One of the most influential science fiction writers of the 20th and 21st century, Arthur C. Clarke is the author of over 100 novels, novellas, and short story collections that laid the groundwork for the science fiction genre. Combining scientific knowledge and visionary literary aptitude, Clarke's work explored the implications of major scientific discoveries in astonishingly inventive and mystical settings.
Clarke's short stories and novels have won numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards, have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Several of his books, including 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey II, have been adapted into films that still stand as classic examples of the genre. Without a doubt, Arthur C. Clarke's is one of the most important voices in contemporary science fiction literature.
Set in the near future, a cargo hovership makes an emergency landing in a rural part of the Midwest. An adventurous teenager, Johnny Clinton, sneaks on board-only to survive a second crash a few hours later, this time into the Pacific Ocean. The crew escapes, but Johnny is left on board—adrift in the wreckage of the ship.
Johnny is rescued by a pod of dolphins who bring him to a remote island hidden in the heart of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. There, Johnny meets the brilliant and eccentric Professor Kazan, who has dedicated his life to the study of dolphin communication. Johnny's further adventures with dolphins and the sea make this an exciting and fascinating coming-of-age story.
More than two thousand years in the future, a small human colony thrives on the ocean paradise of Thalassa-sent there centuries ago to continue the human race before the Earth's destruction.
Thalassa's resources are vast-and the human colony has lived a bucolic life there. But their existence is threatened when the spaceship Magellan arrives on their world-carrying one million refugees from Earth, fleeing the dying planet.
Reputed to be Arthur C. Clarke's favorite novel, Songs of Distant Earth addresses several fascinating scientific questions unresolved in their time-including the question of why so few neutrinos from the sun have been measured on Earth. In addition, Clarke presents an inventive depiction of the use of vacuum energy to power spacecraft-and the technical logistics of space travel near the speed of light.
