Ahira's Hangar

For sentimental reasons, I guess The Wind From the Sun, Childhoods End, The Sands of Mars and the novella Beyond the Fall of Night would b my favorite A. C. Clarke--of course many know Clarke as the author of 2001: a Space Odyssey, here are some other Clarke recommendations--Fountains of Paradise, Islands in the Sky, The 9 Billion Names of God and The Deep Range I also hear the Rama books r great but haven't read them--Clarke IS obviously, 1 of the great masters of Sci-Fi!!!
Selected Reading List:
INTERPLANETARY SPACE, 1950
THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE, 1951
PRELUDE TO SPACE, 1951
THE SANDS OF MARS, 1951
ISLANDS IN THE SKY, 1952
CHILDHOOD' END, 1953
EXPEDITION TO EARTH, 1953 (includes the short story The Sentinel)
THE EXPLORATION OF MOON, 1954
THE YOUNG TRAVELER IN SPACE,1954
EARTHLIGHT, 1955
THE COAST OF CHORAL, 1956
THE CITY AND THE STARS, 1956
THE DEEP RANGE, 1957
THE MAKING OF THE MOON, 1957
THE REEFS OF TABROBANE, 1957
TALES FROM THE WHITE HART, 1957
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY, 1958
BOY BENEATH THE SEA, 1958
VOICE ACROSS THE SEA, 1958
ACROSS THE SEA OF STARS, 1959
THE CHALLENGE OF THE SEA, 1960
THE CHALLENGE OF THE SPACESHIP, 1960
THE FIRST FIVE FATHOMS, 1960
A FALL OF MOONDUST, 1961
FROM THE OCEANS, FROM THE STARS, 1962
REACH FOR TOMORROW, 1962
TALES FROM TEN WORLDS, 1962
INDIAN OCEAN ADVENTURE, 1962
PROFILES OF THE FUTURE, 1962
DOLPHIN ISLAND, 1963
GLIDE PATH, 1963
THE TREASURE OF THE GREAT REEF, 1964
MAN AND SPACE, 1964
VOICES FROM THE SKY, 1965
PRELUDE TO MARS, 1965
THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, 1967
ed.: THE COMING OF THE AGE, 1967
ed.: TIME PROBE, 1967
A SECOND ARTHUR C. CLARKE OMNIBUS, 1968
THE PROMISE OF THE SKY, 1968
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, 1968 - film 1968, dir. by Stanley Kubrick
GLIDE PATH, 1969
THE LION OF COMARRE AND AGAINST THE FALL OF THE NIGHT, 1970
FIRST ON THE MOON, 1970
MEETING WITH MEDUSA, 1971
OF TIME AND STARS, 1972
THE WIND FROM THE SUN, 1972
BEYOND JUPITER, 1972
INDIAN OCEAN TREASURE, 1972
INTO SPACE, 1972
THE LOST WORLDS OF 2001, 1972
REPORT ON PLANET THREE, 1972
RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, 1973
IMPERIAL EARTH: A FANTASY OF LOVE AND DISCORD, 1975
THE VIEW FROM SERENDIP, 1977
THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE, 1979
ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S MYSTERIOUS WORLD, 1980
2010: ODYSSEY TWO, 1980 - film 1984, dir. by Peter Hyams
ASCENT TO ORBIT: A SCIENTIFIC AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 1984
ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S WORLD OF STRANGE POWERS, 1985 (with Simon Welfare and John Fairley)
ODYSSEY FILE, 1985 (with Peter Hyams)
SELECTED WORKS, 1985
ed.: ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S JULY 20, 2019, 1986
THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH, 1986
2061: ODYSSEY THREE, 1987
ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S CHRONICLES OF THE STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS, 1987
CRADLE, 1988 (with Gentry Lee) -
RAMA II, 1989 (with Gentry Lee)
TALES FROM THE PLANET EARTH, 1989
ASTOUNDING DAYS: A SCIENCE FICTION AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 1989
THE GHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKS, 1990
PROJECT SOLAR SAIL, 1990 (ed.)
THE GARDEN OF RAMA, 1991 (with Gentry Lee)
THE GHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKS, 1991
THE FANTASTIC MUSE, 1992
HOW THE WORLD WAS ONE, 1992
BY SPACE POSSESSED, 1993
THE HAMMER OF GOD, 1993
RAMA REVEALED, 1993
ed.: First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells, 1993
ed.: War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, 1993
ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S A-Z OF MYSTERIES, 1994 (with Simon Welfare and John Fairley)
3001: THE FINAL ODYSSEY, 1996
GREETINGS, CARBON-BASED BIPEDS!, 1999 (ed. by Ian MacAuley)
THE TRIGGER, 2000 (with Michael Kube-McDowell The power of ahimsa is not just the readiness to die. It is the willingness to live. To live utterly without fear - this is a fearsome thing. <i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 3/1/03 2:15:01 pm
</i>

He looks pretty good, a classic author I believe.

I see his stuff all over the place, should I read him?>
The dead pay the debts of the living. <i></i>

I havn't read a lot of Clarke, but the Rama series is very good. I also liked Songs of Distant Earth, a wonderful story on the interaction of very diverse cultures. <i></i>

Yes mhoram u should read him! I cn't BELIEVE I left off A Fall of Moondust in my original recs! (this is about as close as we come 4 an emoticon of 1 kicking 1s self!) And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i></i>

I've always liked his Rama books! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell<i></i>

Arthur C. Clarke, ehh!! Well, for my class we read this week Nine Billion Names of God. Well, sorry this short story and Childhoods End have to be two of the most disturbing stories I have ever read, and I read both these for the first time probably over 25 yrs ago. Childhoods End is on the class reading list, too.

Furthermore, I do not think either the book or the short story give very favorable views of religion. IOW, I think if a born again Christian read Childhoods End it would disturb them profoundly and deeply, and probably offend at least a little. YMMV taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

I can highly recommend Childhood's End, Rendezvous With Rama, 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey Two. I've got a copy of The Fountains of Paradise, which Clarke considers his best, but haven't had a chance to read it.

Oh yeah, I recently ran across an old Clarke story from (I think) the 40's called "Dial F for Frankenstien" that was WAY ahead of it's time. Involved a world wide communications web that becomes sentient! ******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i>Edited by: AlphSeeker  at: 2/14/04 6:12 am
</i>

Childhood's End. For this week the novel is my class assignment, and I had read it before now probably about 25 or so years ago. Has anyone really enjoyed this book? It is a good book and I suppose a Sci Fi classic, but I find the book disturbing and depressing.

Furthermore, I found reading book this time, and I do not remember this from my first reading, very preachy with Clarke's ideas about internationalism and one world government (I think A.C. Clarke has been involved with the World Federalist organization). taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

I read that book a long, long time ago, Taras...I do remember being disturbed by it...I'm not sure I could put my finger on why it disturbed me, as I read it so long ago...

I can remember thinking about the Star Trek Star Fleet Prime Directive in association with this book...
I think I'll have to pop over and read a review or two and refresh my memory on it... ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

After reading a couple of reviews and refreshing my memory, I can see why I associate the Prime Directive with it!

Species playing God with other species... ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

Huh, that's interesting, I really did enjoy reading Childhood's End, but that was in Junior High, over 20 years ago, so I don't remember the preachiness. That would almost certainly bother me now though - I've gotten pretty cranky lately about political axe-grinding in science fiction. In fact, it's ruined (or at least muted the enjoyment of) several books I've read recently: The Dispossessed, Ken Macleod's Dark Light, Brunner's Wrong End of Time, Brendan DuBois' Resurrection Day, Max Barry's Jennifer Government ... ******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i>Edited by: AlphSeeker  at: 3/3/04 12:01 pm
</i>

It's been a similar time period since I read it...I don't remember it being particularly preachy, but I was just a youngster then, and it might have sailed right over my head...I think this one needs to go on my reread list... ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i></i>

Alph Seeker wrote Quote:That would almost certainly bother me now though - I've gotten pretty cranky lately about political axe-grinding in science fiction. In fact, it's ruined... I will only make one further comment here, and IMO other discussion of politics in SciFi should go into Current Affairs forum and a message thread already exists there. I had the same reaction to one of Jerry Pournelle's Falken Legion books (do not remember which one and I have since been told they are all about the same). Furthermore, I have always found Larry Niven pretty polemical when he wants to be. For example, Lucifer's Hammer and Oath of Fealty, interestingly they are both collaborations with Pournelle. taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

I have another comment about Childhood's End and it does not concern politics. I went to a con last November and Jim Frenkel, sometimes writer and currently an editor for Tor, was a panelist, and his comment was that the ideal SF reader is a twelve year old, his comment was made a little satirically and with a little tongue in cheek. Well, after the panel I specifically asked if he regarded this book as falling under the heading of perfect for his 'ideal 12 fan', and he said in effect no problem. I wonder would anyone else have a comment? Because, personally, I have my doubts. I am alot older than Jim Frenkel's ideal reader and I wonder if it is suitable for my mature POV. Alph Seeker you said you read it while in HS and enjoyed it, and you were probably 13 or 14 at the time?

As one can probably tell this book has moved me lots. taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

Yeah, 13 or 14 sounds about right. I had read some SF at that point, but it was mostly 70's stuff (Niven and Pournelle) and a few really weird New Wave books; CE was the first 50's sci-fi book I'd ever read. So, while it covered some new conceptual ground for me (Clarke's recurring theme of grand scale transcendence), I think I was also a bit charmed by the "fiftys-ishness" of it. It seemed both familiar and yet sort of alien, old-fashioned and yet surprisingly hip, I guess. ******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i></i>