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209 ratings, 4.12 average rating, 18 reviews
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published
January 14th 2002
by Orb Books
binding
Paperback, 976 pages
isbn
0312878605
(isbn13: 9780312878603)
description
Ancient Rome had its famed Five Good Emperors--Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, for those keeping track. And while science...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 273)
Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Science fiction readers
As far as I know Arthur Clarke occupies a level of science fiction that only Isaac Asimov shared. Every time he had a scientific idea or came across a new piece of science, he wrote a short story about it. If he encountered several ideas and couldn't disentangle them, he'd write a novel about them. Clarke breaks from Asimov in that his prose a bit more fluid, his subject-matter is sometimes treated too abstractly for perfect translation into his storytelling (such as the one-sided wall in the fi...more
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Read in October, 2002
Downloaded from Audible.com
The actual title of the Audible.com book is:
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke: 1937-1999 (Unabridged Selections)
Narrator: Arte Johnson, Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, and more
Publisher: Audio Literature, 2002
Length: 12 hours and 26 min.
Publisher's Summary
From early stories like "Breaking Strain," to classics like "The Nine Billion Names of God" and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie, 2001: A Spac...more
The actual title of the Audible.com book is:
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke: 1937-1999 (Unabridged Selections)
Narrator: Arte Johnson, Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, and more
Publisher: Audio Literature, 2002
Length: 12 hours and 26 min.
Publisher's Summary
From early stories like "Breaking Strain," to classics like "The Nine Billion Names of God" and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie, 2001: A Spac...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of "The Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits"
Clarke was a prolific writer. Some would say that qualifies as being a great writer, but I would say that putting out a high quantity of stories just fills the bell curve as far as quality of stories. Maybe it is because of the span of time over which these were written, but many of them read like episodes of "The Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" - and many more read like bad episodes of such.
Reading these stories, you get a feel for where the seeds of other sci-fi stor...more
Reading these stories, you get a feel for where the seeds of other sci-fi stor...more
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Orson Scott Card talks a lot about idea-based vs. character-based science fiction, with the point that character-based stories are, in a word, better.
I didn't realize quite how far one could go into the idea-based side of things before I read this book. Some of Clarke's stories, especially the earlier ones, don't even have characters!
I was surprised to see that Clarke stays within the solar system the large majority of the time, often going no further than the moon.
It is interestin...more
I didn't realize quite how far one could go into the idea-based side of things before I read this book. Some of Clarke's stories, especially the earlier ones, don't even have characters!
I was surprised to see that Clarke stays within the solar system the large majority of the time, often going no further than the moon.
It is interestin...more
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When I first purchased this book, I did it because I have a tendency to not be able to put a good read down (I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in three days - I would even read while cooking, literally holding the book in one hand and stirring a pot with the other). I figured, "Hey, it's short stories, how involved can I get."
Apparently a lot. This collection really gives you a sense of Clarke's maturation as an author over a span of decades, and it also serves as a chronicle ...more
Apparently a lot. This collection really gives you a sense of Clarke's maturation as an author over a span of decades, and it also serves as a chronicle ...more
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recommends it for:
anybody and everybody
This massive omnibus contains every short story Mr. Clarke ever published and is a must read for anybody who considers themself a science fiction fan. Shoot, I consider it a must read for anybody, period. He's my alltime favorite author just because of these stories here. His novels are more hit and miss, some are awesome and some are not, but he was an undisputed short story master. Sometimes it seemed the fewer words he used the more story he told.
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recommends it for:
hard-core sci fi fans
I really liked Clarke's "Childhood's End," so I thought I'd like this collection of Clarke's work. Wrong. He is a hard-core, technical sci-fi writer. From what I understand from my literature guru/friend, John, CE was a departure for Clarke. No wonder I couldn't get into his short stories.
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Truth be told, I included this collection from one of sf's masters because of one particular story. Tucked among Clarke's incredible tales is a story called "The Star." It's about the most thought-provoking work you'll find in under ten pages.
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Read in November, 2007
5.0 stars. I have not read all of the stories in the massive collection, but I have read:
The Star: (5.o stars)
9 Billions Names for God (5.0 stars)
The Sentinel (5.0 stars).
The Star: (5.o stars)
9 Billions Names for God (5.0 stars)
The Sentinel (5.0 stars).
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A bit inconsistent. The stories in here that are good are really, really, good. Those that aren't good are real stinkers. Fortunately there is more good than bad.
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Very cool having all of these collected into one place. Tons of great sci-fi here! Nifty concepts and exciting consequences :)
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Read in January, 2005
Awesome collections of Arthur C. Clarke's short stories, I keep going back to read some all the time :)
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
science fiction fans
I have had this book for probably three years now, and I'm still not through with all the stories.
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Read in October, 2008
Fun book to read as its all short stories of all varieties - really enjoyed this one.
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I love re-reading all of these but I am aware that most of them are pretty cheesy.
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Excellent Sci-Fi. His short stories are better than his novels, in my opinion.
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