A fascinating sci-fi tale on modern issues

This book was not what I expected. I loved it but I was expecting something very different.
This book is the calmest sci-fi I've ever read, it has moments of tension, twists turns and loss but there is no world ending catastrophe to avert, it is much smaller scale which I enjoyed.
The story is almost a series of shorter stories about the same character throughout his career and each story segment has a different focus starting with recovery and restarting, the middle section is more adventure and discovery and the final section is more religious, political and ethical.
The book is fascinating, it looks at many issues that are extremely relevant at the moment such as synthetic meats and the ethical dilemas of eating animals. Overall it's incredibly impressive that in 1957 Arthur C Clarke predicted many of the touchstone issues that are major today. He was quite off on the rationality of humanity but it was lovely to read such an optimistic even happy book after so many dystopian equivalents.

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2 people found this helpful

Ethical, thought provoking sci fi

I really enjoyed this book. It's "gentle" sci fi and suitable for people who don't normally listen to this genre. Well written and really makes you think about the planet and our role in it. Good narration.

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4 people found this helpful

Space below

Listened intently, reader really good. Story, as per most A.C. Clarke books, excellent. Feeding my love for the author

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Oceans. Space. The human drama goes on!

Incredibly Clarke wrote this in 1957. handheld computers, worldwide computer connections, and sea-serpents! He goes deep into the oceans and far out into space. His story is almost 60 years old yet predates our modern technological era without seeming out of place today.

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1 person found this helpful

Still a story to entertain and engage

Though now very dated, Arthur Clarke's story of heroism in the depths still serves to entertain. Written in a naive style of derring-do it still discusses some of the profound ethical questions that Clarke addressed so often, of humanity's relationship with the natural world, the struggle as was between science and religion and the fate of man when it meets some unknown higher intelligence. A ripping good yarn.

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An interesting view of the future from 1957

I remember reading this in my teens which is surprising as it doesn’t have a strong narrative but is three elements of a persons life that could almost be separate short stories. The themes of food production is still very relevant but much of the elements are set in the 2050’s but that is now so close we know there won’t be space cruises to our colonies on Mars, Venus is uninhabitable and can not support a ocean, the idea of whaling for world food would be unacceptable. And the thought of paper ticker tapes and printouts from a desk phone (fax) seem very dated.

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Very dated but very much Clarke

A really different story. The only drawback is that it was written in 1957 so is quite dated. Much of it comes across as misogynistic although it wouldn't have done until probably the 80s or 90s. Women are subsidiary to men and it is always men who are leaders of departments, featured in 'Top Men' magazines and so on. This is not Clarke's fault, of course, it is changing times. Cellphones, of course, are conspicuous by their absence.

Clarke got many things wrong about his future world. Whales are no longer hunted and great plankton farms seem most unlikely. Nevertheless, it is interesting to read about the world he created.

Certainly one for ageing SF readers. As an SF author, it made me think about how many of my books will get the future so wrong.

Tony Harmsworth

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Wokeism before it was invented

What a strange Clarke Novel. Yet again Clarke was a visionary well before the time, was he really an alien?

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The worst Arthur C Clarke book I have tried

And I’ve read a lot of them, I found this thoroughly dull right from the get go to the point I’m 2 hours from finishing and don’t care what happens.

I am really shocked at the largely positive reviews, I honestly don’t think it has any redeeming qualities at all!

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Chopping and changing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Good luck trying to guess where the plot of this book is going. There was a very sharp swerve in a different direction towards the end that made it really dull.

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1 person found this helpful