Scan barcode
whippycleric's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm a big Sci fan but hadn't read any of Arthur C Clarke before so a short story collection seemed like a nice option to start with. I do always prefer full length novels than shorts though as I find it a lot harder to engage with the characters in such a short time, that being said I really enjoyed the collection.i rated each individually and the end result was a 4.1 average so I'll put 4 as the rating overall with the following breakdown.
The nine billion names of God: An entertaining idea, if not a bit far fetched for me. 3.5
Refugee: A nice read but doesn't really end anywhere, would be a good start to a novel but not as a standalone. 3.5
The other side of the sky: less of a fan of the titulator piece. 3
The wall of darkness: this was quite good and bizzare, didn't see where it was going and it felt like a complete story. 4. 5
Security check: very twilight zone esq. 3.5
No morning after: This was surprisingly funny and unexpected. 4
Venture to the moon: Most of the sections of this were very silly with hindsight, but the last entry with staying on the moon longer than 6 months to avoid tax liability was hilarious. 4
Publicity Campaign: a funny little one but nothing groundbreaking. 3.5
All the time in the world: A brilliant little story, very twilight zone. 5
Cosmic cassanova: Quite a silly one really, not a fan of the character generally. 3
The star: A bit dull for me this one, a nice twist at the end did save it though. 3.5
Out of the sun: A very nice bit of philosophical Sci fi on the nature of life. 4
Transience: A little depressing view of the apocalypse through the eyes of a child. 3.5
The songs of distant earth: An unexpected love story to round off the book, was quite beautiful and the characters surprisingly well developed for such a short story. 4.5
The nine billion names of God: An entertaining idea, if not a bit far fetched for me. 3.5
Refugee: A nice read but doesn't really end anywhere, would be a good start to a novel but not as a standalone. 3.5
The other side of the sky: less of a fan of the titulator piece. 3
The wall of darkness: this was quite good and bizzare, didn't see where it was going and it felt like a complete story. 4. 5
Security check: very twilight zone esq. 3.5
No morning after: This was surprisingly funny and unexpected. 4
Venture to the moon: Most of the sections of this were very silly with hindsight, but the last entry with staying on the moon longer than 6 months to avoid tax liability was hilarious. 4
Publicity Campaign: a funny little one but nothing groundbreaking. 3.5
All the time in the world: A brilliant little story, very twilight zone. 5
Cosmic cassanova: Quite a silly one really, not a fan of the character generally. 3
The star: A bit dull for me this one, a nice twist at the end did save it though. 3.5
Out of the sun: A very nice bit of philosophical Sci fi on the nature of life. 4
Transience: A little depressing view of the apocalypse through the eyes of a child. 3.5
The songs of distant earth: An unexpected love story to round off the book, was quite beautiful and the characters surprisingly well developed for such a short story. 4.5
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful collection of sci-fi shorts!
The Other Side of the Sky is a collection of short stories by Arthur C Clarke, an author whom many consider as an icon of both classic and contemporary science fiction. Frankly, I never agreed. I always felt that his work was pretentious - "literary" in the most pejorative sense of the word, mystifying, muddy and purposely deep, yet without clarity, for the sole purpose of achieving the lofty height of being arty.
No doubt others may disagree with me, but when I read the opening story in this collection, The Nine Billion Names of God, my first reaction was disappointment - "oh, oh, more of the same"! Why would anyone, even those with an abiding faith in their god, believe that there was some sort of deep religious or philosophical ramification to the act of physically preparing a complete list of the permutations of an arbitrarily selected set of letters? What meaningless drivel!
I almost closed the book at that point and I suspect it was because the next story was only a few pages long that I decided to try it anyway. And what a lucky choice for me! From that point on, the collection was a thoroughgoing winner with everything a reader could wish for - charm, characterization, fun, pathos, warmth, wit, depth, twists, humour, human interest, solid science and thought-provoking questions - all of this without ever stooping to being either mundane or, worse yet, snobbish and superior.
A few examples will perhaps to serve to whet the appetite. Refugee manages to humanize the British royal family in a most appealing way. Special Delivery explains some of the difficulties of living in a satellite and the physical implications of a jammed autopilot that accelerates a rocket delivering supplies for just a few seconds too long - a very, very small incident that illustrates the enormous implications of such a tiny event. Cosmic Casanova is pure space humour with an unexpected ending reserved for the final sentence in the manner of Jeffrey Archer's A Twist in the Tale. Publicity Campaign is tongue in cheek and humorous but it is also a clear and scathing condemnation of bigotry and man's xenophobia. The Star could not be perceived as anti-religious in its tone but this tale of a very special and unique supernova should provoke more than a little head-scratching and puzzlement in those that would interpret the Bible literally. (This was probably my favourite story in the entire collection)
If you're already an Arthur C Clarke fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy The Other Side of the Sky. If like me, you were unconvinced of his right to icon status, try this one on for size. Plenty enjoyable enough that I'd be happy to pick up more of Clarke's work and give it a try again. Maybe I'll even go back and try some of his other stuff again to see if perhaps I missed something. It's happened before!
Recommended.
Paul Weiss
The Other Side of the Sky is a collection of short stories by Arthur C Clarke, an author whom many consider as an icon of both classic and contemporary science fiction. Frankly, I never agreed. I always felt that his work was pretentious - "literary" in the most pejorative sense of the word, mystifying, muddy and purposely deep, yet without clarity, for the sole purpose of achieving the lofty height of being arty.
No doubt others may disagree with me, but when I read the opening story in this collection, The Nine Billion Names of God, my first reaction was disappointment - "oh, oh, more of the same"! Why would anyone, even those with an abiding faith in their god, believe that there was some sort of deep religious or philosophical ramification to the act of physically preparing a complete list of the permutations of an arbitrarily selected set of letters? What meaningless drivel!
I almost closed the book at that point and I suspect it was because the next story was only a few pages long that I decided to try it anyway. And what a lucky choice for me! From that point on, the collection was a thoroughgoing winner with everything a reader could wish for - charm, characterization, fun, pathos, warmth, wit, depth, twists, humour, human interest, solid science and thought-provoking questions - all of this without ever stooping to being either mundane or, worse yet, snobbish and superior.
A few examples will perhaps to serve to whet the appetite. Refugee manages to humanize the British royal family in a most appealing way. Special Delivery explains some of the difficulties of living in a satellite and the physical implications of a jammed autopilot that accelerates a rocket delivering supplies for just a few seconds too long - a very, very small incident that illustrates the enormous implications of such a tiny event. Cosmic Casanova is pure space humour with an unexpected ending reserved for the final sentence in the manner of Jeffrey Archer's A Twist in the Tale. Publicity Campaign is tongue in cheek and humorous but it is also a clear and scathing condemnation of bigotry and man's xenophobia. The Star could not be perceived as anti-religious in its tone but this tale of a very special and unique supernova should provoke more than a little head-scratching and puzzlement in those that would interpret the Bible literally. (This was probably my favourite story in the entire collection)
If you're already an Arthur C Clarke fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy The Other Side of the Sky. If like me, you were unconvinced of his right to icon status, try this one on for size. Plenty enjoyable enough that I'd be happy to pick up more of Clarke's work and give it a try again. Maybe I'll even go back and try some of his other stuff again to see if perhaps I missed something. It's happened before!
Recommended.
Paul Weiss
livtredre's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
barryhaworth's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of stories by Arthur C Clarke contains many of this classic and best known stories, such as "The Star", "The Nine Billion Names of God", "All the Time in the World" and "The Wall of Darkness", as well as some very memorable pieces of flash fiction, such as "Security Leak", "No Morning After" or "Publicity Campaign".
Other stories are less interesting. The collection contains two sets of linked short stories about the building of the first communication satellites and the first expedition to the Moon. These of historic interest as providing an alternative vision of how these things might have happened (if, for example, communication satellites in geostationary orbit were not transistorized and needed crews of technicians on site to maintain them) but are in general less well written, and on this reading I skipped several of the individual chapters.
Overall a good collection with many excellent stories, but not everything is equally worth reading.
Other stories are less interesting. The collection contains two sets of linked short stories about the building of the first communication satellites and the first expedition to the Moon. These of historic interest as providing an alternative vision of how these things might have happened (if, for example, communication satellites in geostationary orbit were not transistorized and needed crews of technicians on site to maintain them) but are in general less well written, and on this reading I skipped several of the individual chapters.
Overall a good collection with many excellent stories, but not everything is equally worth reading.
ashwinn's review against another edition
5.0
The Other Side Of The Sky is the first work by Arthur C. Clarke that I've read now. It is a compilation of 28 of his earlier sci-fi short stories. The stories are all really short, each not more than 3-5 pages (except for the last one The Songs Of Distant Earth which is a long romantic one). The premises of the stories are quaint, some are even funny. The descriptions of our future space travel is quite simply brilliant in its simplicity and inventiveness. Infact, each story brings about something new that I haven't seen before in a movie/book or even dreamt of. This guy must be really good to think of so many ideas. A must read.
bibliomaniac2021's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
eatboogers's review against another edition
5.0
These aren't *all* shining examples of Clarke's best work, but they're all enjoyable quick reads.
harmony's review against another edition
3.0
While the ideas that power these stories were often very intriguing, it's hard to miss that concept was Clarke's serious strong point, whereas characterization and plot structure were not very highly developed. Some of these were vignettes, some felt more like fleshed out stories, a couple were annoyingly sexist--which is to say, the collection is a product of its time. However, as an example of classic science fiction writing, it felt like it was worth the read.