The Songs of Distant Earth, by Arthur C. Clarke
Book Review by Jack Mangan
Have you read this book?
Arthur C. Clarke's 1987 novel, The Songs of Distant Earth, based
upon an idea in his 1956 short story of the same name, was apparently
written as a counterpoint to "the recent rash of space operas on TV and
movies screen". Mr. Clarke strives for foreseeable, feasible technology
levels in favor of the fantastic, sometimes far-fetched, sometimes
supernatural kinds of plot devices often utilized in science fiction. The
same approach is applied to the characters and their choice, sometimes
eschewing the dramatic in favor of believable, realistic, and human
reactions.
The book depicts a small civilization of displaced seedship colonists on the tranquil, utopian waterworld of Thalassa, thousands of years after the destruction of Earth and Earth's Sun. But then, after generations of a peaceful, unchallenged existence on Thalassa, Earth's last seedship, the Magellan arrives on Thalassa - and - and - and - well. . . not much happens then either.
There are one millions souls inside of the ship, though only a handful are awakened to go and interact with the inhabitants of this unexpected civilization on the islands of Thalassa. What little story there is revolves around the Thalassan girl, Mirissa, her brother Kumar, her boyfriend Brant from the island, and her semi-romantic relationship with Loren from the ship. There's also a bit about a species of underwater lobster-like creatures, whom the humans observe slowly emerging into an intelligent, self-aware species. The characters mostly wax philosophical and react in believable, less-than-dramatic fashion to conflicts. This is the meat of the book, I think, for better or worse. Arthur C. Clarke has said that this is his favorite of his books. Other readers seem to have hot or cold reactions; mine was lukewarm. It's kind of plotless, but chock full of interesting ideas and discourse. If you need huge explosions, evil aliens, and epic laser battles to enjoy a deep space sci-fi piece, then stay away. Otherwise, the substance is there, for those who are open to it.
I have nothing but admiration for Mr. Clarke's widely-recognized contributions to science fiction film and literature, not to mention his impact on science and technology in the real world. Numerous relevant technological forecasts, scientific concepts, and terms have become real-life, either inspired or accurately predicted by his books. But - I've only seen the 2001 films and only read Rendezvous With Rama (which I highly recommend) of Mr. Clarke's other works, so I can't exactly call myself a die-hard fan, aficionado, or student of his career. While I'm admittedly not qualified to put "The Songs of Distant Earth" into context with the rest of his stuff, I will say that Rendezvous With Rama is a much more interesting, more compelling read.
I was drawn in a roundabout fashion to read this book, having first heard Mike Oldfield's brilliant 1996 album, The Songs of Distant Earth,, which is based on the novel. Arthur C. Clarke's book is pretty good; Mike Oldfield's album is a masterpiece.
The book depicts a small civilization of displaced seedship colonists on the tranquil, utopian waterworld of Thalassa, thousands of years after the destruction of Earth and Earth's Sun. But then, after generations of a peaceful, unchallenged existence on Thalassa, Earth's last seedship, the Magellan arrives on Thalassa - and - and - and - well. . . not much happens then either.
There are one millions souls inside of the ship, though only a handful are awakened to go and interact with the inhabitants of this unexpected civilization on the islands of Thalassa. What little story there is revolves around the Thalassan girl, Mirissa, her brother Kumar, her boyfriend Brant from the island, and her semi-romantic relationship with Loren from the ship. There's also a bit about a species of underwater lobster-like creatures, whom the humans observe slowly emerging into an intelligent, self-aware species. The characters mostly wax philosophical and react in believable, less-than-dramatic fashion to conflicts. This is the meat of the book, I think, for better or worse. Arthur C. Clarke has said that this is his favorite of his books. Other readers seem to have hot or cold reactions; mine was lukewarm. It's kind of plotless, but chock full of interesting ideas and discourse. If you need huge explosions, evil aliens, and epic laser battles to enjoy a deep space sci-fi piece, then stay away. Otherwise, the substance is there, for those who are open to it.
I have nothing but admiration for Mr. Clarke's widely-recognized contributions to science fiction film and literature, not to mention his impact on science and technology in the real world. Numerous relevant technological forecasts, scientific concepts, and terms have become real-life, either inspired or accurately predicted by his books. But - I've only seen the 2001 films and only read Rendezvous With Rama (which I highly recommend) of Mr. Clarke's other works, so I can't exactly call myself a die-hard fan, aficionado, or student of his career. While I'm admittedly not qualified to put "The Songs of Distant Earth" into context with the rest of his stuff, I will say that Rendezvous With Rama is a much more interesting, more compelling read.
I was drawn in a roundabout fashion to read this book, having first heard Mike Oldfield's brilliant 1996 album, The Songs of Distant Earth,, which is based on the novel. Arthur C. Clarke's book is pretty good; Mike Oldfield's album is a masterpiece.
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