The City and the Stars

De: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrado por: Geoffrey T. Williams

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

Not typical of Clarke

I've been a Clarke fan since I was a teenager, but this book doesn't seem like Clarke at all. It's a good book, with a we'll-painted world, but i wouldn't consider it among Clark's best. I liked the theme of overcoming your fears in order to grow, but the world of the book seems implausible. I guess you could consider one part of the book a cautionary tale about the dangers of AI, without retreading HAL territory. It seems like Clarke was trying to do a lot here, but in the end I'm not sure if it all is compelling enough to recommend to anyone but the most ardent Clarke fan.

Thought provoking and well done

Maybe Clarke's best work. This should have been Star Wars. A very novel forecast of what man can become.

Feels flat

I need to take fifteen words to say two wards. So get ready to hear my review. FEELS FLAT.

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.