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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was a challenging read. The science in every Arthur Clark novel is very sciencey. Here it is very engineering-oriented and was hard to understand by a simple reader like me. But the fiction part of the science fiction was extremely exciting and made me dream of what could be. Especially the last 50 pages I read in one breath.
1 star knocked off the score because it felt like the story should have gone further. Instead there is an epilogue that ties up a minor plot thread that has little to do with the rest of the book. Otherwise, it's another Clarke tale full of ideas and interesting concepts, set in both present and past.
Amazing concept with a mediocre, forced, story tacked on to it. That seems to be a common theme in these classic hard Sci fi books
This is my first Arthur C. Clarke book so I can't compare it to the rest of his body of work, but I can already tell that, more than a lot of other science fiction authors, Clarke was especially interested in the "science" half of the equation. The Fountains of Paradise is about building a space elevator, which if you didn't know, is a hypothetical structure designed to provide direct access to outer space from Earth without the need for rocket launches. This is a real scientific idea (which is to say Clarke himself didn't invent the concept), and much of the length of this book is dedicated to outlining the various engineering considerations such a structure would necessitate. Clarke really dives into some technical minutiae for this story, and while it occasionally comes off a bit dry, I think it does a really great job of grounding the book with a sense of reality.
This isn't just a story about a space elevator, it's really a story about building a space elevator, and as a result you learn a lot about what that would actually take to accomplish. Like for example the entire transportation system would involve some type of incredibly thin yet strong filament that could withstand the immense gravitational and centrifugal forces of the Earth. There would have to be a large center mass in geostationary orbit, then the tower would have to expand out towards a counterweight even further into space. The protagonist of the story is the head engineer of the project, Vannevar Morgan, and as a result these technical elements are at the forefront of the narrative most of the time.
There isn't a lot of characterization in this book, nor is there a lot of plot. Clarke writes his characters from quite a distance, they're not overly complicated people, and the book isn't too concerned with their internal life - their thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc. They're kind of just there because someone needs to do and react to all the fascinating science stuff that is the real purpose of this story. And as for plot, there are a few disparate threads, but they never really coalesce into one cohesive narrative. In the beginning, Clarke spends a lot of time diving into the history of the region, the ancient accursed king Kalidasa, and how the great engineering project of his reign (building a complex pleasure garden with a series of massive fountains) is a reflection of our current protagonist’s own revolutionary engineering project.
This idea gets abandoned pretty shortly into the book, and the next big plot point revolves around the political drama of building the elevator. For several technical reasons that are all well outlined, there are only two possible locations that the tower can feasibly be built. One is in the middle of the ocean, and the other is atop the mountain of Sri Kanda (a name clearly referencing Sri Lanka where Clarke lived for many years and which also is the fictionalized setting of this book). The problem is that there is a Buddhist temple situated on the top of Sri Kanda, and the monks residing there don't wish to be relocated. Again, this is unceremoniously resolved about halfway through the book with this whole half-hearted deus-ex-machina type of solution where an ancient prophecy comes true which makes the monks leave of their own volition - one of a couple of instances in this book which came off a little naive to the beliefs and motivations of religious people - but it was fun drama while it lasted.
And lastly, the end section is a rescue operation sequence in which Morgan has to travel up the not-yet-completed tower to rescue some stranded scientists before they run out of oxygen. It was interesting to see Clarke work through technical solutions to all of these possible issues one could run into traveling up such a long tower, so far away from civilization in either direction. Also, just for the record, there was this really strange side-plot about a mysterious un-manned alien space ship called “Starglider” that passes through the solar system and answers some of humanity’s questions about the origin of the universe, and while I really enjoyed it and thought it was incredibly interesting, it was completely irrelevant to the main plot and I am still confused about its inclusion in the story at all.
Despite all of that, I still liked this book. I think despite the lack of characterization and the kind of directionless plot, the real strengths of this story lie in its ideas and its imagination (loved the scene about ascending up through the aurora borealis). Clarke plays with some really fascinating concepts, he clearly has some type of science background and is able to explore this stuff with some degree of expertise, and he had an incredibly prescient mind when it came to ideas of future technology from the perspective of someone living in the 70’s. In this book he describes things that are comparable to social media, Google alerts, the internet - not to mention the fact that the technology necessary to actually build a space elevator is a lot closer to reality now than it was when this book was written. So while not my favorite science fiction story, it’s certainly an interesting one, and it’s clear that Arthur C. Clarke knew his business and knew what it would take to actually realize such an immense scientific undertaking.
This isn't just a story about a space elevator, it's really a story about building a space elevator, and as a result you learn a lot about what that would actually take to accomplish. Like for example the entire transportation system would involve some type of incredibly thin yet strong filament that could withstand the immense gravitational and centrifugal forces of the Earth. There would have to be a large center mass in geostationary orbit, then the tower would have to expand out towards a counterweight even further into space. The protagonist of the story is the head engineer of the project, Vannevar Morgan, and as a result these technical elements are at the forefront of the narrative most of the time.
There isn't a lot of characterization in this book, nor is there a lot of plot. Clarke writes his characters from quite a distance, they're not overly complicated people, and the book isn't too concerned with their internal life - their thoughts, feelings, motivations, etc. They're kind of just there because someone needs to do and react to all the fascinating science stuff that is the real purpose of this story. And as for plot, there are a few disparate threads, but they never really coalesce into one cohesive narrative. In the beginning, Clarke spends a lot of time diving into the history of the region, the ancient accursed king Kalidasa, and how the great engineering project of his reign (building a complex pleasure garden with a series of massive fountains) is a reflection of our current protagonist’s own revolutionary engineering project.
This idea gets abandoned pretty shortly into the book, and the next big plot point revolves around the political drama of building the elevator. For several technical reasons that are all well outlined, there are only two possible locations that the tower can feasibly be built. One is in the middle of the ocean, and the other is atop the mountain of Sri Kanda (a name clearly referencing Sri Lanka where Clarke lived for many years and which also is the fictionalized setting of this book). The problem is that there is a Buddhist temple situated on the top of Sri Kanda, and the monks residing there don't wish to be relocated. Again, this is unceremoniously resolved about halfway through the book with this whole half-hearted deus-ex-machina type of solution where an ancient prophecy comes true which makes the monks leave of their own volition - one of a couple of instances in this book which came off a little naive to the beliefs and motivations of religious people - but it was fun drama while it lasted.
And lastly, the end section is a rescue operation sequence in which Morgan has to travel up the not-yet-completed tower to rescue some stranded scientists before they run out of oxygen. It was interesting to see Clarke work through technical solutions to all of these possible issues one could run into traveling up such a long tower, so far away from civilization in either direction. Also, just for the record, there was this really strange side-plot about a mysterious un-manned alien space ship called “Starglider” that passes through the solar system and answers some of humanity’s questions about the origin of the universe, and while I really enjoyed it and thought it was incredibly interesting, it was completely irrelevant to the main plot and I am still confused about its inclusion in the story at all.
Despite all of that, I still liked this book. I think despite the lack of characterization and the kind of directionless plot, the real strengths of this story lie in its ideas and its imagination (loved the scene about ascending up through the aurora borealis). Clarke plays with some really fascinating concepts, he clearly has some type of science background and is able to explore this stuff with some degree of expertise, and he had an incredibly prescient mind when it came to ideas of future technology from the perspective of someone living in the 70’s. In this book he describes things that are comparable to social media, Google alerts, the internet - not to mention the fact that the technology necessary to actually build a space elevator is a lot closer to reality now than it was when this book was written. So while not my favorite science fiction story, it’s certainly an interesting one, and it’s clear that Arthur C. Clarke knew his business and knew what it would take to actually realize such an immense scientific undertaking.
3.5 rounded up, with a solid end. Not sure if I'll come back to elaborate, but I at least understand why this book has earned its place as a multiple award winning novel.
Woefully illiterate in classic science fiction as I am, this is my first Clarke book and probably a good place to start for him. My husband is a huge Clarke fan so I am going to really enjoy getting to know his work better. Beautifully written.
Abandoned 2/3 of the way through.
The writing is good but the story really moves at a glacial pace. It started out promising but there isn’t really much going on in this book.
The writing is good but the story really moves at a glacial pace. It started out promising but there isn’t really much going on in this book.
My first time reading Arthur Clarke impresses me in the way he intertwines the nature of the world, the human progress, and ambition. This book hits hard in the way that he creates a story about the resistant and ambitious nature of our species, complemented by a future that builds a world so beautifully and wonderfully argues the incomprehensible but celebratory nature of human ambition.
It’s so beautiful sifting through the text. Each short chapter progresses the story and it triumphantly closes the story of the space elevator with grace.
It’s so beautiful sifting through the text. Each short chapter progresses the story and it triumphantly closes the story of the space elevator with grace.
Fascinating concept and a real insight into the minds and aims of the world, but it didn’t feel like it had an aim or an end