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Islands in the Sky
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The story of 'Islands in the Sky' centers around a young man, who, after brilliantly winning a space-related competition, requests a vacation on a space station as his prize. It is written with Arthur C. Clarke's obvious knowledge of science, but moves at a page turning rate througout the entire narrative. The short novel gives a realistic possiblilty of work and play in f
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Paperback, 190 pages
Published
June 2nd 1981
by Roc
(first published July 1st 1952)
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Dec 24, 2020
General Greysorrow
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
An interesting story about a boy who wins a contest and uses a loophole to visit space and has a few adventures. Nothing too over the top, however.
The story was okay...but there were a few little gems that I found most interesting (and were no doubt due to its origin in the 1950s). There are spider-creatures on Mercury. There is life on Venus. And there is possibly intelligent life on Mars...and Humans are interacting with all of it. This seems to be set sometime in the 2080s as there's a refere ...more
The story was okay...but there were a few little gems that I found most interesting (and were no doubt due to its origin in the 1950s). There are spider-creatures on Mercury. There is life on Venus. And there is possibly intelligent life on Mars...and Humans are interacting with all of it. This seems to be set sometime in the 2080s as there's a refere ...more
Great example of classic "hard" SF, with lots of technical terminology, discussions of thrust and orbits and rockets and navigation, and near-misses with hull punctures, medical emergencies, and mishaps. Includes a very early jab at the idiocy of treating space as a garbage dump and launching nuclear waste and other trash into it. By today's SF standards it's pretty thin (ok, emaciated) in terms of plot, but given the time and context in which it was written it was probably considered jam-packed
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I've been reading Arthur C Clarke for more than 50 years yet I never got around to this classic until now, just out of happenstance. It's oriented towards Young Adult readers (what we called "juvenile" books, back in the day) and while he's not as well known for this genre as Robert Heinlein was, he's every bit as good. Interestingly, this book opens with our young hero winning a national contest to begin his adventures in space, just as Heinlein's much later "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" did. Mo
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The sort of juvie SF that gives juvie SF a bad name. There is no overarching plot, just a series of episodes, each one of which would be too weak to stand on its own as a short story. Every situation just an excuse to lecture about some gizmo or natural phenomenon. Not that I don't appreciate the lectures, but... I'm pretty sure I read this when I was 10 or 11, and I imagine it enchanted me, but rereading it as an adult, I'm less than charmed.
The unlikeable main character is a quiet kid who is c ...more
The unlikeable main character is a quiet kid who is c ...more
My reason told me that I was perfectly safe, but all my instincts shouted, “You’ve a five-hundred-mile fall straight down beneath you!”
A pleasant if improbably bright teen “wins” a two-week vacation in space. What could possibly go wrong? (Quite a willing suspension of disbelief is required.) Light-hearted young adult adventure which, aside from the alien references, hews close to 1952 reality.
"This was the moment when I really knew that I had reached space at last, and that nothing else could e ...more
A pleasant if improbably bright teen “wins” a two-week vacation in space. What could possibly go wrong? (Quite a willing suspension of disbelief is required.) Light-hearted young adult adventure which, aside from the alien references, hews close to 1952 reality.
"This was the moment when I really knew that I had reached space at last, and that nothing else could e ...more
This is one of the books that drew me into science fiction. That was about thirty years ago and it's been almost as long since I last read this book. Now there's always a danger when reading something pivotal in your childhood years that it no longer stacks up when you re-read it with adult eyes. Thankfully this didn't prove to be the case and I think I enjoyed more now that I have a more analytical mind - and it's still a cracking story to boot!
What attracted me then and still does is the solid ...more
What attracted me then and still does is the solid ...more
This book is like sitting through a word-for-word description of a complete stranger's vacation. You're at a party, and as you are listening to him describe every little occurrence he came across on his journey, trip, and return home you find yourself wondering, "why not skip to the notable highlights?". By the end of his tale you realize it's because there aren't any. There's nothing necessarily unlikable about him, but also nothing overly likable about him either, and as you sit and nod your h
...more
This is a story about the setting, the world that the main character lives in. As many people have commented nothing happens in this book. This is not an action book. However, I still really enjoyed it!
Clarke writes about a world where humans already have many space stations, colonies on the moon, and mars, and even exploration missions to mercury. Clarke clearly understands the way things work in space even though this was published in the 50's. Clarke describes the life of an average boy as he ...more
Clarke writes about a world where humans already have many space stations, colonies on the moon, and mars, and even exploration missions to mercury. Clarke clearly understands the way things work in space even though this was published in the 50's. Clarke describes the life of an average boy as he ...more
Mar 13, 2019
Jersy
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2019,
science-fiction
Clarke's books seem to be focused more on concepts than on plot or characters, that's why I'm quite surprised how much I enjoy his work so far.
This includes a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts about space travel, life on a space station and colonies, told from the perspective of an interested and ambitious young man. It reminded me of "The long way to a small angry planet" in a way, even if it's noticeably much older and has less developed characters. Still, for such a short book, some minor ...more
This includes a lot of interesting ideas and thoughts about space travel, life on a space station and colonies, told from the perspective of an interested and ambitious young man. It reminded me of "The long way to a small angry planet" in a way, even if it's noticeably much older and has less developed characters. Still, for such a short book, some minor ...more
Feb 01, 2021
Brian Scott
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
the engineering-minded reader interested in the nuts-and-bolts off life-in-space
This snapshot of life in space still holds up today
WINSTON SCIENCE FICTION # 4: "Islands in the Sky", by Arthur C. Clarke
I don’t recall where I initially learned that Arthur C. Clarke was the first science fiction author to describe geostationary telecommunications satellites in fiction, but apparently it never occurred to me to actually look up where he did this. The concept appears here, in “Islands in the Sky”, Clarke’s contribution to the Winston Science Fiction series.
Clarke’s story is, uns ...more
WINSTON SCIENCE FICTION # 4: "Islands in the Sky", by Arthur C. Clarke
I don’t recall where I initially learned that Arthur C. Clarke was the first science fiction author to describe geostationary telecommunications satellites in fiction, but apparently it never occurred to me to actually look up where he did this. The concept appears here, in “Islands in the Sky”, Clarke’s contribution to the Winston Science Fiction series.
Clarke’s story is, uns ...more
Arthur C. Clarke is a fantastic writer, so all of his books are good - but some are great. I honestly think that Islands in the Sky is one of his great ones.
Its dated, yes - but at no point is it so unbelievably dated that your mind can't stretch just enough to make it okay.
His choice of young protagonist is perfect, and I found myself 'reading' in a sort of Opie Griffith (Andy Griffith - Mayberry show) voice.
It was a quick read and all the better for that, I think. It gives you just a taste of ...more
Its dated, yes - but at no point is it so unbelievably dated that your mind can't stretch just enough to make it okay.
His choice of young protagonist is perfect, and I found myself 'reading' in a sort of Opie Griffith (Andy Griffith - Mayberry show) voice.
It was a quick read and all the better for that, I think. It gives you just a taste of ...more
Islands in the Sky was originally published in 1952 and was one of the Winston Science Fiction juvenile series published in the 1950s. I remember reading this when I was in the 5th or 6th grade back in the early 60s along with others in the Winston series. I currently have a collection of most of the series and may reread some more of these soon.
This novel takes place in the last part of the 21st Century and the protagonist is sixteen-year-old Roy Malcolm who wins a science quiz program. His pri ...more
This novel takes place in the last part of the 21st Century and the protagonist is sixteen-year-old Roy Malcolm who wins a science quiz program. His pri ...more
I may have read this back in my youth, but if I did it was so long ago that I had forgotten all of this vintage tale of space by Arthur C. Clarke. It is important to note that it was written in 1952, almost a decade before the first human traveled into space, yet Clarke had a keen understanding of the physics of orbits, landing, etc. and turns the details into a nice tale of a teenager who wins a trip into space that's not horribly dated. 3.5 stars.
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When George Lucas was filming the first Star Wars film, and the government authorities had to take a look at the plans for the X-Wing fighter to determine whether government secrets had been leaked out, they missed the boat by about 30 years. Science fiction writers had been guessing the state of things for ages, and it's truly a remarkable experience to see just how right they were. I just read the late Arthur C. Clarke's Islands in the Sky, and was fascinated with the intricate descriptions of
...more
I could get behind the idea of the story having no tension. It could be like a hypothetical documentary, where under the pretext of a kid going on a vacation in space, we get lots of explanations regarding how travel works or how people live on other planets.
What I can’t forget is the constant fake scares found on almost every chapter. There is some sort of crisis going on that can endanger their lives that is proven to be a misunderstanding or a lie every single time. It’s like the author knew ...more
What I can’t forget is the constant fake scares found on almost every chapter. There is some sort of crisis going on that can endanger their lives that is proven to be a misunderstanding or a lie every single time. It’s like the author knew ...more
Clarke is the man, but I think this book is only going to work for you if you are a tween science nerd living in the past. It is so cheesy and outdated and structure-less and full of conflict-free episodes.
You can see where Clarke was working out his {explain gravity and up-n-down outerspace confusion} that he would spill all over Rama, but there is just that here, and nothing meaningful or thematic or character-wise ever gets going.
You can see where Clarke was working out his {explain gravity and up-n-down outerspace confusion} that he would spill all over Rama, but there is just that here, and nothing meaningful or thematic or character-wise ever gets going.
Written in 1952, half this book is outdated and the other half has come almost exactly true.
Just a technical manual with no plot. Yawn
As he does with a lot of his stories, Clarke is essentially using the premise (young man wins a contest which allows him to travel to an active space station) as a playground to explore his different ideas about life in space orbiting Earth. Some of the ideas seem a little ho-hum nowadays. But then I sit back and remember that this book was published in 1952. That was five years before Sputnik and nine years before Gagarin completed his orbit around Earth. None of the ideas would have seemed ho-
...more
May 16, 2019
Mimi Wolske
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
mid-20th-c-space-fantasy
First, I'd like to provide a little "space" history paraphrased from NASA:
PICTURE IT! 1957, the U.S., the Soviet Union (the USSR today called Russia), the Cold War.
The Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik.
USA was afraid of Soviets gaining control of space and the problems that could present re: possible war from space.
Americans hastily finish a rocket being built
The world watches and...it blows up
Newspapers around the world make fun of President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, on ...more
PICTURE IT! 1957, the U.S., the Soviet Union (the USSR today called Russia), the Cold War.
The Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik.
USA was afraid of Soviets gaining control of space and the problems that could present re: possible war from space.
Americans hastily finish a rocket being built
The world watches and...it blows up
Newspapers around the world make fun of President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, on ...more
I recently picked this book out to re read. This book is one of Clarke's few juvenile novels, about a boy who wins a quiz show and takes as his prize a trip to the Inner Station, a transit and refueling station in orbit 500 miles above the Earth. The date is some time in the late 21st century when there are human settlements on the Moon, Mars and Venus and expeditions to many other planets.
The book is an interesting snapshot of how Clarke (writing in the 1950s) imagined the exploration of space ...more
The book is an interesting snapshot of how Clarke (writing in the 1950s) imagined the exploration of space ...more
This book was just dull. It's the story of a teenaged boy who wins a trip to a space station, but there's no sense of overall plot. There are some incidents but none of them are particularly exciting, despite the attempts to build up suspense at the end of chapters.
When there are moments where the excitement levels raise, it's never the protagonist who deals with them and any sense of danger gets undercut. For example, there's a "meteor strike" which turns out to be a teaching exercise and it's ...more
When there are moments where the excitement levels raise, it's never the protagonist who deals with them and any sense of danger gets undercut. For example, there's a "meteor strike" which turns out to be a teaching exercise and it's ...more
This is definitely a book that you have to read in context... it was written before there was anyone in space. Clarke does a pretty darn good job of guessing at what it would be like though.
This is definitely meant as 'juvenile' SF, it focuses on a boy that wins a contest on a quiz show and finagles the prize to be a trip to 'Inner Station'.. the lowest orbit of the various stations in orbit and jumping off point to the solar system.
It's clear Clarke's goal here is not to tell a story, but rathe ...more
This is definitely meant as 'juvenile' SF, it focuses on a boy that wins a contest on a quiz show and finagles the prize to be a trip to 'Inner Station'.. the lowest orbit of the various stations in orbit and jumping off point to the solar system.
It's clear Clarke's goal here is not to tell a story, but rathe ...more
I first read Islands in the Sky when I was 12 or 13. I recently read it again some 35 years later.
It's a really fun story, with some real science and a kind of lived in feel. I really like the way Earth Orbit is portrayed as a work place, not unlike an earth bound shipyard of factory. Overall the book has a very British, blue collar vibe.
In some ways the book shows its age in a lot of the working practices described seem to owe more to British Industry in the 1950s and 60s; but this is not a bad ...more
It's a really fun story, with some real science and a kind of lived in feel. I really like the way Earth Orbit is portrayed as a work place, not unlike an earth bound shipyard of factory. Overall the book has a very British, blue collar vibe.
In some ways the book shows its age in a lot of the working practices described seem to owe more to British Industry in the 1950s and 60s; but this is not a bad ...more
Should be called "Boy's Life in the Sky", but I don't say that to belittle it. This novel pre-dated Sputnik but still described accurately satellites in various orbits. The 1940's style is a little stilted for some, I'm sure, but it's where I found quite a bit of charm. It's always fun to read stories that predict a future that's in our past (e.g., exploration of Venus in 1985), but huge credit to Arthur C. Clarke for getting so much right and for clearly having so much fun in the process.
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This and Arthur C. Clarke's other early novels are all so completely just okay. IMO they begin to show how Clarke's writing holds an enthusiasm and humanity that I think the other two of the Golden Age Big Three (Heinlein and Asimov) lack. Even his characters, who are no one's idea of three-dimensional, are allowed to be more imperfect and ordinary. Island in the Sky, alone with Sands of Mars and Prelude to Space, are charming and simple, more imaginative travelogues than novels. I find they'd w
...more
Nov 08, 2021
Sara G
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-fantasy,
teen
Clark tells a charming little story, with a bit of a juvenile tone and not much of a plot.
If you feel intimidated by the sci-fi genre, or you haven't given it a shot before, especially sci-fi featuring space, this would be a good place to start. It's not overly complicated or too full of needless boring detail or complicated plot, there's just a pure joy at the idea of space and space travel.
If you've read a lot of sci-fi though, this might not be the book for you. It doesn't really show or crea ...more
If you feel intimidated by the sci-fi genre, or you haven't given it a shot before, especially sci-fi featuring space, this would be a good place to start. It's not overly complicated or too full of needless boring detail or complicated plot, there's just a pure joy at the idea of space and space travel.
If you've read a lot of sci-fi though, this might not be the book for you. It doesn't really show or crea ...more
It's old-science fiction, so we get things like creatures living on Mercury and space stations that can beam television programs all around the world. But it's fun. The way to handle these books is to view them as historic documents from an alternate universe in which people really did colonize the moon and find life there, and that their future has diverged significantly from ours. Why else would space be so male and white in 2070 or so?
...more
A great introduction to Arthur C Clarke, especially for younger readers. His enthusiasm for mans triumph of technology in order to leave our planet is on full display here. The story is from a young boys point of view and the book is fun, exciting and fascinating - as a visit on a space station would be! His predictions or how it will work are very accurate and as a result the book is still fresh with only a few outdated ideas.
A rather straight forward "hard sci-fi" book best described as a 'boy's adventure.' Written in 1952, a rocket very similar in design to the Space Shuttle is used; geo-stationary orbit satelites used for communications are also introduced, as are various low earth orbit systems and rockets to the inner planets.
...more
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Arthur Charles 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 ...more
Clarke was a graduate of King ...more
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