the stars? Clarke skillfully blends the More...
While one might think that the story is only about the technical aspects, it delves much deeper into the spiritual past and future of bridge building. For what is a space elevator if not a bridge to the stars? Clarke skillfully blends the More...
Dec 20, 2011
Joseph
rated it:
The last time I read this, I was still living with my folks in O'Fallon Missouri. Arthur C. Clarke has always held a place in my heart as he is the author that turned me on to sci-fi when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Anyways, 'Fountains of Paradise' tells the story of mankind's effort to build a space elevator, a way to lift equipment and travelers into high earth orbit, from where it would be easier and much less expensive to launch long distance space missions. The site for the earthbound e
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Dec 05, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
This is one of the first novels to explore the concept of space elevators, & for that reason was a must-read for me. It's a Hugo & Nebula Award winner -- this is the legendary Arthur C. Clarke, after all -- but it's stronger on the science/engineering side of things than on characters or social realities... just enough for me to dock a star, since that kind of verisimilitude is important to me as a reader (& a writer). I'm not saying Clarke's hamhanded on characterization or society, exactly, j
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Sep 08, 2009
Picasso1387
rated it:
This is one of my absolute favorite sci-fi books. In it, Arthur C. Clarke tells the story of two great men, one an ancient king and the other an engineer in the not-too-distant future.
In addition to the wonderful characters and story, this book features some of the earliest thinking about building a space elevator -- an idea that NASA now takes very seriously. Clarke also has his future engineer use a news-gathering computer that is remarkably predictive of how many people use the intern More...
In addition to the wonderful characters and story, this book features some of the earliest thinking about building a space elevator -- an idea that NASA now takes very seriously. Clarke also has his future engineer use a news-gathering computer that is remarkably predictive of how many people use the intern More...
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Jan 17, 2012
Lyssa
rated it:
I am ashamed to admit that this is my first Arthur C. Clarke. That being said, I am absolutely blown-away by this book. The writing is utterly fantastic!! I had moments when I just couldn't put it down. The entire concept of the Space Elevator was so fleshed out, the Orbital Tower so optimistically built...I am without words to describe how I feel about this book. I actually want to couple Clarke with Mary Doria Russell. They both have a way with words and the unknowns in progress that almost ha
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Mar 16, 2011
Jason
rated it:
This was a good book. It mainly follows the quest of an earthling engineer who, many years in the future, attempts to build a tower into space. This tower will make space travel more efficient by eliminating the need for chemical rockets. The story of the engineer is paralleled by the story of an ancient king who sought to create paradise and heaven on earth in his vast pleasure gardens. The engineer accomplishes the king's ancient dream of reaching heaven by creating a bridge to the stars. Arth
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Aug 29, 2010
Danielle
rated it:
Yet another thought-provoking story about the cultural impact of technology--one of the hallmarks of quality science fiction (and Clarke, of course). This book does something unique: it bluntly dismisses the superstitious nonsense of the past and finds real inspiration--even spirituality--in the achievements of the future. Yet even while it is promoting progressiveness, there is the constant call to humility; what can man create that nature cannot destroy? What is the substance of a legend? A
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Dec 20, 2008
Matt
rated it:
My least favorite Clarke novel to date. The detail about the space elevator is very, very boring. It would be a cheap way to get up into space if it were possible (with nanotechnology it could be in the future), but it is just not interesting enough to build a whole novel around it.
If I remember correctly there is some sort of murder mystery subplot if you can keep your eyes open long enough to follow it.
I think Clarke got the Hugo and Nebula for this in order to encou More...
If I remember correctly there is some sort of murder mystery subplot if you can keep your eyes open long enough to follow it.
I think Clarke got the Hugo and Nebula for this in order to encou More...
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Jan 03, 2012
Kat
rated it:
The latest scheme dreamed up by Dr. Vannevar Morgan, a materials engineer, is either pure genius or pure crackpot: He wants to build an elevator to space. He's discovered a new material that he thinks is strong enough to withstand the gravitational and climatic forces that would act on such a structure and he's found the only place on Earth where it's possible to achieve his dream: the top of the mountain Sri Kanda on the equatorial island of Taprobane (pronounced "top-ROB-oh-knee"). U
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Sep 27, 2011
Alexander
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Arthur C. Clarke
The Fountains of Paradise
Gollancz, Paperback, 2004.
8vo. 257 pp. SF Masterworks #34. Foreword [p. 13], Afterword [pp. 251-255, 1969-78] and Addition to the Afterword [pp. 256-257, 1989] by Arthur Clarke.
First published, 1979.
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Let me start with a piece of advice for Clarke neophytes: don't make The Fountains of Paradise your first novel by this author. I have the audacity to claim that More...
The Fountains of Paradise
Gollancz, Paperback, 2004.
8vo. 257 pp. SF Masterworks #34. Foreword [p. 13], Afterword [pp. 251-255, 1969-78] and Addition to the Afterword [pp. 256-257, 1989] by Arthur Clarke.
First published, 1979.
-------------------------------
Let me start with a piece of advice for Clarke neophytes: don't make The Fountains of Paradise your first novel by this author. I have the audacity to claim that More...
Jun 24, 2011
Eric
rated it:
This novel is the story of the construction of a space elevator and various events that surround that endeavor. On the whole, I did enjoy it. The story starts out switching back and forth between the mythical past in "Taprobane" (based on Sri Lanka) and the future where most of the narrative takes place. It's an interesting way to establish the setting, but it's kind of disorienting to travel back and forth through time every few pages.
One thing I like to do while reading old More...
One thing I like to do while reading old More...
Nov 06, 2009
Jake
rated it:
Various concepts show up as supporting material in multiple Arthur C. Clarke novels. Two prominent ones are asteroid impact and the space elevator. For instance, the space elevator shows up in 3001. But The Fountains of Paradise is where the space elevator gets the full-length treatment. Yet, that isn’t the main reason to read this book.
I’ll admit this is a lesser Clarke novel. I finally got around to it by way of covering my bases. It’s not one of his most memorable works. However, More...
I’ll admit this is a lesser Clarke novel. I finally got around to it by way of covering my bases. It’s not one of his most memorable works. However, More...
Oct 21, 2007
http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/sf/founp.htm[return][return]In the late 1970s, in this, the third book in a series of three for which he had reputedly received the largest advance ever paid to a science fiction author, Clarke developed a grand scale extension of his communications satellite: the space elevator, skyhook, or beanstalk, a tower thousands of kilometres in height, fixed to the earth's surface, that can be used to ship freight and people to orbit at a fraction of the cost of a rocket.[r
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Oct 10, 2011
Jay
rated it:
I was unmoved by this book. The plotlines were far too disparate, and Clarke spent so much effort on historical accuracy that he was unable to weave those plots together with sufficient coherence. Interesting characters and dramatic conflicts are thrown by the wayside without a second thought, and what little tension appears barely has time to sit down before it's resolved.
The solid characters and science kept me reading, but ultimately it didn't satisfy.
The solid characters and science kept me reading, but ultimately it didn't satisfy.
