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The Songs of Distant Earth (1986)

by Arthur C. Clarke

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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3,356563,841 (3.67)43
The paradise of Thalassa is threatened by an evolutionary event brewing beneath the calm seas and by a spacecraft of refugees hovering in orbit above the planet. The arrival of a spaceship from Earth--destroyed when its sun went nova--carrying five million Earthlings in suspended animation, as well as an uncensored cultural record of Earth, threatens to destroy the paradisiacal planet of Thalassa.… (more)
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English (51)  Spanish (2)  Swedish (1)  French (1)  All languages (55)
Showing 1-5 of 51 (next | show all)
Nice pacing, good story, interesting science ( )
  LibraryJamesMac | Nov 16, 2023 |
Arthur C Clarke is one of the best sci fi authors who ever lived. This book is not a good example of why. Clarke's famous lack of characterization in his books is on full display here. I was continually forgetting which character was which, because they all had exotic names that started with K and had no distinguishing characteristics. (Except for the three women-the love interest of one of the K's, the annoying reporter woman, and the woman who has sex with one of the other K's before he dies) Usually this isn't much of a problem, because in most of Clarke's books, the plot and setting are captivating, but here, they're just sort of OK. ( )
  Moon_Cthulhu | Nov 9, 2023 |
One of the best sci-fi books I've read. It's thought-provoking and full of good vibes. A ship bound from the now-destroyed earth comes to a planet where one of Earth's seedships had landed 7 centuries ago. Mostly a water-world, these people are happily settled. Ship Magellan has crossed 50 light years, stopping at planet Thalassa to pick up some water from their ocean. The exchange of technology and culture is a delight to experience through the eyes of Clarke's well-written characters. My favorite part is the explanation of god that one of Clarke's characters gives:
" 'the trouble with the word god,' he began slowly, 'is that it never meant the same thing to any two people - especially if they were philosophers. that's why it slowly dropped out of use during the third millennium except as an expletive--in some cultures, too obscene for polite use.
'instead, it was replaced by a whole constellation of specialized words. This at least stopped people arguing at cross-purposes, which caused 90% of the trouble in the past.
'The personal God, sometimes called God One, became Alpha. It was the hypothetical entity supposed to watch over the affairs of everyday life - every individual, every animal!--and to reward good and punish evil, usually in a vaguely described existence after death. You worshipped Alpha, prayed to it, carried out elaborate religious ceremonies, and built huge churches in its honor...
'then there was The God who created the universe and might or might not have had anything to do with it since then. That was Omega. By the time they'd finished dissecting God, the philosophers has used up all the other 20 or so letters of the ancient Greek alphabet, but Alpha and Omega will do very nicely for this morning. I'd guess that not more than 10 billion man years were ever spent discussing them.' "

He goes on with more explanation of what happened to god...pages 254-259, 1986 paperback Serendib BV edition. ( )
  burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |
This book was a pretty average read for me. It wasn’t bad, but nothing about the story or the characters gripped me. I’ve read a couple other books by the author and I haven’t been very enthusiastic about any of them, so his writing style just may not work for me.

This book is set on an alien planet populated by humans in the far distant future. When it became clear Earth’s destruction was imminent, various seed ships were sent out to different planets to keep the human species from being wiped out. At that time, they didn’t have the technology to send living humans such great distances. The story begins on a planet that was long ago established by one of those seed ships, and the inhabitants are unexpectedly visited by a ship of humans who claim to have traveled directly from Earth shortly before its destruction. By that time, technology had improved enough that they could put humans in suspended animation to make the trip.

The world-building felt pretty solid, but the characters never felt as well-developed and I never cared much for any of them. Although the story was moderately interesting, I didn’t feel like there was anything to sink my teeth into. There were a variety of plot elements introduced, but none were developed substantially or carried out in a way I found satisfying. I kept expecting various plot points to become a bigger part of the story than they actually did. I particularly wanted more from the “scorps” storyline; I think that was the most interesting part to me.

So it was an ok read, but I don’t think it will be very memorable for me. ( )
1 vote YouKneeK | Jun 30, 2022 |
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» Add other authors (9 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Arthur C. Clarkeprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bulath, ÉvaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Calife, Jorge LuizTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Holicki, IreneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Johnson, HollyDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kannosto, MattiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mattingly, D.B.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Paggi, Marco e DidaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Russo, Anthony C.Cover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sahakangas, MarjukkaCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spångberg, YlvaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Volný, ZdeněkTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Watkins, France-MarieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whelan, MichaelCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Nowhere in all space or on a thousand worlds will there be men to share our loneliness. There may be wisdom; there may be power; somewhere across space great instruments. . . may stare vainly at our floating cloud wrack, their owners yearning as we yearn. Nevertheless, in the nature of life and in the principles of evolution we have had our answer. Of men elsewhere, and beyond, there will be none forever. . .

Loren Eiseley,

The Immense Journey(1957)
I have written a wicked book, and feel spotless as the lamb.

Melville to Hawthorne (1851)
Dedication
For Tamara and Cherene,

Valerie and Hector

- for love and loyalty
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Even before the boat came through the reef, Mirissa could tell that Brant was angry.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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THIS IS A NOVEL. Do not combine this with the short story of the same title.
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The paradise of Thalassa is threatened by an evolutionary event brewing beneath the calm seas and by a spacecraft of refugees hovering in orbit above the planet. The arrival of a spaceship from Earth--destroyed when its sun went nova--carrying five million Earthlings in suspended animation, as well as an uncensored cultural record of Earth, threatens to destroy the paradisiacal planet of Thalassa.

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Book description
Just a few islands in a planetwide ocean, Thalassa was a veritable paradise—home to one of the small colonies founded centuries before by robot Mother Ships when the Sun had gone nova and mankind had fled Earth.

Mesmerized by the beauty of Thalassa and overwhelmed by its vast resources, the colonists lived an idyllic existence, unaware of the monumental evolutionary event slowly taking place beneath their seas . . .

Then the Magellan arrive in orbit carrying one million refugees from the last, mad days on Earth. And suddenly uncertainty and change had come to the placid paradise that was Thalassa.
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