by Arthur C. Clarke
Not unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Clarke co-wrote, this novel begins thousands of years ago and then jumps ahead into the 22nd century. For Clarke, paradise can be anything from a marvelous fountain in an ancient land to a circle of man-made worlds linked in space. As usual, it is the technology that captivates Clarke, and occasionally he slips in a bit of technopoetic description that is startlingly beautiful. For readers who share Clarke's intense love of things scientific, this book will give great pleasure. But it also makes clear why so much sci-fi writing continues to have a relatively small following. His characters never come alive. Even Morgan, the hero, is not nearly as interesting as the imaginative devices—traveling through space in tubes, for instance—that he uses while on a dangerous space rescue mission. (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $10)
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