Status Updates From The Collected Stories of Ar...

Nightfall (also title 'The Curse') ★★★☆☆ An atmospheric, but chilling and bleak, matter-of-fact description of the devastation caused to a small town immediate aftermath of a global nuclear war that has wiped out mankind. In the end, the town is revealed as Stratford-upon-Avon, with the epitaph on the grave of William Shakespeare providing the location of the story.

Inheritance ★★★☆☆ This one has mystical elements. A test pilot survives a rocket crash and informs his co-workers that anything that occurs before the premonition-like dream in his youth will not be fatal. As is usual with these nebulous premonition-dreams, all is not as it seems. The story explores themes of inheritance not just as genetic legacy but as an intuitive foresight guiding human exploration of space.

The Fires Within ★★★★☆ A bit long, but has a nice twisty ending. Told in a (found) report format, a professor develops advanced sonar technology to investigate geological structures, and finds something unusual deep underground. I like these fun and intelligent short stories.

Castaway ★★★★☆ This original and atmospheric little story follows a sentient cloud of charged ions - born in the sun's photosphere, ripped away by a solar disturbance, and drifting through the cold void of space, eventually descending into one of Earth's oceans. A nice change of perspective.

Technical Error ★★★★☆The unintended consequences of industrial accidents. A technician is "laterally inverted" following an industrial accident. Some guesswork and a miserly fiscal policy result in a repeat experiment to reverse the effects of the accident, with more unintended results. Some of the story is a bit technical if you are not familiar with basic molecular biology or theoretical physics

Rescue Party ★★★★☆ A bit long, but with an interesting end. An advanced alien "federation" discovers that Earth's sun will explode and sends a ship to rescue humanity. Expecting a primitive species, the aliens arrive to find a deserted planet. The story highlights the rapid, unpredictable potential of humanity. This story also has an interesting collection of aliens.

Loophole ❤️ ★★★★★ Written shortly after World War II, the story highlights the rapid, unforeseen advancements in science and the potential for a "loophole" in restrictive technology treaties. Told in the form of Martian military correspondences, in which the Martians threaten Earth if Earth doesn't stop developing atomic bombs/rocket technology, to prevent space travel. Earth complies. Beware loopholes!

Whacky ⯪☆☆☆☆This experimental "story" did not appeal to me at all. A handfull of short, absurd, nonsensical surreal conversations. Bleh.

The Awakening ❤️ ★★★★⯪ A terminally ill protagonist, known as "the Master," places himself in suspended animation to be revived in a future when medical technology is advanced enough to cure him. Mountains fall and mountains rise. Eons pass before the Master is accidentally awakened to a shocking discovery. Evocative language and a nice, surprise ending.

The Awakening ❤️ ★★★★⯪ A terminally ill protagonist, known as "the Master," places himself in suspended animation to be revived in a future when medical technology is advanced enough to cure him. Mountains fall and mountains rise. Eons pass before the Master is accidentally awakened to a shocking discovery. Evocative language and a nice, surprise ending.

Reverie - A motivational essay that explores themes of science fiction and imagination, encouraging writers to think beyond the conventional and find wonder in the familiar. Philosophical in tone.

Retreat From Earth ★★★⯪☆ Martians planning to invade the Earth receive a horrible surprise when they discover that Earth's most intelligent species are not the human's they have infiltrated but an ancient and highly advanced, subterranean species controlling termites. The offended disbelief of the Martian explorer on finding that termites have munched through his electronics is priceless.

How We Went to Mars ❤️ ★★★★★ A dryly humorous satirical story following the bumbling members of the not-particularly competent, amateur rocket scientists club "Snoring-in-the-Hay Rocket Society", in which they launch a homemade, "bakelite" spaceship on April 1st, that exceeds expectations, accidentally landing on Mars... and where they are met with advanced, bearded, white-robed, multilingual Martians. Funny.

🟢Travel by Wire! ❤️ ★★★★★ - Published in 1937, this is Clarke's first ever published short story. It's actually quite amusing. The story is a transcript focusing on the often chaotic and dangerous developmental, technical and commercial obstacles of a new form of instantaneous transport (i.e. teleportation), the "radio-transporter" machine. There are some odd side effects and shenanigans by scientists.

03/02/2026 20:30 - molto bello, tempo fa leggevo i racconti che più mi ispiravano, ma ora vado avanti alla mano perché ogni racconto è veramente una chicca.