The City and the Stars

By: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: Geoffrey T. Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A journey of discovery that will shake the foundations of everything the people of Earth have ever believed...

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 from the Hall of Creation; they live for 1,000 years and then are recalled, stored in the Central Computer's memory, to be born thousands of years later, over and over again, with memories of earlier lives intact.

No one has entered or left Diaspar since anyone can remember. Its people have an unreasoning dread of the unknown, of the world outside the city. And no child has been born for at least 10 million years.

Until Alvin. He is unique. He has no past lives, no past memories. He also has no fear of the outside world. In fact he has an overwhelming curiosity, a drive to explore, to see what lies beyond the sterile boundaries of the city.

When he finally escapes, he discovers a place he could hardly have imagined: a country called Lys. Its people are telepathic. They know life and death. In Lys, Alvin finds friendship and love. And he begins his fateful journey to the stars and back. On his return he brings with him something so strange, so alien and powerful, that it will change the world forever. But for better or worse, not even Alvin can guess.

©1956 Arthur C. Clarke/Scovil Chichak Galen (P)2009 Geoffrey T.Williams

Excellent story. Problems with preview

Listening to the preview version interferes with downloading and listening to the full story. It is not obvious how to delete a preview or any book for that matter.I love author C. Clark and his stories, the quality of the book is not in question the quality of this audible app is in question.

Great descriptions of interesting worlds

The author has come up with some interesting images of advanced societies. Interesting forms of life as well. It’s such a neat setting that I wish there were more stories set in this universe.

A Classic

The Science Fiction Book Club pick this as one of there favorite books written in the 50's. When I read it years ago I loved it and so when it went on sale I bought it. I must mention here that this audio club has the greatest sales.

This is so much different then most of what Clarke writes. Fantasy readers would not recognize it as fantasy, but in comparison to most of Clarke's hard Sci-Fi this could be a fantasy. One reason for that is that it takes place billions of years in the future and unlike what most writers do, he does not knock man back into cave man days.

The main character is unique and does not fit into the society he lives in. He does not give into peer pressure and he stays unique. This will appeal to anyone who has ever felt different. Though some see this as a depressing novel, I feel that the spot light on unique people who are willing to challenge the system as very uplifting.

Isolationism and not wanting to leave our comfort zone is a big part of the book.

Parts of the book sound like something Robert Reed would write about today, the Grand View and great lengths of time involved.

This has several narrators and music, which I thought at first would lead to a great experience. I think that they would have done better with one talented narrator instead of several not so talented narrators and though the music did not detract, I do not felt it added anything.

Other really good AC books are: Rendezvous with Rama, 2001: Space Odyssey, 2010 Odyssey II, and any short story collections.

An Unusual Presentation

This version City and the Stars is more on the order of a radio drama than a typical Audible book. I thought this presentation was effective, but as a story it's not one of Clarke's best works, which range from hard science to near fantasy. This one is toward the fantasy end of the spectrum.

Distracting sound effects

This is one of my favorite books from childhood. The background music and sound effects are so distracting it almost isn’t bearable to listen to the book. Save your money!

awesome story

Very much enjoyed this book I would recommend an update on the performance it seemed very piece mail and the audio was a little bit distorted.. but a must read if you like ventage Science fiction

effects detract, but story is superb

I could have done without the music/sound effects/"acting", but the story is just wonderful and the narrator is fine, which makes it well worth the listen.

i enjoyed it.

Any additional comments?

i liked the book, it's just the audio quality was awful. some of the narration was done in a professional studio and some was done in, what would appear, an office. some of the narrators were professional and others not.

Even better 30 years later

I first read this book, I think as a novella, about 30 or more years ago. It's been in my wishlist for quite a while because I could still remember the story pretty well. I liked it then, but I loved this version. Not just because it is an audiobook, although that helps, but because I appreciated the story a lot more, or maybe I just absorbed the nuances better.

This is a definite must for anyone who loves the theme of exploring ancient cities and rediscovering lost worlds.

The narrator was excellent. Once you're into it, the character voices click and you can't imagine any other voices.

A mesmerizing story, beatifully narrated

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Would definitely recommend it; especially to people with an interest in philosophy and/or (of course) science fiction.

What other book might you compare The City and the Stars to and why?

It is somewhat comparable to "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by R. Heinlein; since it gives a very realistic image of a fictional future in which humanity, or a part of it, strives for something greater than its (then) current setting and situation.

Which scene was your favorite?

One of my many favorite scenes (be warned for plot spoilers !!) was when Alvin decided to leave earth for the first time, using the spaceship he found. Apart from the fact that this is one of the key turning points in the book, it also captures very much the ambition of Alvin as well as one of the central thoughts behind the story; finally, after years of isolation, the human race sets to explore the universe once again.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Exploring the past, to find a long lost future purpose.

Any additional comments?

This book has definitely entered my top 5 favourite books of all time !!