3.5
The City and the Stars
ByPublisher Description
Far in the future, Earth's oceans have evaporated and humanity has all but vanished. The inhabitants of Diaspar believe their domed city is all that remains of an empire that had once conquered the stars. Inside the dome, the citizens live in technological splendor, free from the distractions of aging and disease. Everything is controlled precisely, just as the city's designers had intended.
But a boy named Alvin, unlike his fellow humans, shows an insatiable—and dangerous—curiosity about the world outside the dome. His questions will send him on a quest to discover the truth about the city and humanity's history—as well as its future.
A masterful and awe-inspiring work of imagination,
is considered one of Arthur C. Clarke's finest novels.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe City and the Stars Reviews
3.5
“I found myself craving a standard, and strictly sci-fi read due to talking so much about Rendezvous with Rama over Christmas time.
Although heavily recommended for fans of Rama, this did not grip me as much as I'd hoped it to. Alvin is our main point of view of this world, and when other characters play their part in his life, you have no idea if you will see them again. While a short novel there are still pleasant reappearances and developments of this limited cast which I did enjoy, and lots of surprises to unfold.
I'm sure as I sit on this in the coming weeks I'll come to appreciate it more. There is a lot to analyse about the nature of humanity, tampering with that, tampering with the meaning of life, what mortality means in a universe where it can be controlled. Alvin was easy to be indifferent to as he explored the world he didn't choose to be a part of as the entire city disapproves of his actions. Thankfully by the end of the story you come to connect with him a little more emotionally as other characters draw him out of his shell, letting the reader also understand his motives and feelings more too despite spending all the book perceiving him.”
About Arthur C. Clarke
One of the most influential science fiction writers of the twentieth and twenty-first century, Arthur C. Clarke is the author of over one hundred novels, novellas, and short story collections that laid the groundwork for the science fiction genre. Combining scientific knowledge and visionary literary aptitude, Clarke's work explored the implications of major scientific discoveries in astonishingly inventive and mystical settings. Clarke's short stories and novels have won numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards, have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Several of his books, including
and
, have been adapted into films that still stand as classic examples of the genre. Without a doubt, Arthur C. Clarke's is one of the most important voices in contemporary science fiction literature.
Other books by Arthur C. Clarke
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