301 pages (Science Fiction)
I have been a huge Arthur C. Clarke fan since I was in high school. In general, his books are insightful, entertaining and engaging. In fact, I had read so many that I didn’t know what books I had read and what I hadn’t. Recently, I picked up Imperial Earth and realized I hadn’t read it. One of the most interesting things about his books is that they all fall within the realm of possibility. Rarely are they about dashing heroes flying across the universe.
Imperial Earth focuses on Duncan Makenzie. He is a 3rd generation clone from Titan, a moon of Saturn. The year is 2276, 500 years the USA came to be. As a representative of Titan he is flying back to Earth to celebrate. His real mission is to use the cloning facilities of Earth to continue his family’s bloodline.
Soon after arriving on earth it is brought to his attention that a large supply of Titanite, an extremely rare and expensive stone only found on the outer planets, is being sold without the Titan government being aware. After some research Duncan finds that a close friend of his is also on Earth and seems to behind these mysterious sales.
Clarke blends his stories unlike most writers. He takes a character and has them in a situation. Typically, they are intelligent people in position of scientific or political power. Once his setting is formed this becomes a background to experiment. He uses his vast knowledge of science to invent and explore the possibilities of what humans will achieve in future. In Imperial Earth humans have colonized the planets of Saturn, settled on Mars and the Moon, developed a fusion drive, live under a world government and have relative peace. Cloning has been mastered, but is still an ethical dilemma. It is interesting to read the book 30 years after it has been written because some of these predictions have already become true. He discusses how people carry a computer in their pockets, Duncan uses something we would recognize as the internet and how the space station is used by people all over the world.
He has a simple way of writing that is easy to digest, but is filled with intellectual and ethical questions. A reader identifies with the main characters and joins in their discoveries. Aome may be put off by a book labeled science fiction assuming Space Aliens and lazers, Clarke brushes these assumptions to the side and produces a modern story you connect with. One of the things I really enjoy about Clarke is he allows the reader to figure things out. He doesn’t always come out and describe exactly what has happened, but requires the reader to put together some of the pieces of the puzzle for themselves. I find this has me more invested in the book.
4 Intellectual/ Emotional: Clarke seems to enjoy taking what might be possible and making it a part of his book. These experiments in the future are a delight to experience. His characters are “real” people whose relationships push the story in certain directions.
3 Style/Readability: There is no problem for most readers to just keep chugging along. At the same time nothing sticks out as remarkable other than his consistency to be entertaining.
3 Long Term: Clarke has always held popularity in science fiction and he will always do so. Even though his stories can be over passed with time they still deal with modern issues even if the technology does not.
10 out of 13: Clarke has written over 40 novels and another 20 non-fiction books. I wouldn’t suggest this as a first read, but realistically any of his books could be picked up and enjoyed by most. I would suggest some of his more famous books such as, Rendezvous with Rama and Childhood’s End.
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