The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

By: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: Ralph Lister, Ray Porter, Jonathan Davis

Author of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise along with such memorable novels as Childhood's End, Sir Arthur C. Clarke was - with Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein - one of the writers who defined the classic era of science fiction. 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.

©2000 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Ralph Lister makes Arthur C. Clarke come alive in the foreword to this collection.... [Narrator Jonathan] Davis's portrayals of uptight Captain Grant and casual Engineer McNeil are perfect... In 'All The Time in the World,' a story that led to Clarke's first television program, narrator Ray Porter is masterful in his handling of text and dialogue.... Listeners will find these classic stories fascinating and timeless." ( AudioFile)

Great short story compilation, uneven experience

The book is a long experience. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to hear Clarke's works, and they sparked many ideas of my own!

Some of the stories are mildly interesting, while others are fantastic wanderings into science fiction! I can definitely recommend the book to science fiction enthusiasts, and I would not recommend listening if you're looking for a consistently gripping story. This compilation contains a lot of content and is more like a historical account in some ways, containing both the most and least compelling works of Clarke. I personally enjoyed this book immensely!

Two minor editing and production errors do hinder the audiobook. First, the announcement of each title is oddly placed, making it difficult to catch and associate with the next story. Second, the narration is inconsistent, making some stories a slog and others a delight!

If you think the book sounds long or not quite your cup of tea, I recommend skipping this. A shorter compilation, such as Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles or The Illustrated Man are much easier listens and end in roughly one seventh of the time.

If you are interested in riding along as one of the masters of science fiction slowly discovers his style and develops his craft, then I cannot recommend this book enough!

Excellent Collection

I always knew that Clarke was regarded as a master…now I know why. A great assortment of stories and themes, read by several very good voice actors who do a wonderful job; including conveying the very amusing humor I didn’t know Clarke had in his storytelling. I wondered if “1930-40s” Sci Fi would be badly “dated,” but no - They hold up perfectly. (I enjoyed hearing the “Original Publish Date”” at the beginning of each, just for the amazement of how far ahead of his time Clarke was!) Lastly, 51 hours of incredible storytelling for one credit - a GREAT value!!! Enjoy!

Awesome collection

An Awesome collection of stories written by my favourite writer A.C.Clarke and read by precisely selected mans. 👍👍👍

Amazing!

I loved listening to the progression of his works. He was absolutely profound in so many ways. the narration was superb! I will now begin my search for the White Heart Pub!!

A long haul but worth every minute!

Listening to all these stories reminded me of why I fell in love with Science Fiction. There were just so many amazing concepts presented... some have come to pass and others are yet to come.

Amazing

The complexity and unique perspective of the human condition as well as the ability to entertain is so impressive.

I wish more of these were adapted to scripts.

The readers did an amazing job.

I loved the the almost prophetic telling of the future of technology.

Great reading, and great stories, even the longest of which, still make for great reading at the end of a long day.

The collected stories of Arthur C Clark

These stories were excellent!! Though a very long listen it was well worth the time

Outstanding

50 hours of some excellent science fiction short stories by one of the masters of science fiction.

great from begining to end.

not just the stories but some context of the author and the optimistics times he lived.