A Fall of Moondust - Arthur C. Clarke

Advantages: Great SF
Disadvantages: None

...Way back when (1950 to be precise), Arthur C Clarke wrote a lot of short stories; one of these was called 'Guardian Angel', and in my opinion is one of Clarke's best, because of the build up to a climax in the last line, revealing the identity of the 'Overlords' who became the guardian angels of the title. This short story (available in the collection 'The Sentinel') developed shortly afterwards into the novel 'Childhood's End' - indeed the first part of the book follows the plot of the original story. The book is strong on human emotion, and (for a short book set over an extended time period) the characters are very well developed. This is one of Clarke's best early works, and I have no qualms about recommending it very highly.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Well written, good concepts and detail
Disadvantages: Slight flaws in the structure and lack of theme development

...Many people believe that the film 2001: A Space Odyssey is an adaptation of Arthur C Clarke’s book but in fact almost uniquely for such a highly regarded novel the truth is the other way around. Stanley Kubrick the director of the film had read a short story by Clarke ‘The Sentinel’ and from the idea within that he decides to make an epic Sci-fi movie that was to explore some of the most basic and yet most complex themes, the origins of man, the nature of humanity and its future. He decided to co-opt the services of Clarke as a joint scriptwriter and only later after the movie had been released did Clarke publish his adaptation of the script as a novel. The novel very closely follows the events as detailed in the script and anyone familiar with the film will know what to expect, however you like many others were... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Full of interesting ideas
Disadvantages: Not a great story

...It’s a curious habit of Clarke’s that his endless sequalising seems reserved for his least interesting books. I suppose we should be thankful that we’re unlikely to see Second Childhood’s End or The Moondust Falls Back. In 3001 he grabs one of the dead characters from 2001, stops him being dead without too much fuss, and puts him in a future society. Sadly this particular future seems more gimmicky than most: we look at the brain cap, and - yawn - the space elevator again, but for some reason we learn nothing much about how people relate to each other - even a potential love affair turns out to be nothing more than an aside so Clarke can make a point about circumcision. The psychological effects of being dead for so long? A stray comment about Poole’s feelings about not being able to return to Earth is immediately neutralised... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful