Most Popular Books by Arthur C Clarke

Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood''s End, The City and the Stars, and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke is the most celebrated science fiction author alive. He is—with H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein—one of the writers who define science fiction in our time. Now Clarke has cooperated in the preparation of a massive, definitive edition of his collected shorter works. From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre," through classics like "The Star," "Earthlight," "The Nine Billion Names of God," and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel, and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God," this immense volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

This grand space adventure explores the fate of humanity a billion years in the future— A visionary classic by one of science fiction’s greatest minds. 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, The City and the Stars is considered one of Arthur C. Clarke’s finest novels.

From one of the bestselling science fiction authors of all time comes this heart-stopping far future novel of an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. A century into the future, technology has solved most of the problems that have plagued our time. However, a new problem is on the horizon—one greater than humanity has ever faced. A massive asteroid is racing toward Earth, and its impact could destroy all life on the planet. Immediately after the asteroid—named “Kali” after the Hindu goddess of chaos and destruction—is discovered, the world’s greatest scientists begin researching a way to prevent the disaster. In the meantime, Cpt. Robert Singh, aboard the starship Goliath, may be the only person who can stop the asteroid. But this heroic role may demand the ultimate sacrifice. “Entertaining . . . [Clark] handles both ideas and characters with deftness and wit.” —Chicago Sun-Times

This “marvelous lunar espionage thriller” by the science fiction grandmaster and author of 2001: A Space Odyssey “packs plenty of punch” (SFReviews.net). Two hundred years after landing on the Moon, mankind has moved further out into the solar system. With permanent settlements now established on the Moon, Venus, and Mars, the inhabitants of these colonies have formed a political alliance called the Federation. On the Moon, a government agent from Earth is tracking a suspected spy at a prominent observatory. His mission is complicated by the rise in tensions between Earth’s government and the Federation over access to rare heavy metals. As the agent finds himself locked in a battle for life and death on the eerie, lunar landscape, the larger conflict explodes across space, leaving mankind’s future in doubt. First published in 1955, this suspense-filled space opera by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inductee was a significant forerunner of television hits like Star Trek and The Expanse.

The inspiration for the Syfy miniseries. Childhood’s End is one of the defining legacies of Arthur C. Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other groundbreaking works. Since its publication in 1953, this prescient novel about first contact gone wrong has come to be regarded not only as a science fiction classic but as a literary thriller of the highest order. Spaceships have suddenly appeared in the skies above every city on the planet. Inside is an intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior alien race known as the Overlords. At first, their demands seem benevolent: unify Earth, eliminate poverty, end war. But at what cost? To those who resist, it’s clear that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. Has their arrival marked the end of humankind . . . or the beginning? Praise for Childhood’s End “A first-rate tour de force.”—The New York Times “Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master.”—Los Angeles Times “There has been nothing like it for years; partly for the actual invention, but partly because here we meet a modern author who understands that there may be things that have a higher claim on humanity than its own ‘survival.’ ”—C. S. Lewis “As a science fiction writer, Clarke has all the essentials.”—Jeremy Bernstein, The New Yorker

A deluxe hardcover edition of the wondrous space adventure that is the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s Oscar-winning film—now celebrating its 50th anniversary Part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman Winner of the AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction classic that has changed the way we look at the stars—and ourselves. On the moon, an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent deep into our solar system. But before they can reach their destination, things begin to go very wrong. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn at the turn of the 21st century, Arthur C. Clarke takes us on a journey unlike any other. Brilliant, compulsive, and prophetic, and the basis for the immensely influential Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey tackles the enduring theme of man’s—and technology’s—place in the universe and lives on as a landmark achievement in storytelling. Penguin Galaxy Six of our greatest masterworks of science fiction and fantasy, in dazzling collector-worthy hardcover editions, and featuring a series introduction by #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Penguin Galaxy represents a constellation of achievement in visionary fiction, lighting the way toward our knowledge of the universe, and of ourselves. From historical legends to mythic futures, monuments of world-building to mind-bending dystopias, these touchstones of human invention and storytelling ingenuity have transported millions of readers to distant realms, and will continue for generations to chart the frontiers of the imagination. The Once and Future King by T. H. White Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Dune by Frank Herbert 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin Neuromancer by William Gibson For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

ufeffIf you want an omnibus of short fiction by Arthur C. Clarke, a Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master, then you want The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. If you''re looking for a representative sample of Clarke''s short stories, or for some examples of the creative and extrapolative abilities that established Clarke as one of science fiction''s greatest and most important writers, then check out Tales from Planet Earth. Tales from Planet Earth ranges widely across time, but the stories are centered on our home world. Many SF writers confine their visions of earth to its flatlands, but Clarke is three-dimensional; his stories "Hate," "The Deep Range," and "The Man Who Ploughed the Sea" plunge into the ocean, while "The Cruel Sky" ascends the Himalayas. Some stories, like "The Other Tiger" and "''If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...,’" end on chilling twists. "The Road to the Sea" spans centuries and millennia to explore how humanity''s exodus to the stars may affect the world left behind. "Hate" considers how transcendence of the Earth''s atmosphere may affect ancient enmities. "The Parasite" demonstrates a scary nastiness not usually associated with Clarke. "The Wall of Darkness" is set on an alternate-universe earth so different from ours, and "The Lion of Comarre" is set in a future so far away, that both stories feel like fantasy; but both are rigorously extrapolated from scientific theory. Two lighthearted entertainments, "The Next Tenants" and "The Man Who Ploughed the Sea," are from Tales of the White Hart. All of the stories in Tales from Planet Earth are recommended. “Here...is a collection of Arthur''s science fiction stories, science fiction dealing with science, extrapolated intelligently. How you will enjoy it!" —ISAAC ASIMOV

Earth refugees threaten a peaceful space settlement in this influential novel from the Golden Age science fiction author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. More than two thousand years in the future, a small human colony thrives on the ocean paradise of Thalassa—sent there centuries ago to continue the human race before Earth’s destruction. Thalassa’s resources are vast—and the human colony has lived a bucolic life there. But their existence is threatened when the spaceship Magellan arrives on their world—carrying one million refugees from Earth, fleeing the dying planet. Reputed to be Arthur C. Clarke’s favorite novel, The Songs of Distant Earth addresses several fascinating scientific questions unresolved in their time—including the question of why so few neutrinos from the sun have been measured on Earth. In addition, Clarke presents an inventive depiction of the use of vacuum energy to power spacecraft—and the technical logistics of space travel near the speed of light. “Clarke’s simple, musical style never falters in this sobering yet far from bleak commentary on humanity’s longing for the stars. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

This Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel is reissued in this trade paperback edition. Vannemar Morgan''s dream of linking Earth with the stars requires a 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. Includes a new introduction by the author.

Arthur C. Clarke’s 2061: Odyssey Three is truly a masterful elaboration on one man’s epic vision of the universe. Only rarely does a novelist weave a tapestry so compelling that it captures the imagination of the entire world. But that is precisely what Arthur C. Clarke accomplished with 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is even more unusual that an author is able to complement so well-received an invention with an equally successful sequel. But Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: Odyssey Two enthralled a huge audience worldwide. Now, in 2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur C. Clarke revisits the most famous future ever imagined, as two expeditions into space are inextricably tangled by human necessity and the immutable laws of physics. And Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths, must once again confront Dave Bowman—or whatever Bowman has become—a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race that has decided Mankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether it wishes to or not.

By Space Possessed brings together Clarke''s essays on travel to the planets and beyond in a form where they can be read individually or as a continuing narrative. It describes the history of an enthusiasm that took a Somerset farm boy to international fame, starting with the delightful, self-deprecating humour of the early days of British Interplanetary Society and proceeding to deeper concerns when at last the early daydreams, mocked by so many, began to come radiantly true. Along the way there are delights of Clarke''s prediction of the Moon landing, the lecture which prompted Bernard Shaw to join the British Interplanetary Society and the birthpangs of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Humanity''s future lies in space. These ever-topical essays, covering crucial years of interplanetary speculation and exploration show that one man, Arthur C. Clarke, has always been capable of foreseeing possibilities and probabilities, and opening up magnificent vistas to those willing to look with unblinkered eyes and minds. This is a testament to his vision.

An inquiry into the limits of the possible. Our problems on Jupiter, Mercury, Venus - conquering Time - transport in the future - overcoming gravity - communications across space - benevolent electronic brains. The range of this enthralling book is immense: from the re-making of the human mind to the vast reaches of the universe. Newly revised, even the remarkable events of the last decade have affected few of the exciting speculations by Arthur C. Clarke - a scientist whose expert and wide knowledge is matched only by his brilliant imagination.

The mysteries of the monoliths are revealed in this inspired conclusion to the Hugo Award–winning Space Odyssey series—“there are marvels aplenty” (The New York Times). On an ill-fated mission to Jupiter in 2001, the mutinous supercomputer HAL sent crewmembers David Bowman and Frank Poole into the frozen void of space. Bowman’s strange transformation into a Star Child is traced through the novels 2010 and 2061. But now, a thousand years after his death, Frank Poole is brought back to life—and thrust into a world far more technically advanced than the one he left behind. Poole discovers a world of human minds interfacing directly with computers, genetically engineered dinosaur servants, and massive space elevators built around the equator. He also discovers an impending threat to humanity lurking within the enigmatic monoliths. To fight it, Poole must join forces with Bowman and HAL, now fused into one corporeal consciousness—and the only being with the power to thwart the monoliths’ mysterious creators. “3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative.” —New Scientist

A “superbly ingenious” classic of space survival from the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey—one of science fiction’s most influential grandmasters (Daily Express). Expanding the Moon’s population hinges on building a thriving tourist industry. But when a prototype tourist craft called the Selene encounters a moonquake, the ship plummets under a vast body of liquid-fine moondust called the Sea of Thirst. While time runs out for the passengers and crew, rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the unpredictable conditions of the lunar environment. Nominated for the Hugo Award in 1963, this brilliantly imagined story of human ingenuity and survival is a tour-de-force of psychological suspense and sustained dramatic tension sure to appeal to fans of Andy Weir’s The Martian. “The best book yet about man’s most dramatic journey, the most exciting science fiction novel for years.” —Evening Standard “Expertly told and cruelly exciting to the end.” —The Sunday Times “Extremely good . . . with some superbly ingenious and exciting new twists.” —Daily Express

Arthur C. Clarke was renowned for his science fiction, but his understanding of the subject was more than imagined. First published in 1951, this painstakingly-researched non-fiction book shows the depth of Clarke''s expertise - he predicts the moon landings nearly two decades before they occurred, explores the potential use of satellites for communications more than ten years before Telstar 1 was put into orbit, and goes on to discuss the potential of space stations and long range orbital telescopes. Informed by interviews with the foremost scientists and engineers of the time, Clarke presents his thesis for how man will explore space . . . and the reader can measure his predictions against reality. ''He was a great visionary, a brilliant science fiction writer and a great forecaster. He foresaw communications satellites, a nationwide network of computers, interplanetary travel; he said there would be a man on the moon by 1970, while I said 1980'' - and he was right'' Sir Patrick Moore

A Compellingly Realistic Novel Of Interplanetary Flight.

In addition to being one of Science Fiction''s greatest writers, Sir Arthur C. Clarke was also one of our foremost thinkers and visionaries, producing a number of highly readable and important non-fiction works. Report of Planet Three is a collection of 23 essays on the future of Man and his technology, including essays on space, satellite communications, the internet, alien contact, UFO debunking and relativity.

Speculations on space, science and the sea together with fragments of an Equatorial Autobiography.

Science fiction-roman.

Fifty years after its first publication, the novel that is considered Clark''sfirstborn story is available once again. Clark presents his visionary tale ofthe only man born in 10 million years who desperately wants to find what liesbeyond the City. Reissue.

“This is a space trip that no reader will want to miss.”—Playboy Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof that life existed—or had existed—elsewhere in the universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling toward us. A crew of Earth''s best and brightest minds is assembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. They are armed with everything we know about Raman technology and culture. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to encounter on board Rama II: cosmic secrets that are startling, sensational—and perhaps even deadly. “Offers one surprise after another.”—The New York Times “A masterpiece . . . one of the year’s best hard SF epics.”—The Houston Post

Predating the earliest manned space mission: the first full-length science fiction novel from the acclaimed author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. First published in 1951, before the achievement of space flight, Arthur C. Clarke created this visionary tale. Renowned science fiction writer Martin Gibson joins the spaceship Ares, the world’s first interplanetary ship for passenger travel, on its maiden voyage to Mars. His mission: to report back to the home planet about the new Mars colony and the progress it has been making. In The Sands of Mars, Clarke addresses hard physical and scientific issues with aplomb—and the best scientific understanding of the times. Included are the challenges of differing air pressures, lack of oxygen, food provisions, severe weather patterns, construction on Mars, and methods of local travel—both on the surface and to the planet’s two moons. “[Clarke is] one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age.” —The New Yorker

Science fiction-roman.