Teaser

Arthur C. Clarke. A name recognised and respected across the world. Here, for the first time, is a collection of each and every short story he has written . . .

Review

I think most science fiction readers will have at least have heard the name Arthur C. Clarke. Along with Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, Clarke is regarded as one of the ‘Big Three.’ The best science fiction writers of the Golden Age, whose works have inspired countless others along the decades. Interestingly, Clarke’s career extended longer in both directions than either Asimov’s or Heinlein’s. The other point of note is that Clarke is the only British member of the Big Three, and so by that metric surely ranks as Britain’s best (or at least best known) science fiction author.

Prior to this volume, I haven’t read a whole lot of Clarke’s work. A few of his earlier novels (one of them expanded from a story found here) and certainly none of his most famous works. He’s always intrigued me though, and a collection of every singly short story he wrote seemed like a good place to start. Featuring stories written from 1937 and 1999, what better place to observe an author’s career over time? If he is one of the best, I thought, surely these stories will show me why. It’s a realistic hope, I feel. Unfortunately, it was a hope that went unfulfilled.

There are over a hundred short stories in this mammoth collection, but only two of them really stood out to me. The first of these is ‘Encounter with the Dawn.’ This one stood out for me for the simple fact that I have read it before. Many, many years ago, I was the proud owner of an anthology called ‘Aliens.’ It was probably one of my first exposures to science fiction, and this same story was the opener. I wouldn’t say it’s the best short story ever, but it’s nice to finally be able to put a name to that childhood memory. The other memorable story from this collection is ‘The Nine Billion Names of God’ in which Buddhists use a computer to calculate all the possible names of God. It’s a novel idea that I haven’t seen elsewhere, with an ending that will stick with me.

The rest of the collection, however, just doesn’t hold up. While Heinlein was writing about the pioneering human spirt, and Asimov was obsessing over robot-based logic puzzles, Clarke was seriously exploring the future of spaceflight. He was less ambitious in his scope, but more realistic in his depictions. So much of what he imagined has since come to pass, if not exactly as written, then recognisably close to it. It’s impressive, but has a major downside. The stories no longer hold wonder. They feel dated in a way other authors’ works don’t. Still of interest to historians of the genre, but perhaps not as thrilling as they were back in the pre-spaceflight era in which they were written.

Then there are those stories that don’t work at all. Anytime I see the words ‘White Hart’ turn up, I know I’m in for a rough time. These rambling little things take the form of tall tales told down the pub, and often feature cameos from science fiction luminaries of the day. Without exception, I found them all tedious. This is especially problematic as they take up the bulk of this collection’s middle. It’s a real slump from which the book and I never really recovered. I can’t put my finger on exactly why, I just know that I didn’t care for them.

Had I read these stories back in the middle of the last century, I would probably have enjoyed them a whole lot more. In hindsight, I can appreciate the accuracy of Clarke’s vision. Yet the simple truth of the matter is that that’s not enough. Clarke may be one of the Big Three, but he isn’t anywhere near my personal favourites.

Book Stats

• Published in 2001 by Gollancz
• 966 Pages