Book 53 - Arthur C. Clarke "Fountains Of Paradise"

[jazzy_dave]

Arthur C. Clarke "Fountains Of Paradise" (Gollancz)




A brilliant but slightly obsessed engineer wants to build a space elevator using a new carbon-tube filament. The main problem is that the only suitable spot on the whole globe is on top of a sacred mountain on the island of Taprobane, and the Buddhist monks in the temple on the mountain top are unwilling to let it happen. In a sense there are two interlocking stories in this novel.

The first is the development of a "Space Elevator", a structure which reaches from ground level to beyond our atmosphere, enabling mankind to escape Earth's gravity at pennies per pound instead of millions of dollars.

The second concept is a familiar one given a fresh treatment here, in which a distant race has sent an artificial-intelligence probe, whose mission is to initiate First Contact with other intelligent races in the galaxy. The conversations between the people of Earth and this first voyager from a distant sun are worth the price of admission alone. Throw in the setting, which is an island very much like Clarke's beloved adopted home of Sri Lanka, and you have a very engaging and thought-provoking story by a legendary writer of science-fiction.

Hard SF, but with characters that are at least more than cardboard cutouts, and with the focus on social and financial snags rather than on the pure engineering.

A very enjoyable read!

Comments

[seawasp]

Also notable in that within months of this book's release, Charles Sheffield's The Web Between the Worlds was published, which ALSO dealt with the construction of the world's first space elevator, with protagonists who were both the builders of the largest bridge in the world, the protagonist being named Morgan in the one and Merlin in the other, and a device called "Spider" featuring prominently in both. Clarke actually wrote a foreword for _Web_ specifically stating that this was one of those odd coincidences that happen from time to time and that neither man even had knowledge of the other's book until the publication process was far along.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Ooh , that is weird!

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it could be interesting. :)
Hugs, Jon

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

May have to make note on this one...