Books

Octavo, boards. Review copy with Harcourt advance slip affixed to front free end paper. Card with Clarke's signature laid in. A completely revised and expanded version of Clarke's first published novel, AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT (1948; 1953). "Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 (1968) is one of the most famous computer stories, but his THE CITY AND THE STARS (1956) may well be the profound artistically successful work of cybernetic fiction . [It] is one of the most remarkable accomplishments of the imagination in all the literature that I am considering. Beyond imagining how computers might transform a society, Clarke also dramatizes the philosophical implications of life in a totally structured society. The novel is even more deserving of commendation because it is an early cybernetic novel, and computers and information theory were recent developments when it was written." - Warrick, The Cybernetic Imagination in Science Fiction, pp. 166-70. This novel "is perhaps his most characteristic and most enduring." - Survey of Science Fiction Literature I, pp. 374-7. [Reference: Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-245. Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels 22]. A fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket with a small 11 mm closed tear to the lower right front corner and mild age darkening to spine panel. (28529).

The City and the Stars is a classic science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the far future, the novel explores the life of Alvin, a unique child born in the fully automated, self-contained city of Diaspar. Unlike his fellow citizens who are content living a repetitive and unchanging existence, Alvin becomes curious about the outside world and embarks on a journey that leads to the discovery of humanity's past and the true nature of the universe.