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

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.