The fountains of Paradise
Publisher
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication Date
[1979]
Language
English
Description
In this, which many consider this to be Clarke's best novel, Vannevar Morgan is the greatest civil engineer of the mid-22nd century. Having built a bridge across the Straits of Gibraltar, he dreams of an even greater accomplishment, a bridge to space: a "skyhook," or "space elevator." This will be a cable stretching from the Earth's equator to an anchoring satellite in geosynchronous orbit. First Morgan must deal with the monks who own the ideal real estate, a mountaintop on the fictional island of Taprobane (a version of Clarke's adopted home of Sri Lanka, moved south so that it lies on the equator). He also has to work on the financing, solve various political problems, deal with skeptics, and finally solve some critical engineering issues and deal with the inevitable crises accompanying the actual building of the elevator.
More Details
ISBN
9780151327737
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By conjuring the past and envisioning the future, these thought-provoking novels illuminate the human struggle to integrate science and spirituality. Descriptive, compelling narrative brings alive atmospheric settings in different eras and sympathetic protagonists struggling for goals valuable to their cultures. -- Matthew Ransom
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Also a pioneer of "hard" science fiction, Isaac Asimov, like Arthur C. Clarke, writes fantastic adventures of man and outer space. -- Shelley Mosley
Greg Bear's science fiction, like Arthur C. Clarke's, features an emphasis on character development and a deliberately detailed atmosphere. Through his well-developed characters, Bear effectively explores human reactions to entirely plausible technological scenarios and the menace of alien mysteries. -- Katherine Johnson
Both authors write imaginative, detailed, and thoughtful science fiction that explores humanity's ability to cope with vast cosmic mysteries and mind-bending shifts in reality. These authors strike a neat balance between meditative philosophical speculation concerning our vast universe and sympathetic portrayals of ordinary human life. -- Derek Keyser
By imagining plausible technological developments and accurately portraying human characteristics, these descriptive authors create compelling, thought-provoking science fiction. Selfish and altruistic character motives are examined in dramatic situations both aided and challenged by technology. Arthur C. Clarke often depicts more grand scale events, but both concentrate on their characters' perspectives. -- Matthew Ransom
Arthur C. Clarke and Annalee Newitz combine speculative fiction and hard science in their thought-provoking and dramatic work. Newitz' writing focuses on well-developed characters, while Clarke's is full of descriptive prose. -- Stephen Ashley
Both David Brin and Arthur C. Clarke are known for writing thought-provoking hard science fiction. Their dramatic and descriptive plot-driven stories about advanced alien species and human colonies in space explore complex political ideas and ethical concerns. -- Alicia Cavitt
Though Arthur C. Clarke's catalog is exclusively science fiction and Lee Mandelo's also includes horror and fantasy, both are known for thought-provoking stories that frequently incorporate real science. -- Stephen Ashley
In their imaginative and intricately plotted science fiction stories, Arthur C. Clarke and Cixin Liu highlight hard and theoretical science by including characters with solid scientific backgrounds. Both authors write realistically about space travel and artificial intelligence and give their extra-terrestrial creations unique, though sometimes obscure, motivations and capabilities. -- Alicia Cavitt
Fans of thought-provoking and compelling science fiction that emphasizes the science will enjoy the works of Arthur C. Clarke and S. B. Divya. Both frequently set their work in the depths of space and focus on artificial intelligence. -- Stephen Ashley
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Published Reviews
Library Journal Review
Published in 1953, 1952, and 1979, respectively, this trio of novels follow Clarke's recurring theme of humans thrusting themselves into space and then not necessarily liking what they find. The religious images that run throughout Clarke's work also are present here. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review
Characteristic Clarke--and parts of it are excellent. Which parts? Not the style--the usual blur of amiable banalities. Not the characters, who resemble a crew of exceptionally bright, well-behaved, and sexless 15-year-olds. Not the social or historical extrapolations, which sound like cute rejoinders to a random selection of headlines. The only thing that keeps this going is the liveliness of its technical premise: from a satellite in stable geosynchronous orbit over the island of ""Taprobane,"" a team of scientists and engineers under the eager direction of aging Vannevar Morgan is trying to lower to Earth the incredibly thin and strong cables of a giant ""elevator,"" which will eventually make Earthside rocket launchings obsolete by ferrying up men and materials from the ground to the satellite. The lowest stage is still 600 kilometers from Earth when a sudden malfunction traps a team of researchers in a small chamber at the end of the cables; the rest of the script is Early Standard Cliffhanger. Not much of a novel, but the idea is one of Clarke's most captivating. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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