Scan barcode
meedamian's review against another edition
5.0
I really regret not reading it much earlier. It completes the movie marvelously.
danielsell's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sunday91's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kamali_williams's review against another edition
3.0
i liked it. i’m not a big sci-fi fan but i enjoyed it
circsam's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Stupid it took me so long to finish this book. Will definitely be revisiting. So much was said so simply
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
“They became farmers in the fields of stars; they sowed and sometimes they reaped.
And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed.”
Written a year before Neil Armstrong became first man to step on moon, the science fiction story is really well written. Clark mixes his speculative predictions with true events from past (like the panic caused by broadcastings of Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’) and once he quoted Niels Bohr (““Your theory is crazy-but not crazy enough to be true.”) I loved his descriptions of lives of astronauts – the long, lonely, boring journeys interrupted by occasional wonderful sights and destinations. Both the beginning and the conclusion were simply incredible.
“In an empty room floating amid the fires of double star twenty thousand light-years from Earth, a baby opened its eyes and began to cry.”
““Where there is light, there still could be life.”
“It was the mark of a barbarian to destroy something one could not understand.”
"We can design a system that's proof against accident and stupidity; but we can't design one that's proof against deliberate malice
“Someone had once said that you could be terrified in space, but you could not be worried there.”
“The word "rescue" was carefully avoided in all the Astronautics Agency's statements and documents; it implied some failure of planning, and the approved jargon was "re-acquisition”.
“Again he began to wonder if he was suffering from amnesia, Paradoxically, that very thought reassured him, if he could remember the word "amnesia" his brain must be in fairly good shape.”
“They had learned to speak, and so had won their first great victory over Time. Now the knowledge of one generation could be handed on to the next, so that each age could profit from those that had gone before.
Unlike the animals, who knew only the present, Man had acquired a past; and he was beginning to grope toward a future.”
And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed.”
Written a year before Neil Armstrong became first man to step on moon, the science fiction story is really well written. Clark mixes his speculative predictions with true events from past (like the panic caused by broadcastings of Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’) and once he quoted Niels Bohr (““Your theory is crazy-but not crazy enough to be true.”) I loved his descriptions of lives of astronauts – the long, lonely, boring journeys interrupted by occasional wonderful sights and destinations. Both the beginning and the conclusion were simply incredible.
“In an empty room floating amid the fires of double star twenty thousand light-years from Earth, a baby opened its eyes and began to cry.”
““Where there is light, there still could be life.”
“It was the mark of a barbarian to destroy something one could not understand.”
"We can design a system that's proof against accident and stupidity; but we can't design one that's proof against deliberate malice
“Someone had once said that you could be terrified in space, but you could not be worried there.”
“The word "rescue" was carefully avoided in all the Astronautics Agency's statements and documents; it implied some failure of planning, and the approved jargon was "re-acquisition”.
“Again he began to wonder if he was suffering from amnesia, Paradoxically, that very thought reassured him, if he could remember the word "amnesia" his brain must be in fairly good shape.”
“They had learned to speak, and so had won their first great victory over Time. Now the knowledge of one generation could be handed on to the next, so that each age could profit from those that had gone before.
Unlike the animals, who knew only the present, Man had acquired a past; and he was beginning to grope toward a future.”
seagul's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant read, one I would highly recommend. Clarke weaves together a beautiful story, stretching from the moon to the infinite cosmos, and beyond. Wielding an impressive knowledge of astronomy and physics, Clarke takes us on a tale that explores the idea of man as a race, an idea, and as a part of the cosmos.
saturns_blues's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
gradybell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
pelle_stoker's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0