Arthur Clark: bibliography and book rating

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Several generations of not only readers, but also authors who write in the genre of science fiction have grown up on the works of Arthur C. Clarke. His works were a kind of prediction of certain events or technologies.

Thus, Arthur Clark envisioned the creation of radar to detect flying objects, flights to the moon, permanent satellites in Earth orbit, the creation of computers, the Internet and much more.

Writer's biography

During his long life, this great man left a mark not only in literature, but also in science and technology. Arthur Clark, whose biography began on 1917-16-12 in Somerset, England, where he was born in the city of Minehead, ended on 2008-19-03 in Sri Lanka.

During the Second World War, he was one of the developers of a navigation system for flying in adverse weather conditions, and his first novel was devoted to this time.

After the end of the war, Arthur C. Clarke, as a lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, graduated with honors from King's College London with a degree in physics and mathematics.

Back in 1945, being a member of the interplanetarySociety of Britain, the writer proposed the idea of creating a unified system of space stations in orbit around the planet to create a global telecommunications system. He even wrote several popular science articles and books about it, in which he details the technical side of this project.

After the creation of the geostationary orbit at 36,000 km above sea level, it was named after Arthur C. Clarke in recognition of his contribution to this achievement.

From 1956 until his death, Arthur Clark lived in Sri Lanka, where he received citizenship, and where most of his science fiction cycles and novels were written. Due to his illness, Clarke's latest works were created in collaboration with other writers, which makes them no less interesting than his independent works.

Creative period 1951-1961

Between 1951 and 1961, Arthur Clarke, whose bibliography includes 22 single novels, 3 cycles and 4 film adaptations of his books, wrote works that made him famous in the world of science fiction lovers.

The novel "Prelude to Space" (1951) was a harbinger of the first launches of satellites and people into space. In his characteristic manner, the writer tells in a simple and accessible language about such things unfamiliar to his contemporaries as the technical equipment of the spacecraft and the principles of its flights.

The book is based on the fictional story of the ship "Prometheus", whose mission was to fly to the moon. This work became propaganda for space flights. first satellite,launched in the USSR, was able to overcome gravity only in 1957, and the Apollo landing on the moon took place in 1969. The novel "Prelude into Space" can be considered one of the foresights that Arthur C. Clarke was famous for.

Published in the same year, the novel "Sands of Mars" opens up to readers the prospect of not only space flights, but also the exploration of other planets.

Clark's first major novel Childhood's End (1953), in which he expands the minds of readers with the idea that humanity is no longer alone in the vast universe, was recognized as the most unexpected novel of this period in terms of content.

Moondust (1961) is not only one of the best novels of this creative period of the writer, but also a Hugo Award nominee. The work tells about the lunar settlement and the threats that an earthly satellite can present to people.

The 2001 Space Odyssey Series

When Arthur C. Clarke (author at work) wrote his novel A Space Odyssey 2001 in 1968, the 21st century seemed unimaginably far away.

But today the idea of a novel about an experiment on planet Earth 3 million years long is still relevant.

Disputes about the origin of life on the planet do not stop, the wording "cosmic intelligence" has become firmly established in everyday life, and interplanetary flights are only a matter of time.

As always, Clark anticipated many of the ideas of his generation and voiced questions that scientists around the world are now looking for answers to. The cycle started in 1968 was completed in 1997. It includes 4 novels dedicated tojourney of earthlings in search of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Stanley Kubrick made a film based on this work, which became a cult film in this genre.

Thanks to the talent of the British director and the special effects that they used to create the film, even in the age of digital technology, the film looks in one breath, more perceived as a documentary chronicle of the flight of people to Jupiter and their opposition to the "rebellious" computer mind.

Rama Cycle

The Rama cycle was created over a period of 20 years (1973-1993), and the novel Rendezvous with Rama is considered the most significant novel that Arthur C. Clarke wrote in his life. The rating of the writer's books invariably includes this work. It brought the writer the Nebula, Hugo and British Science Fiction Association awards.

The plot is based on the story of the creation of a space patrol that "hunts" for asteroids that threatened life on Earth. Among the asteroids, an object was discovered that had a regular cylindrical shape and was heading towards the Sun.

After landing on an unusual ship, people found there conditions suitable for human survival and even a sea with inhabitants and vegetation on its shore. As we move towards the Sun, robots “wake up” on the ship to maintain its life support.

The main theme of the novel is whether humanity is ready to meet with extraterrestrial intelligence or fear, aggression and misunderstanding of the laws of the Universe will leave people within their solar system.

Odyssey Cycletime"

The brightest novel of the cycle - "A Storm in the Sun" (2005) - was co-written with Stephen Baxter. This is a disaster novel that tells about a possible cataclysm and the complete destruction of the Earth due to the strongest storm on the Sun.

A woman astronaut, Baisesa Dutt, who returned from a flight, warned about her. She traveled to a world where there are no time divisions and where the Firstborn rule, who want to destroy earthlings and their planet.

A captivating plot makes readers feel the fate of humanity, which, as often happens, depends on the actions or inactions of individuals.

Artworks from the 70s-80s

Despite his illness (polio, diagnosed back in the 60s), Clark continues to write intensively and delight readers with his talent.

Among the works of this period:

• "Island of Dolphins" - the novel is dedicated to the idea of the "intelligent" origin of dolphins and the possibility of their communication with humans.
• "Songs of a Distant Earth" is dedicated to lost humanity, which was destroyed by the Sun. Due to the fact that scientists knew about this in advance, a ship was sent into the depths of space in search of a suitable cradle for a new humanity with samples of all the flora, fauna of the planet and human embryos. The planet Thalassa approached the parameters for the future colony of earthlings, and the robots did all the necessary work to populate it.
• The collection "Cradle in Orbit" includes novels and short stories by Arthur C. Clarke from different years.

In his characteristic positivein the manner of Arthur C. Clarke, whose reviews of books by the public are always only the most enthusiastic, in his works he carries the theme that humanity is worthy to live and conquer the Universe.

Artworks from the 90s

The most striking and last independent creation of Arthur C. Clarke was the disaster novel "The Hammer of the Lord", written in 1993.

The writer's illness progressed, and he began to move around in a wheelchair, but he did not stop his active work, both writing and public.

The novel is dedicated to the actual topic of the end of the world, which was most often associated by the media of those years with the fall of an asteroid to Earth.

Merit of the writer

"Fantast No. 1" - that's what they call Arthur Clarke until now. His works are republished, films are made based on them, and the writer himself not only won prestigious literary awards, but was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.