The Fountains of Paradise

By: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Vannemar Morgan's dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all time: 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. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgans Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda.©1953 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1980
• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1980

Another Arthur C. Clarke classic

Personally, I feel what makes any audio book, movie, or show great is its ability to pull you into the story and hold your attention. Perhaps also in its ability to enlighten, or help take away from one's problems for a little while.

I find most of Clark's stories to be able to do this quite well. 2001 may be his most famous work, but I much prefer stories like Rendezvous with Rama, and this one. It's not that there's anything terribly exciting or adventurous, but more-so organically descriptive. Clarke always has a good balance of character and plot. In this book, he stays evenly on-point with a steady plot direction (unlike King), which I enjoy. The conservative narration is soothing, never annoying. Some may think all this boring, but I find it relaxing, like either watching an interesting scientific documentary, or just letting it play in the background while dosing off.

The neutral gender articulation is also very nice. Nothing more annoying than over-articulate male vs female narration.

Overall, it's an easy listen, and forms nice imagery. As with most Clarke novels, it's an enjoyable meld of Earthly culture and scifi.

Human Obstacles

Technical, political and social obstacles obstruct a dream. These are overcome and the dream becomes reality...and a basis for further Arthur C. Clarke novels. This book is more about the obstacles and human foibles than the sci-fi. If you like that, you'll like the book.

slow start but a great story that still holds up.

interesting mixture of religious myths and technology. a little too much religious fiction at the start

science based science fiction

This book feels like it is rooted in what is possible. It is an excellent story about humanity.

Clark At His Best

Here is a sci-fi story that will not disappoint. It builds slowly, but the prelude to the "real story" is important, so just enjoy and be patient- the story is well written beginning to end.

Give this one the "100 page rule"

You need to give this one the "100 page rule" and you will be rewarded with a good story. The first several chapters are pretty tough to read because you are given lots of details, names and places about a place that you don't even know why you care about it yet. About chapter 9 it takes off and you begin to fully understand the context. I really enjoyed this book. Since I live in the Puget Sound Area there was a nice surprise mention of galloping Gerdi....the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.

Hard

This is hard Sci Fi. It was written in 1978, but is still very topical today. Just last year I listened to a lecture on the building of a Space Elevator which is what this book is all about. In the lecture this book was mentioned along with Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. Both books are hard Sci Fi. If you are wanting a good character driven story, then this is not the book for you. If you want facts, figures and like reading manuals on how to build things, then you will love this book.

Science in my SciFi, not just mystic space knights

Clarke tells the big story and does it well. He considers a scientific concept and wraps it in fiction. The characters are intriguing and imperfect people but admirable. You see the players more in the third person as the story concept is the real main character. I am a big fan of "Rama" and was surprised when "Fountains" supplanted it. The book has real sustenance.

OK, but not Clark's best

The audio reader does a wonderful job with a good, but not great Clark novel. This is full of big ideas and gosh-wow engineering. What it doesn't have are engaging characters. The most fascinating character is the ancient Sri Lankan king who creates the pleasure garden that gives the novel its name. The plot ticks along competently. The book as a whole is a well done discussion of the fictionalized engineering required for a space elevator.

An amazing engineering treatise wrapped in a novel

I love Clarke's writing. He can so eloquently describe and summarize complicated scientific principles, exotic locales, and far-fetched alien ideas with just enough detail to be explicit without boring the reader with long-winded exposition. This book is no exception.

The Fountains of Paradise reads like a modern fiction story with a historical fiction backstory, mixed with some well-founded engineering and scientific knowledge, and capped with just enough Sci-fi to leave us wanting. I wish Clarke had a stronger drive for sequels. The Starholme could very well have been developed on a parallel course to Le Guin's Hainish Cycle.

This book captivated me, entertained me, educated me, and sent my imagination soaring. Of course, as a 2022 reader, I find it hard to believe that such a project as the space elevator could have been accomplished by what seemed to be such a small team. Clarke kinda oversimplified the complexities of large corporation, even by 1970's standards, but it doesn't take anything away from the book. A highly recommended book.