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The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
By Arthur C. Clarke

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Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End, The City and the Stars, and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke is the most celebrated science fiction author alive. He is—with H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein—one of the writers who define science fiction in our time. Now Clarke has cooperated in the preparation of a massive, definitive edition of his collected shorter works. From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre," through classics like "The Star," "Earthlight," "The Nine Billion Names of God," and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel, and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God," this immense volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #523190 in Books
  • Published on: 2001-02-10
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 912 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.com
Ancient Rome had its famed Five Good Emperors--Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, for those keeping track. And while science fiction might not have Edward Gibbons around to dole out similar, agreed-upon honors, everyone pretty much accepts the canonization of a few founding fathers: Asimov, Heinlein, Wells, and Bradbury all make the short list, as does--always--the venerable and venerated Sir Arthur C. Clarke, a Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master and the winner of just about every SF award you care to mention.

So whether you're already familiar with his works or not (most notably Childhood's End and the Rama series), you certainly can't go wrong picking up this veritable brick of a collection--912 pages in all--as either primer or essential reference. Within you'll find virtually every short piece of fiction that Clarke has ever published, from 1937's endearingly twee (in retrospect) "Travel by Wire" to 1999's "Improving the Neighbourhood," the first sci-fi Nature ever published.

The Collected Stories is all short works (as short as 31 words in one case) and includes some of Clarke's best stories, including the lighthearted "Tales of the White Hart" and the momentous "The Star" and "The Nine Billion Names of God." --Paul Hughes

From Library Journal
Bringing together more than six decades of sf short stories that have helped to mold the genre, this collection of short fiction by Grandmaster Clarke serves as a definitive example of sf at its best. From such classic tales as "The Nine Billion Names of God" and "The Hammer of God" to lesser-known early tales and everything in between, this collection displays the author's fertile imagination and irrepressible enthusiasm for both good storytelling and impeccable science. With over 100 stories and nearly 1000 pages, this volume by the award-winning author of 2001: A Space Odyssey makes a fine addition to any library's short story or sf collection.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This may be the single-author sf collection of the decade, even though the decade has barely begun, for it contains all the shorter fiction by Sir Arthur C. Clarke that he wishes to preserve, and he is one of the authentic pioneers and shapers of sf in English. Although most of these stories date from between 1946 and 1970, seven earlier tales, rescued from what would now be called fanzines, extend coverage back to 1937, and a few snippets stretch it toward the present. At least two dozen stories bear titles that are household words among sf readers--"The Sentinel" (progenitor of the 2001 saga), "The Nine Billion Names of God," "The Songs of Distant Earth," etc., not to mention all of the whimsical Tales from the White Hart. The stories demonstrate Clarke's dazzling and unique combination of command of the language, scientific and other kinds of erudition, and inimitable wit. Add early-twentieth-century English philosopher-novelist Olaf Stapledon's influence, which Clarke freely acknowledges, and it is possible to feel that if the term sense of wonder didn't exist, it would have to be now to describe what Clarke's majestic narratives evoke. Roland Green
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