Showing results by author "Arthur C. Clarke" in All Categories

From Heinlein's thought-provoking "Searchlight" and Clarke's dreamy "Reverie", to Asimov's ingenious "Super-Neutron", Bradbury's chilling "Zero Hour", and Zelazny's poetic masterpiece "A Rose for Ecclesiastes", each story explores deep questions of technology, humanity, and the unknown. Carefully curated to represent both iconic tales and lesser-known gems, this volume offers something for every science fiction reader—whether a newcomer or a lifelong fan.

From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre", through classic stories including "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 comprehensive short story collection encapsulates one of the great science fiction careers of all time.

At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence.

This book contains 26 of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. The authors chosen for the Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans.

Twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back. This time, they have sent a "quantum bomb" speeding toward Earth, a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, let alone stop or destroy. But when shocking new insights emerge about the nature of the Firstborn and their plans, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.

It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city - intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began.

It is the 21st century and humans have finally conquered the sea. Professionals now harvest plankton to feed the world. However, the sea has not given up all its secrets...and men like Walter Franklin are determined to find them out.

Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.

Años después de la aparición en el sistema solar de las misteriosas naves Rama, una tercera nave espacial dotada de un hábitat terrestre casi perfecto arribó a la órbita de Marte para convertirse en el hogar de dos mil colonos humanos. Aunque bautizada originalmente como Nuevo Edén, esa colonia interestelar fue degenerando con el tiempo y se ha convertido en una brutal dictadura que asesina a sus pacíficos vecinos y aterroriza a sus propios habitantes.

Watch out - the Earth just fell into a dark sun's orbit! Or maybe you'd rather visit a theme park called Hell? These are just two of the strange and unnerving tales you'll find in this collection of great science fiction and fantasy stories.

Words have power. Some words have more power than others. So when a group of monks seek to enlist modern technology in their quest to list all nine billion names of god, there is no telling what may happen.

When a celebrated science fiction writer takes to space on his first trip to Mars, he stumbles upon Mars' most carefully hidden secrets and threatens the future of the entire planet!

En el año 2013 una misteriosa nave espacial llega al sistema solar.Se trata de Rama, un aparato colosal de cincuenta kilómetros de diámetro, capaz de acoger en su interior una ciudad y un mar. Desierta y aparentemente abandonada, Rama parte hacia su siguiente y desconocido destino. Los humanos han descubierto muchas de sus maravillas, pero no han resuelto los muchos misterios que alberga esa nave. Sólo tienen una cosa clara: los constructores de ese mastodonte lo hacían todo por triplicado.

"Sleeping Beauty" was first published in the April 1957 issue of Infinity Science Fiction.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Diaspar is Earth's last city - surrounded by deserts, on a world where the oceans have long since dried up. It is a domed, isolated, technological marvel, run by the Central Computer. Diaspar has conquered death. People are called forth; they live for a thousand years and then are recalled, to be born thousands of years later, over and over again. No child has been born for at least 10 million years. Until Alvin....

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.

"Rescue Party" was first published in the May 1946 issue of Astounding Science-Fiction.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

The story of Island in the Sky centers around a young man, who, after brilliantly winning a space-related competition, requests a vacation on a space station as his prize. It is written with Arthur C. Clark's obvious knowledge of science, but moves at a page turning rate throughout the entire narrative. The short novel gives a realistic possibility of work and play in future space, heightened with constant excitement and action.

The time: 200 years after man's first landing on the Moon. There are permanent populations established on the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Outer space inhabitants have formed a new political entity, the Federation, and between the Federation and Earth a growing rivalry has developed. Earthlight is the story of this emerging conflict.