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63rd out of 124 books
—
295 voters
A Fall of Moondust
Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
March 14th 2002
by Gollancz
(first published 1961)
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The Earth's Moon, in the mid 21st Century.This frontier land is slowly growing ,in cities under the lunar domes ( Clavius City,population 52,647!). Tourism is a key to financial survival in this remote world.Selene(Moon Goddess), a hovercraft designed to float over the lunar surface, especially on the treacherous Sea of Thirst, above the moondust.Only one of these "boats"have been built.If successful others will follow ,you think?In charge of Selene, is the unambitious but capable Captain Pat Ha...more
As satisfying as a good HARD SF can be, one complaint often leveled against them is that they are TOO LONG-winded and pageTHICK and that those employing IT don't have the proper skills (story-making, that is) to create the narrative friction and plot rhythm requisite to bring the reading experience to a truly enjoyable climax. Well, at under 225 pages, this story's tight, well-honed body is a classic example of "hard" science fiction doing it right. I DID IT, liked it and I would DO IT again and...more
27 likes · like · see review
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
Pat Harris is the captain of Selene, the only tour bus on the moon. Every day he and his stewardess, Sue Wilkins, take passengers on a trip across the moon's Sea of Thirst. This crater filled with moondust seems similar to a lake on Earth, and Selene, like a motorboat, smoothly skims across its surface. By the light of Mother Earth, Selene's passengers are entertained by glorious views of the moon's topography, including the impressive Mountains of Inacces...more
Pat Harris is the captain of Selene, the only tour bus on the moon. Every day he and his stewardess, Sue Wilkins, take passengers on a trip across the moon's Sea of Thirst. This crater filled with moondust seems similar to a lake on Earth, and Selene, like a motorboat, smoothly skims across its surface. By the light of Mother Earth, Selene's passengers are entertained by glorious views of the moon's topography, including the impressive Mountains of Inacces...more
It's fun reading hard science fiction novels from earlier times. This one is from 1960, before Yuri Gagarin's first flight into space, and long before his most famous novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey" and before Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon...
It's a standard disaster and rescue story. In this case a boat that's sunk beneath the surface of a sea of dust on the moon.
The plot is very linear, with only one problem being dealt with at a time and only one disaster at a time. Each t...more
It's a standard disaster and rescue story. In this case a boat that's sunk beneath the surface of a sea of dust on the moon.
The plot is very linear, with only one problem being dealt with at a time and only one disaster at a time. Each t...more
"A Fall of Moondust" is a relatively short novel by Arthur C Clarke (at least short compared to the books I've read around it) dealing with the sinking and recovery of a vehicle on the moon's surface.
The science is fine, just dated - moondust was a relatively common idea in 1961, and in the 1980's foreward, Clarke spends some pages explaining the ideas which existed at the time. The context is useful, but not essential, the story holds place regardless of the science.
(As a side note, I find that...more
The science is fine, just dated - moondust was a relatively common idea in 1961, and in the 1980's foreward, Clarke spends some pages explaining the ideas which existed at the time. The context is useful, but not essential, the story holds place regardless of the science.
(As a side note, I find that...more
Arthur C. Clarke
A Fall of Moondust
Gollancz, Paperback, 1995.
12mo. 224 pp. Victor Gollancz Science Fiction (VGSF). Preface to the 1987 edition by Arhur Clarke, August 1986 [pp. 5-7].
First published, 1961.
First published by VGSF, 1995.
Second impression, July 1995.
===========================================
A Fall of Moondust is in many ways a very unusual novel for Arthur Clarke. Even on the most mundane level, it was written without contract or publisher, and in the relatively short time between A...more
A Fall of Moondust
Gollancz, Paperback, 1995.
12mo. 224 pp. Victor Gollancz Science Fiction (VGSF). Preface to the 1987 edition by Arhur Clarke, August 1986 [pp. 5-7].
First published, 1961.
First published by VGSF, 1995.
Second impression, July 1995.
===========================================
A Fall of Moondust is in many ways a very unusual novel for Arthur Clarke. Even on the most mundane level, it was written without contract or publisher, and in the relatively short time between A...more
A Fall of Moondust is sci-fi disaster story that begins by placing a group of people in an impossible situation and follows along as they attempt to survive while awaiting rescue. It is a lot like the popular Discovery Channel show "I Shouldn't Be Alive" although much less dark. While mostly a research station, the Moon has been opened up to wealthy tourists. One of the local attractions is the "Sea of Thirst," a vast expanse of dessicated moon dust with particles so fine that, in a vaccuum, the...more
Very well written in general. Like much SF of its era, though, it has many faults, most glaringly in how it deals with gender roles. (Its handling of race, while not great, is actually better than most of the time... in that it admits to the existence of race and racial tensions, and has a handful of non-European characters. This is a pretty low bar, but it's something.)
I think it was worth reading for a couple of points. It is classic hard SF, very well researched to the limits of knowledge at...more
I think it was worth reading for a couple of points. It is classic hard SF, very well researched to the limits of knowledge at...more
Arthur C Clarke was a childhood hero - I first read "Islands in the Sky" when I was ten, and I've always loved his hard SF approach. Nothing that happens in a Clarke book couldn't happen. The science and engineering is always meticulously explained in ways that the non-engineer can understand.
"A fall of Moondust" is set in a future where there are several permanent cities on the Moon - and indeed people who have been born and lived their lives there.
When a freak geological (well, as I'm sure tha...more
"A fall of Moondust" is set in a future where there are several permanent cities on the Moon - and indeed people who have been born and lived their lives there.
When a freak geological (well, as I'm sure tha...more
A tale about the sorts of trouble that can befall a spice harvester dust skimmer on the Moon.
It starts with a freak accident, and goes on to explain the rescue operation and the twenty thousand things that can go wrong during one.
It's actually not bad, but at some point I found myself wishing that the author would quit throwing yet another "hey, it's ok, we're going to be rescued, just a matter of hours now! ... oh, wait, no, false alarm, we're all gonna die. again." and get on with the rescue -...more
It starts with a freak accident, and goes on to explain the rescue operation and the twenty thousand things that can go wrong during one.
It's actually not bad, but at some point I found myself wishing that the author would quit throwing yet another "hey, it's ok, we're going to be rescued, just a matter of hours now! ... oh, wait, no, false alarm, we're all gonna die. again." and get on with the rescue -...more
I hate that "what I learned from this book". As if reading were somehow edifying, like art is supposed to be.
Anyway, A fantastic book, written in 1961, and still packs a punch.
And brief. It never felt flaccid and padded, as most SF books at some point do. Certainly A.C.C didn't want to waste my time as a reader, god bless him. Or maybe it was just editors then were less cowed.
A disaster book with great science, which manages not to portray scientists as a. magicians, or b. insane. Just clever pe...more
Anyway, A fantastic book, written in 1961, and still packs a punch.
And brief. It never felt flaccid and padded, as most SF books at some point do. Certainly A.C.C didn't want to waste my time as a reader, god bless him. Or maybe it was just editors then were less cowed.
A disaster book with great science, which manages not to portray scientists as a. magicians, or b. insane. Just clever pe...more
...Those minor quibbles don't take anything away from the fact that A Fall of Moondust is a very entertaining read. I guess you need a bit of a taste for hard science fiction to really enjoy this novel, but it is not a technical or on such a grand scale as some of Clarke's other works. Some readers may even feel it lacks the scope of some his other novels, Rendezvous with Rama (1972) comes to mind, or the sheer scale of some of the other engineering projects he describes, for instance in
The Fo...more
Somethings just don't age and a truly well written, science based novel is one of them. Re-read this book after what must be forty years and it was still good. OK some of the attitudes were a little off particularly around the role of women, bit these are just historical anomalies and don't really distract from a cracking good story.
Interestingly this book was first published in 1964 well before the moon landings. At one point in the narrative Clarke mentions the fact that from the surface of th...more
Interestingly this book was first published in 1964 well before the moon landings. At one point in the narrative Clarke mentions the fact that from the surface of th...more
Arthur C. Clarke is one of the best writers of hard science fiction and A Fall of Moondust is a tense but enjoyable rescue mission set on the Moon. Clarke creates a fully believable futuristic world in which humanity has colonised the Moon and tourist cruises run across its "seas". Herein is the story set as one of pleasure cruises suffers an accident as is trapped beneath the moon dust. Each problem is presented after the previous one is solved, keeping a brisk pace, and though the characters r...more
No book exists in a vacuum. By that I mean you can't come to a book or story without the history of your own reading or viewing experiences across the same or other genres and in other mediums.
For example, my own love and fascination with "Doctor Who." During the second Doctor's era, there were a lot of stories that fell into the category of base under siege. Basically, you had an external threat menacing an isolated group of human beings. It's a fairly simple premise but one that the series wor...more
For example, my own love and fascination with "Doctor Who." During the second Doctor's era, there were a lot of stories that fell into the category of base under siege. Basically, you had an external threat menacing an isolated group of human beings. It's a fairly simple premise but one that the series wor...more
This is a bit of a step back for me. I remember picking this book up at an early age. It was before I ventured into the darkness of dystopian futures of Phillip K Dick. So, a year before going to school.
This Clarke's ode to the Moon a region which was just starting to be studied in earnest as the impending missions there became more a reality. Unfortunately, it relies on the prevalent idea that the Moon's seas of space dust were loose and not compacted. To travel across them meant travelling in...more
This Clarke's ode to the Moon a region which was just starting to be studied in earnest as the impending missions there became more a reality. Unfortunately, it relies on the prevalent idea that the Moon's seas of space dust were loose and not compacted. To travel across them meant travelling in...more
The story is based on the moon. It describes a journey made by tourists from earth on a vehicle named Selene. The high point of the journey is the Sea of Thirst, a vast lake of fine moondust. The moondust consists of fine particles created over a period of million years, as a result of exposure to extreme heat from sunlight and extreme cold during darkness.
Disaster strikes when a rare moonquake results in a vortex getting formed in the path of Selene. The vehicle gets sucked under the dust and...more
Disaster strikes when a rare moonquake results in a vortex getting formed in the path of Selene. The vehicle gets sucked under the dust and...more
Toz yatı Selene'nin, Ay yüzeyindeki yolculuğu bir kaza sonucu kesintiye uğrar.Mürettebatı ve yolcuları ile Ay'ın toz denizinin derinlerine gömülen Selene,dışarıda verilen kurtarma çabalarının ve kazazedelerin yaşam savaşının odağı haline gelecektir.Hava ve umutlar tükenirken gerilim yükselmektedir...
Postlarım arasındaki kısa zamandan da anlaşılacağı üzere bir solukta biten bir kitap.Temposu hiç düşmüyor,ele yapışıyor.Clarke karakter kurgusu üzerinde çok durmasa da (kuru biraz karakterler),hikaye...more
Postlarım arasındaki kısa zamandan da anlaşılacağı üzere bir solukta biten bir kitap.Temposu hiç düşmüyor,ele yapışıyor.Clarke karakter kurgusu üzerinde çok durmasa da (kuru biraz karakterler),hikaye...more
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, this does feel like an extended short story. However, it still reads smoothly and quickly despite it's 224 pages. When I first started reading I wasn't too interested, the plot seemed obvious and there was nothing captivating about the writing. It was fairly straightforward, an interesting contrast from my last novel , but what hooked me in was his excellent job of taking futuristic ideas (tourist visits to the moon, traveling on the surface, etc...more
Aug 10, 2011
James
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sff-1960s,
edition-verified
If I had read this even twenty years ago instead of in 2011, I'd have easily given it a top rating. Clarke's stories are always interesting and the style is impeccable even though A Fall of Moondust suffers slightly from the constant march of technological innovation.
It is only when one realizes that this novel was written in 1961 that Clarke's genius becomes evident. In chapter 7, Clarke envisions not only the development of programs to check spelling and grammar, but asserts that, "Many were t...more
It is only when one realizes that this novel was written in 1961 that Clarke's genius becomes evident. In chapter 7, Clarke envisions not only the development of programs to check spelling and grammar, but asserts that, "Many were t...more
Well, it's outdated now, since we've been to the moon and know that the surface isn't covered with tens of feet of dust. Still, I enjoyed the story when I was a teen, and found it quite suspenseful-- a disaster on the moon!
A Fall of Moondust follows the rescue operation of a group of tourists trapped under a sea of dust, and the tourists themselves. It's quite a page-turner, and had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat at various points.
It's not without its problems, and is very much a product of its time. The few female characters (none of whom are in positions of influence) spend their time either causing a fuss or heroically staying out of the way.
I lost count of the occurrences of "it looked like everything...more
It's not without its problems, and is very much a product of its time. The few female characters (none of whom are in positions of influence) spend their time either causing a fuss or heroically staying out of the way.
I lost count of the occurrences of "it looked like everything...more
I remember reading this one when I was a teenager. Many moons ago now. Well, not THAT many moons ago, but enough.
This one read like a sort of Poseidon Adventure, set on the moon. That might oversimplify the plot a bit, as there were other bits and pieces involved. A pleasure cruiser that glides along the moon's surface gets somehow trapped beneath the surface. The people on the cruiser must find a way to get help and time is running out because slowly, the cruiser is sinking and the hull the de...more
This one read like a sort of Poseidon Adventure, set on the moon. That might oversimplify the plot a bit, as there were other bits and pieces involved. A pleasure cruiser that glides along the moon's surface gets somehow trapped beneath the surface. The people on the cruiser must find a way to get help and time is running out because slowly, the cruiser is sinking and the hull the de...more
This book requires a bit of patience. Although it is novel-length, for long stretches of the book surprisingly little happens. The premise is very good, but it requires an emotional touch that Clarke doesn't quite manage. Much of the book is taken up by shallow character development, descriptions of the moon, and even a very clumsily-told love story. What fundamentally drives the book is the meticulously-researched science, something Clarke is extremely good at analyzing and illustrating. By the...more
This classic sci-fi was part of Dad's collection that I retained. Happy to see that while I didn't much enjoy the collection of Clarke short stories I read, this novel reminds me of what I had remembered from my youth - Clarke can really write.
As all current readers of classic sci-fi are familiar with, the differences between how authors imagined things might turn out and how they actually did can be problematic to readers today. Especially prevalent was the prediction of mankind's extensive ex...more
As all current readers of classic sci-fi are familiar with, the differences between how authors imagined things might turn out and how they actually did can be problematic to readers today. Especially prevalent was the prediction of mankind's extensive ex...more
I'm probably unique in this, but to be honest this is my favorite novel by Clarke, despite it being very atypical for him. Arthur C. Clarke was my mother's favorite author. She loved the transcendental in him, the religious flavor in his futuristic science fiction. She loved to tell the story of how she took me to see 2001: A Space Odyssey in theaters when I was a toddler and ruined it for her by squalling during the psychedelic scenes--it's actually one of my oldest and most traumatic memories....more
I greatly enjoyed this. A more simplistic story than many of Clarke's, the sense of threat at once more serious and more playful than in many of the things of his I've read. The sequences in which the stranded collective are attempting to structure their time I thought were absolutely wonderful, and the narration was particularly strong. I'd definitely like to revisit, and complete, my reading of as much of ACC's work as possible this year, for he remains one of my absolute favourites.
Written before the Moon landings but set at a time when tourists explore the surface in space boats, this utterly gripping disaster story has travelled the years very well indeed. Despite the potential for great tragedy, there is a humour to the story's telling that contributed enormously to my enjoyment - I had a lot of trouble putting it down.
This was read as the April part of my Arthur C Clarke 2013 Reading Challenge. A review will follow shortly on www.forwinternights.wordpress.com
This was read as the April part of my Arthur C Clarke 2013 Reading Challenge. A review will follow shortly on www.forwinternights.wordpress.com
I've been picking up the SF Masterworks series books one by one from the local library and loving the range of them. Picked this one up as it was a thin tomb and I was looking for a quick read. I found it instantly gripping, even if the futuristic setting was now somewhat dated. A mooncraft gets buried in a sea of dust on the moons surface. Can they rescue its passengers before they run out of air. A gripping read that sent me looking for more Arthur C Clarke!
Jul 13, 2012
Peter Apps
added it
It's been nearly forty years since I read it so I intend reading it again. Basically the plot is a submarine disaster on the moon with dust substituting for water.
For a long time there was a theory that the extreme temperature variations could crack rock gradually pulverizing it into a talc-like dust. I don't know if the idea has been proved wrong or whether there could be pockets of dust like that.
However it is an intriguing concept.
For a long time there was a theory that the extreme temperature variations could crack rock gradually pulverizing it into a talc-like dust. I don't know if the idea has been proved wrong or whether there could be pockets of dust like that.
However it is an intriguing concept.
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Arthur C. Clarke was one of the most important and influential figures in 20th century science fiction. He spent the first half of his life in England, where he served in World War Two as a radar operator, before emigrating to Ceylon in 1956. He is best known for the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-created with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.
Clarke was a graduate of King's Co...more
More about Arthur C. Clarke...
Clarke was a graduate of King's Co...more
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