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break7533's review against another edition
5.0
Arthur Clarke is a great writer and this book is one of the best he wrote. A concept of science fiction that at the time of writing was a genuine fear that existed between the scientific community and Clarke was able to turn it in a suspenseful and very believable work.
A very simple story to follow of a tour ride in a sea of dust in the moon, after a "moonquake" the vessel is swallowed by the surrounding dust and a story of survival begins while the best human minds try and locate the missing tourists and the how to save them.
It is incredible how a book with a futuristic basis is such a down to earth book, the core of the story is about survival, the will of the human mind, the value of cooperation and leadership and the struggle of Man vs Nature.
An incredible story about incredible humans. Very relatable to real life crisis and disasters.
A very simple story to follow of a tour ride in a sea of dust in the moon, after a "moonquake" the vessel is swallowed by the surrounding dust and a story of survival begins while the best human minds try and locate the missing tourists and the how to save them.
It is incredible how a book with a futuristic basis is such a down to earth book, the core of the story is about survival, the will of the human mind, the value of cooperation and leadership and the struggle of Man vs Nature.
An incredible story about incredible humans. Very relatable to real life crisis and disasters.
arnicas's review against another edition
2.0
I abandoned this at 50%. I normally like Clarke but the 1950ies gender roles annoyed me too much. Women were all stewardesses, former burlesque dancers, or bitter virginal old maids.
cdaetwyler's review against another edition
3.0
Very well written in general. Like much SF of its era, though, it has many faults, most glaringly in how it deals with gender roles. (Its handling of race, while not great, is actually better than most of the time... in that it admits to the existence of race and racial tensions, and has a handful of non-European characters. This is a pretty low bar, but it's something.)
I think it was worth reading for a couple of points. It is classic hard SF, very well researched to the limits of knowledge at the time(much of it since superseded); despite this, however, it is predominantly a character driven story. It's about scientific problems, but moreso about the people and personalities who deal with them.
Also, it is notable in proving that you can have a gripping, tightly written adventure without a villain. There is no antagonist other than gravity; there are interpersonal conflicts within the story, but the ultimate plot is a struggle to solve a problem, not to beat someone. This seems to be something that much modern SF has forgotten how to do.
I think it was worth reading for a couple of points. It is classic hard SF, very well researched to the limits of knowledge at the time(much of it since superseded); despite this, however, it is predominantly a character driven story. It's about scientific problems, but moreso about the people and personalities who deal with them.
Also, it is notable in proving that you can have a gripping, tightly written adventure without a villain. There is no antagonist other than gravity; there are interpersonal conflicts within the story, but the ultimate plot is a struggle to solve a problem, not to beat someone. This seems to be something that much modern SF has forgotten how to do.
hammard's review against another edition
4.0
I found this more interesting than most Arthur C. Clarke novels, it ended up reading like a combination of Apollo 13 and a Thunderbirds episode.
leeg's review against another edition
3.0
There are some good ideas and story points in this book, but the continual reinforcement of the peril is wearing. There is an overall sense of urgency that's tempered by artificial "hey, this is a cliffhanger" messages.
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