The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke, Arthur C. The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. 2000. Print.

First Sentences:

But what is science fiction anyway? Attempts to define it will continue as long as people write PhD theses. Meanwhile, I am content to accept Damon Knight's magisterial: "Science Fiction is what I point to and say 'That's science fiction.' "


Description:

Reading science fiction is not everyone's cup of tea. But I defy anyone reading even a single short story from Arthur C. Clarke's magnificent The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke, to be less than gobsmacked by the imagination, vision, characters, and plot lines shown through every entry by the master writer.

 

Just a few examples of what you will find in this 966-page tome. (Don't worry, you don't have to read it front to back. But I guarantee that when you are done, you will wish there were more such gripping stories to devour):

• A world ruler chooses to be placed in a suspended hibernation vault in a secret location, to be revived after 100 years when doctors feel they will have developed a cure for his heart disease. Unfortunately, over the years people have forgotten the location of the vault and even the man himself, so he sleeps for millenniums until he wakes to an entirely new world;

• Two ordinary crew members of a lowly space transport ship that has been hit by a meteor, discover their oxygen supply has been damaged and is now completely gone. Thirty days from the rendezvous point, they calculate they have only twenty days of recycled air for both of them to survive, ten days short of their destination. (One of the stories that was used in the development of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey;

• A man discovers his known world is bordered in the distance by a huge, insurmountable, indestructible wall built by who knows who, and when, and most importantly for what reason. His goal, of course, is to somehow overcome this wall and discover what, if anything, is on the other side.

• One man journeys to discover whether the rumor of a mechanically futuristic city, hidden by the Earth's governing body from the rest of the world, really exists, the reasons behind its construction and secrecy, and why no person who has sought it out has ever returned or even been heard from again. 

•  An engineer in a power plant, due to an electrical accident, has his body somehow reversed so that, while he appears as completely normal, everything he sees is now mirrored, his right-handedness is now dominant left-handed, and food that once nourished him is rejected by his inner system. Even the coins in his pocket have reversed their inscriptions.
  

• Using a new radar system, scientists discover miles below the Earth's surface what might be signs of non-natural developments. Of course, they decide to drill a deep hole to discover what, if anything, they might discover there. Naturally, there is a surprise in store for them.

Each story is completely different from any previous tale, an impossibly entertaining facet that pulls readers from one plot and character to the next. You dip into various chapters throughout the collection or read them, as I did, in the chronological order Clarke wrote them, starting with his earliest published story in 1937 through his last (in this collection) in 1999.

I was completely engrossed by every story, challenged mentally and emotionally, but emerged at the end of each plot line with a feeling of satisfaction at having been stretched to see the world and people in completely new ways. Highly recommended.

(P.S. As a bonus, I include below his shortest story, just to give you a feel for the writer and his quirky, scientific, and expanded mind. Enjoy.

 

      'siseneG'   (published in Analog, May 1985.

 

And God said: 'Lines Aleph Zero to Aleph One -- Delete.'

      And the Universe ceased to exist. 

Then She pondered for several aeons, and sighed. 

'Cancel Programme GENESIS,' She ordered. 

It never had existed.  

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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          (and an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles

Chronological science fiction stories about the exploration of Mars by Man, from the first ships to the final days of Earth. Fabulous. (previously reviewed here)