Books : The Fountains of Paradise

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Author name: Arthur C. Clarke

 : The Fountains of Paradise
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN num: 9780446677943
ISBN number: 0446677949
Label: Aspect
Manufacturer: Aspect
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 332
Printing Date: September 01, 2001
Publishing house: Aspect
Sale Popularity Level: 26234
Studio: Aspect




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Product Description:
Vannemar Morgans dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all timea 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But very first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgans Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda.



Customer Reviews
User popularity level:  out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Clarke Revisited
Motivated by the news of Clarke's recent death, I dredged through what remains of my book collection, inclined to reread this particular book. Unable to find my copy, I ordered this paperback version from Amazon. It has been satisfying to once again go to the 23rd century with Clarke. He certainly was one of the 20th century's most creative thinkers, and he presented his ideas and insights with a minimum of frills.

My new paperback version of the book, however, includes in Chapter 22 a serious error in keyboarding and/or proofreading. Euler's identity is presented with the exponent missing.

The space elevator which Clarke describes in considerable detail in this book is also variously described as a bridge or a tower, and he makes several references to such structures which preceded it, including the Eiffel Tower of the 19th century and the Gibraltar Bridge of the 23rd century. He even makes a passing reference to the legendary Rainbow Bridge to Valhalla, which he has now crossed himself. Godspeed, Arthur Clarke.



Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Not Free SF Reader
Space Elevator in alternate Sri Lanka.


The main story in this novel is the construction of a space elevator, and all the engineering problems and dangers for those working on the project.

Not everyone thinks this is a great idea, particularly the head of the religious orders near where this is to be built.

To make the whole story more interesting and complicated, an alien artifact arrives at Earth earlier in the novel, communicating information and the fact that yes, there are races that are way beyond you in maturity, in all senses.

Religion, aliens and monumental work, all tied in together.

Certainly one of Clarke's best books.






Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - An elevator to the stars.
Especially for one grounded in "Hard" science, himself contributing as much or more to "Real" science than his books have to fiction. He's credited mostly with the "Communications Satellite" for NASA, btw. Yet, for storytelling he goes more the "Wells" route, than the "Verne" route. While he's against Psuedoscience or hoping for a "Hyperspace breakthrough" he knows that over time current science will simply give way to now unconcievable breakthroughs and what may be impossible now may not be in an aeon. "Magic is Science unexplained" he said. "Fountains of Paradise" is more grounded in the nearer future, the building of a "Space Elevator", and that story being tied to a quest for ultimate power and greatness in the distant past. It is also a kind of tribute to Sri Lanka, the country he loved most of all the places he'd visited in his lifetime and the one he retired in.



Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Clarke is an excellent writer
Especially for one grounded in "Hard" science, himself contributing as much or more to "Real" science than his books have to fiction. He's credited mostly with the "Communications Satellite" for NASA, btw. Yet, for storytelling he goes more the "Wells" route, than the "Verne" route. While he's against Psuedoscience or hoping for a "Hyperspace breakthrough" he knows that over time current science will simply give way to now unconcievable breakthroughs and what may be impossible now may not be in an aeon. "Magic is Science unexplained" he said. "Fountains of Paradise" is more grounded in the nearer future, the building of a "Space Elevator", and that story being tied to a quest for ultimate power and greatness in the distant past. It is also a kind of tribute to Sri Lanka, the country he loved most of all the places he'd visited in his lifetime and the one he retired in.



Rated by buyers 3 out of 5 stars - Not bad, worth a read....
I read this book after reading mostly positive reviews and enjoying many of Clark's other works. Overall, I liked it but would of rather had a little mroe interaction with the space elevator/tower. The subplots were OK and held together but the main concept I felt received too little "airtime" so to speak.

Definitely worth a read and as one other reviewer stated, it's an easy book to get into with solid writing style and story flow.

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