Author: Arthur C. Clarke
Review: September 06, 2009
Edition: 1974 printing
Pages: 215
Overall Rating: 4/5 [Good]
Synopsis: The ship Selene cruises a cavity filled with dust over the moon's surface, providing a tourist attraction for visitors to the barren satellite. However, an unexpected geological anomaly sends the ship, its crew members, and its passengers sinking into the lunar dust and into a crisis that humanity has never had to face on the moon...Now twenty-two people are stranded and invisible in a hostile setting, hoping for help to find them.
Strengths: Strong writing, reasonably good pacing, beautiful execution.
Weaknesses: Characters are somewhat over-simplified.
Further Review: A Fall of Moondust is a rich, exciting read that covers natural disaster in an alien setting. What's most commendable in this novel is the way Clarke addresses not only those who are in the crisis themselves, but also everyone involved: the scientists and engineers whose task it is to locate and save the victims of a quake on the moon's surface, the news reporters who cover the progress of the entire ordeal, and those outside of the event who are hoping and waiting for the victims to overcome their obstacles. Furthermore, the nature of the crisis continues to change throughout the book---it isn't a static problem, it's one in which new complications arise constantly. This book is truly involving and exciting, and personally my expectations were not only fulfilled but surpassed. I'll be honest: I was dubious in how a book of this nature could credibly extend beyond two hundred pages, but Clarke's attention to detail makes this book an experience in itself, and surprisingly fast-paced, exciting, and emotionally-involving.

Aside from the wide cast of characters who are brought into the story to give each angle of the plot a voice, Clarke's narrative voice is amazing. He captures a very human feeling in this story, one that connects man not only with each other but also with his earth. His passages inspire a sense of home, that this is our earth, or our moon, or our solar system; his careful attention to human emotions (which are somewhat wasted on the over-simplified characters) creates a strong feeling of atmosphere and community at the same time. Clarke also manages something a lot of "sci-fi" authors ignore, and that is that he pays attention to the setting---he captures the differences between Earth and the moon starkly, and allows these differences to affect his characters and his writing.
It was hard to recognize the familiar constellations among this multitude of stars. The eye became entangled in patterns never seen from Earth, and lost itself in a glittering maze of clusters and nebulae. In all that resplendent panorama, there was only one unmistakable landmark---the dazzling beacon of Venus, far outshining all other heavenly bodies, heralding the approach of dawn.
Though he had only a sketchy knowledge of the Moon's geography, he could recognize at a glance the great craters of Archimedes and Plato, Aristillus and Eudoxus, the dark scar of the Alpine Valley, and the solitary pyramid of Pico, casting its long shadow across the plain.
Unfortunately, the characters sometimes feel one-dimensional, particular Mr. Radley, although I won't provide too many details in order to avoid spoilers. This is my only real complaint with the novel, that and the rather unsatisfying development of the relationship between Pat and Sue. Of the characters, my favorite is definitely the brilliant, arrogant, and antisocial scientist Tom who humorously finds his element in grilling pseudo-scientists in interviews over broadcast.
Overall, Clarke's execution of a rather straight-forward plot leads to the creation of a touching, memorable story and a book that I hope to revisit in the future. ( )

One of the books that makes it easy to see why Arthur C Clarke is so highly regarded, it was nominated for a Hugo Award [for best sci-fi novel] in 1963 being beaten by Philip K Dick's book 'The Man in The High Castle'; one of his I have yet to read ... it must be good to have beaten this!
It's a hard sci-fi book, that is it is puts an emphasis on technical detail and scientific accuracy, so don't expect little green men on the moon or captains of rocket ships beaming down ... The story is of a tourist ship that takes passengers skimming over a dust filled 'sea' on the moon in much the same way as a jet ski would, there's an accident and the ship sinks. The moon tourist board and technicians then have a fixed amount of time to try and rescue the crew and passengers before their oxygen runs out. It reminded me of the film Apollo 13 in that sense and certainly there is a very real sense of pace and urgency fom the technicians as they try to solve the problem of bringing the ship up on the moon's surface despite unhelpful suggestions from members of the public back on Earth watching the tragedy. But there are also some great moments from the passengers as the story shows how they are becoming affected by the situation and especially from the committee set up to organise fun and games to keep morale high.
This book gets 4 stars from me, this means I will certainly re-read it again. ( )

Thrilling, tense and a very rewarding read. Great ideas and even better descriptions of them - I can see why this was one of the SF Masterworks reprint series. One I am sure my boyfriend will want to read, and that I would like to read again in the future. ( )

An excellent book about what happens when the crew of a lunar tourist expedition sink into the regolith of the moon. Although dated and somewhat innacurate it still holds the reader's attention. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R38DPY31... ( )

The characters may not be as finely tuned as I would wish, but the story is superb. I love the setting - a moon tour bus in trouble, inter-planetary media sharks, primitive survival amidst useless technology, the rescue efforts that run into one snag after another, and the snotty prude on the bus that pushes the pilot and "stewardess" into a romantic interlude! ( )

A very good, if somewhat drawn out story. it could have been a bit more concise. ( )

An engrossing tale of man's future on the moon, and the attempt to explore the "Sea of Thirst" - a sea of dust, not water. Not as ambitious as some of Clarke's works, but well-told, exciting and authoritative. Only Asimov rivals Clarke for making possible futures seem technologically plausible. ( )

It's been a long time since I last read this (probably twenty years), but I remember it as a fairly routine disaster/suspense story that happens to be set on the Moon. It turns out that this edition is abridged for schools, though.