Tales from Planet Earth

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/tales-from-planet-earth-by-arthur-c-clarke/

Of the three great mid-century sf writers, Clarke has aged much better for me than Asimov or Heinlein. This collection, originally published in 1989, brings together some familiar friends (“‘If I Forget Thee. O Earth…'”) and some unexpected discoveries (“Wall of Darkness”) in the Clarkeian œuvre. (I checked, and they are all in the Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke which I read in 2016, but not all of them had lingered with me.) What’s also nice is to read his introductions to each story, written in 1988 when he had just turned 70. It’s old-fashioned stuff but I found it really refreshing, reading it in the middle of my Clarke Award duties show more for this year. show less

Sometimes it can be pretty surprising what you pick up at a used book sale. Such is the case here. The book was printed in 1990 by Bantam Books.

This collection of Arthur C Clarke short stories come with a forward by Isaac Asimov (a dear and close friend of Clarke) and each story comes with Clarke’s personal comments.

Overall I was quite pleased, but as is the case with all such collections I very much enjoyed some stories and not so much others.

The Road to the Sea was quite different than anything I’ve read before, Hate was truly disturbing and The Lion of Comarre looked to a future in which Mankind had reached its comfort level and was by far the best.

I could’ve done without The Man Who Ploughed the Sea, as it was hardly a science show more fiction tale, and the Wall of Darkness seemed pointless. Yet each story made me consider the wider implications.

Clarke’s writing style is easy to read and not only entertaining, but insightful. For Clarke (and science fiction fans) this is a must read. show less

There is little doubt that Arthur C. Clarke is one of the most famous science fiction writers of all time. This was a really interesting collection of short stories written over the span of his writing career. The stories themselves were definitely quite readable and enjoyable. However, the more intriguing thing about these stories is that so many of the ideas and concepts he wrote about foreshadowed (often by decades) things that ultimately came to pass (at least in general concept).An enjoyable read and refreshing escape.

intellectually heavy, heard to read, but worth the try.