It is a slice of life style story showing us a look at a potential future, getting rather a lot right, even if, as you say, these things came about sooner than Clarke anticipated. Not sure where your 'Federation' bit comes from, since there still is only the solar system and it is still essentially Earth and a few colonies elsewhere in the solar system. My favorite of Clarke's novels, actually.
@@OldGuyReviewsBooks That is, indeed, a better description. I still like Clarke's Imperial Earth' vision better than that of Heinlein's earlier The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, though.
Must have read the book at least ten times, starting in 7th or 8th grade (not too long after it was printed). Took a bit for me to appreciate the Sirius's black-hole drive as a metaphor, where the propellant mass (Duncan) is caught in the event horizon of the black hole (the cloning process) therefore stretching time into eternity (the family line would not progress, only be duplicated). The "plot twist" at the end is not only reconciliation, but Duncan's escape from the event horizon. Another thing that interests me about ImpEarth (and in fact most "hard science" fiction of the time) is how it extrapolates nearly all the sciences except communication. Clarke describes a global information and communication net which sounded amazing in 1976 but which was left in the dust by reality around 2000. Does Duncan's MINISEC remind you of a rough draft of the cat-meme-viewing device on which you're probably reading this? For that matter, Diaspar in "The City and the Stars" misses being the Matrix by _that_ much. ImpEarth Clarke's best? Probably not. Is it as good as I remember, now that I've read it a couple times as an almost-old guy? Not really. One of my favorites for a lot of reasons, some of them personal? (It and the original Battlestar Galactica helped me get through a brain-sucking seventh grade year) -- Yes.
It's great how we readers can get so much from a favored book that maybe not everyone else appreciates. Mine is The Little Shepherd from Kingdom Come, which was my 7th grade rescue tome.
Even Shakespeare produced a clinker every now and then. TS Eliot called “Titus Andronicus” the stupidest, most ridiculous play ever written. Enjoy your time off, but don’t stay away too long. I really enjoy your videos.
I was big on authors like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Silverberg (at least Silverberg's earlier work), but Arthur C. Clarke has never been too impressive to me, at least what I've read of him. I was pretty disappointed by Childhood's End. I recently tried The City and the Stars, and it has a lot of wasted potential, and only a little bit of an interesting plot in parts. Maybe I've just not read his better books, I don't know.
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Haha! An Earth girls Are Easy reference! Golden!!
Much appreciation of your viddy from NZ m8
Underappreciated movie.
It is a slice of life style story showing us a look at a potential future, getting rather a lot right, even if, as you say, these things came about sooner than Clarke anticipated. Not sure where your 'Federation' bit comes from, since there still is only the solar system and it is still essentially Earth and a few colonies elsewhere in the solar system.
My favorite of Clarke's novels, actually.
A bit of my hyperbole. It's more like the UN in The Expanse.
@@OldGuyReviewsBooks That is, indeed, a better description. I still like Clarke's Imperial Earth' vision better than that of Heinlein's earlier The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, though.
@@nctpti2073 Yep. But I've got a sinking feeling that Harsh Mistress is more realistic.
@@OldGuyReviewsBooks With respect to the cloning bits, likely. But corporate ownership of the moon in the way Heinlein predicted? Really unlikely.
Must have read the book at least ten times, starting in 7th or 8th grade (not too long after it was printed).
Took a bit for me to appreciate the Sirius's black-hole drive as a metaphor, where the propellant mass (Duncan) is caught in the event horizon of the black hole (the cloning process) therefore stretching time into eternity (the family line would not progress, only be duplicated). The "plot twist" at the end is not only reconciliation, but Duncan's escape from the event horizon.
Another thing that interests me about ImpEarth (and in fact most "hard science" fiction of the time) is how it extrapolates nearly all the sciences except communication. Clarke describes a global information and communication net which sounded amazing in 1976 but which was left in the dust by reality around 2000. Does Duncan's MINISEC remind you of a rough draft of the cat-meme-viewing device on which you're probably reading this?
For that matter, Diaspar in "The City and the Stars" misses being the Matrix by _that_ much.
ImpEarth Clarke's best? Probably not. Is it as good as I remember, now that I've read it a couple times as an almost-old guy? Not really. One of my favorites for a lot of reasons, some of them personal? (It and the original Battlestar Galactica helped me get through a brain-sucking seventh grade year) -- Yes.
It's great how we readers can get so much from a favored book that maybe not everyone else appreciates. Mine is The Little Shepherd from Kingdom Come, which was my 7th grade rescue tome.
Even Shakespeare produced a clinker every now and then. TS Eliot called “Titus Andronicus” the stupidest, most ridiculous play ever written.
Enjoy your time off, but don’t stay away too long. I really enjoy your videos.
You are too kind. I'll probably do a highlights video of the Fair, just to bore you guys.
I was big on authors like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Silverberg (at least Silverberg's earlier work), but Arthur C. Clarke has never been too impressive to me, at least what I've read of him. I was pretty disappointed by Childhood's End. I recently tried The City and the Stars, and it has a lot of wasted potential, and only a little bit of an interesting plot in parts. Maybe I've just not read his better books, I don't know.
I know what you mean. Por ejemplo, I was not all that impressed by 2001, less so by 2010. The movies were better.