Nice pacing, good story, interesting science ( )

Arthur C Clarke is one of the best sci fi authors who ever lived. This book is not a good example of why. Clarke's famous lack of characterization in his books is on full display here. I was continually forgetting which character was which, because they all had exotic names that started with K and had no distinguishing characteristics. (Except for the three women-the love interest of one of the K's, the annoying reporter woman, and the woman who has sex with one of the other K's before he dies) Usually this isn't much of a problem, because in most of Clarke's books, the plot and setting are captivating, but here, they're just sort of OK. ( )

Leído Septiembre 2023 ( )

One of the best sci-fi books I've read. It's thought-provoking and full of good vibes. A ship bound from the now-destroyed earth comes to a planet where one of Earth's seedships had landed 7 centuries ago. Mostly a water-world, these people are happily settled. Ship Magellan has crossed 50 light years, stopping at planet Thalassa to pick up some water from their ocean. The exchange of technology and culture is a delight to experience through the eyes of Clarke's well-written characters. My favorite part is the explanation of god that one of Clarke's characters gives:
" 'the trouble with the word god,' he began slowly, 'is that it never meant the same thing to any two people - especially if they were philosophers. that's why it slowly dropped out of use during the third millennium except as an expletive--in some cultures, too obscene for polite use.
'instead, it was replaced by a whole constellation of specialized words. This at least stopped people arguing at cross-purposes, which caused 90% of the trouble in the past.
'The personal God, sometimes called God One, became Alpha. It was the hypothetical entity supposed to watch over the affairs of everyday life - every individual, every animal!--and to reward good and punish evil, usually in a vaguely described existence after death. You worshipped Alpha, prayed to it, carried out elaborate religious ceremonies, and built huge churches in its honor...
'then there was The God who created the universe and might or might not have had anything to do with it since then. That was Omega. By the time they'd finished dissecting God, the philosophers has used up all the other 20 or so letters of the ancient Greek alphabet, but Alpha and Omega will do very nicely for this morning. I'd guess that not more than 10 billion man years were ever spent discussing them.' "

He goes on with more explanation of what happened to god...pages 254-259, 1986 paperback Serendib BV edition. ( )

https://sravikabodapati.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-songs-of-distant-earth-by-arthu... ( )