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shermanberry 's review for:
The Fountains Of Paradise
by Arthur C. Clarke
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Picked this up at a library sale and it’s been on the shelf for years. I’m glad I finally decided to read it.
A predictably brilliant book from one of the masters of SF. There are many themes explored including science vs religion, progress vs tradition, first contact and potential future climate change. Many ideas are truly visionary considering that this book was published in 1979.
The main protagonist is an engineer who has the idea to build a “space elevator” made of a new type of carbon lattice called hyper filament. This would be a gateway to the stars remaining in geosynchronous orbit but would decimate the existing rocket industry. He also has to contend with a Buddhist temple being on the site that would be the ideal place to build from.
The first part of the story describes the development of the tower against a back story that relates the history of the site two thousand years previously.
The end of the story develops into a tense thriller type situation which is difficult to elaborate on without spoilers.
Overall a very good read and effectively does what all good SF does. It makes the reader stop and think - “What would happen to humanity if…..”?
A predictably brilliant book from one of the masters of SF. There are many themes explored including science vs religion, progress vs tradition, first contact and potential future climate change. Many ideas are truly visionary considering that this book was published in 1979.
The main protagonist is an engineer who has the idea to build a “space elevator” made of a new type of carbon lattice called hyper filament. This would be a gateway to the stars remaining in geosynchronous orbit but would decimate the existing rocket industry. He also has to contend with a Buddhist temple being on the site that would be the ideal place to build from.
The first part of the story describes the development of the tower against a back story that relates the history of the site two thousand years previously.
The end of the story develops into a tense thriller type situation which is difficult to elaborate on without spoilers.
Overall a very good read and effectively does what all good SF does. It makes the reader stop and think - “What would happen to humanity if…..”?