Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Macmillan (1969), Paperback, 208 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: An electrifying, "superbly ingenious" classic of space survival from one of the most influential grandmasters of science fiction (Daily Express). Expanding the Moon's population hinges on building a thriving tourist industry. But when a prototype tourist craft called the Selene encounters a moonquake, the ship plummets under a vast body of liquid-fine moondust called the Sea of Thirst. Time is running out for the passengers and crew while rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the unpredictable conditions of the lunar environment. Nominated for the Hugo Award in 1961, this brilliantly imagined story of human ingenuity and survival is a tour-de-force of psychological suspense and sustained dramatic tension sure to appeal to fans of Andy Weir's The Martian. "The best book yet about man's most dramatic journey, the most exciting science fiction novel for years." �??The Evening Standard "Expertly told and cruelly exciting to the end." �??Sunday Times "Extremely good . . . with some superbly ingenious and exciting new twists!" �??Daily Express… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I'm probably unique in this, but to be honest this is my favorite novel by Clarke, despite it being very atypical for him. Arthur C. Clarke was my mother's favorite author. She loved the transcendental in him, the religious flavor in his futuristic science fiction. She loved to tell the story of
So many might find this book prosaic compared to his more cosmic, ambitious works. Rather this is a suspenseful book of disaster and rescue--more The Poseidon Adventure than 2001. Twenty-two people, the passenger and crew of the tourist boat Selene, are caught in "a fall of moondust" on the Sea of Thirst. They're trapped 15 meters below the surface with no way of communicating with the outside--and time--and breathable air--is running out. The basic premise about how moondust works is dated--this was published in 1961 before the moonlandings and when there had been only a few unmanned probes of the lunar surface. But did I care? Not in the least. Great read.
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how she took me to see 2001: A Space Odyssey in theaters when I was a toddler and ruined it for her by squalling during the psychedelic scenes--it's actually one of my oldest and most traumatic memories. But for her, that's what she loved--the idea of all of us as star children, of a apotheosis of space and the heavens. If you're looking for that Clarke, you might want to put this book down and go find Childhood's End, Rendezvous with Rama, The City and the Stars or 2001: A Space Odyssey, either the book or film. So many might find this book prosaic compared to his more cosmic, ambitious works. Rather this is a suspenseful book of disaster and rescue--more The Poseidon Adventure than 2001. Twenty-two people, the passenger and crew of the tourist boat Selene, are caught in "a fall of moondust" on the Sea of Thirst. They're trapped 15 meters below the surface with no way of communicating with the outside--and time--and breathable air--is running out. The basic premise about how moondust works is dated--this was published in 1961 before the moonlandings and when there had been only a few unmanned probes of the lunar surface. But did I care? Not in the least. Great read.
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LibraryThing member antao
“He was a boy again, playing in the hot sand of a forgotten summer. He had found a tiny pit, perfectly smooth and symmetrical, and there was something lurking in its depths—something completely buried except for its waiting jaws. The boy had watched, wondering, already conscious of the fact
It would have escaped easily enough—but when the first grain of sand had rolled to the bottom of the pit, the waiting ogre had reared out of its lair. With its forelegs it had hurled a fusilade of sand at the struggling insect, until the avalanche had overwhelmed it and brought it sliding into the throat of the crater.
As Selene was sliding now. No ant-lion had dug this pit on the surface of the Moon, but Pat felt as helpless now as that doomed insect he had watched so many years ago. Like it, he was struggling to reach the safety of the rim, while the moving ground swept him back into the depths where death was waiting. A swift death for the ant, a protracted one for him and his companions.”
In “A Fall of Moondust” by Arthur C. Clarke
Back in the day, I worked in IT for real as a lowly SysAdmin, also known as a computer whisperer (like a horse whisperer, only in binary...). When I was done gently soothing my big beasts with the soft lullaby of 0's and 1's, I always ended by singing them the song their daddy taught them: "Daisy, Daisy . . . " Don't laugh, it worked! Really. They all frequently express their continued enthusiasm for the mission.
A director like Paul Greengrass could really make “A Fall of Moondust” tense (remember “United 93”). The problem would be that, as Clarke himself admitted, the sea of dust idea is a myth, disproved by later research. Still a good story though. Yes indeed - they'd have to modify it so perhaps it was a sink hole caused by mining - extraction of water etc. But come to think of it, no need. I'd happily suspend any amount of disbelief to watch a film version of “A Fall Of Moondust”. Retro-futuristic, perhaps? That would be fun. Lots of flashing lights and magnetic tape whizzing around representing a 1960's view of the far future.
Standing the test of time is part of what constitutes "greatness," surely. Clarke was obviously much more influential than Phil Dick when they were writing and because he paid such attention to technical detail, any number of ideas he popularized later came to be. But Phil Dick has risen in stature as the unthinkable (Nazis openly accepted as leaders in America, for example) in his books has become plausible. He starts to feel almost prophetic whereas when he wrote it probably just seemed a silly idea for a story. And while "Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" has a few rough edges, it poses most of the pertinent questions in bioethics; Clarke for all his brilliance was more of a science booster than a science critic.
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that this was the stage for some microscopic drama. He had seen an ant, mindlessly intent upon its mission, stumble at the edge of the crater and topple down the slope.It would have escaped easily enough—but when the first grain of sand had rolled to the bottom of the pit, the waiting ogre had reared out of its lair. With its forelegs it had hurled a fusilade of sand at the struggling insect, until the avalanche had overwhelmed it and brought it sliding into the throat of the crater.
As Selene was sliding now. No ant-lion had dug this pit on the surface of the Moon, but Pat felt as helpless now as that doomed insect he had watched so many years ago. Like it, he was struggling to reach the safety of the rim, while the moving ground swept him back into the depths where death was waiting. A swift death for the ant, a protracted one for him and his companions.”
In “A Fall of Moondust” by Arthur C. Clarke
Back in the day, I worked in IT for real as a lowly SysAdmin, also known as a computer whisperer (like a horse whisperer, only in binary...). When I was done gently soothing my big beasts with the soft lullaby of 0's and 1's, I always ended by singing them the song their daddy taught them: "Daisy, Daisy . . . " Don't laugh, it worked! Really. They all frequently express their continued enthusiasm for the mission.
A director like Paul Greengrass could really make “A Fall of Moondust” tense (remember “United 93”). The problem would be that, as Clarke himself admitted, the sea of dust idea is a myth, disproved by later research. Still a good story though. Yes indeed - they'd have to modify it so perhaps it was a sink hole caused by mining - extraction of water etc. But come to think of it, no need. I'd happily suspend any amount of disbelief to watch a film version of “A Fall Of Moondust”. Retro-futuristic, perhaps? That would be fun. Lots of flashing lights and magnetic tape whizzing around representing a 1960's view of the far future.
Standing the test of time is part of what constitutes "greatness," surely. Clarke was obviously much more influential than Phil Dick when they were writing and because he paid such attention to technical detail, any number of ideas he popularized later came to be. But Phil Dick has risen in stature as the unthinkable (Nazis openly accepted as leaders in America, for example) in his books has become plausible. He starts to feel almost prophetic whereas when he wrote it probably just seemed a silly idea for a story. And while "Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" has a few rough edges, it poses most of the pertinent questions in bioethics; Clarke for all his brilliance was more of a science booster than a science critic.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
I see from the now barely decipherable scrawl on the flyleaf of my copy of this book that I bought it in November 1979, now thirty six years ago, and it was already nearly twenty years since the novel's first publication. By way of context, I was then sixteen and had just entered the lower Sixth
Is it fair to criticise a novel that is now more than fifty years old for seeming dated? Probably not, though the mere fact that I offer the thought is a testament to how well Arthur C Clarke's other novels have survived the passage of time. I do recall thinking this novel was marvellous when I first read it as a teenager, yet a little of that glow was absent now.
The basic story is, as so often with Clarke, beguilingly simple. At an unspecified date in the 21st century man has colonised the Moon, and some of the wealthiest citizens now spend their holidays there. Several of them have gone for an excursion in the Selene, a specially designed craft which skims across the dust filled 'seas' of the moon offering fantastic view of earth dominating the lunar skyscape. By great misfortune, Selene's passage over the dust bowl coincidence with a 'moonquake' which causes an underground cavern to collapse. The disturbance causes Selene to be pitched down into the chasm where it is immediately covered by tones of fine silicon dust which, as well as smothering the ship and hiding it from vie, also render radio contact impossible.
The rest of the story revolves around the attempts firstly to locate and then rescue the Selene. Clarke always pitched his stories in the realms of the scientifically plausible and unlike many science fiction writers, he had a great understanding of human relations. His characters are always utterly believable, regardless of the outlandish circumstances in which they might find themselves. Here he gives us a varied list of passengers from different walks of life back on earth, including, fortuitously, ex-Commander Hansteen, one of the leading space navigators of his generation, who happened to be visiting the Moon in his retirement.
The sense of datedness arises partially from the attitudes of the characters. The all-pervasive male chauvinism is, no doubt, a reflection of attitudes prevalent at the time it was written, but that does not hold true for most of Clarke's other works. I also felt that he might have dashed this off rather quickly - it displayed an uncharacteristic ponderousness that left if feeling more like a latest draft than the finished article. Despite these doubts, I enjoyed rereading it, but this is clearly not a work in the forefront of what is generally an outstanding portfolio from one of the masters of the oeuvre.
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Form at Loughborough Grammar School. Pink Floyd were on the verge of releasing 'The Wall', and we were six months into Margaret Thatcher's first term as British Prime Minister.Is it fair to criticise a novel that is now more than fifty years old for seeming dated? Probably not, though the mere fact that I offer the thought is a testament to how well Arthur C Clarke's other novels have survived the passage of time. I do recall thinking this novel was marvellous when I first read it as a teenager, yet a little of that glow was absent now.
The basic story is, as so often with Clarke, beguilingly simple. At an unspecified date in the 21st century man has colonised the Moon, and some of the wealthiest citizens now spend their holidays there. Several of them have gone for an excursion in the Selene, a specially designed craft which skims across the dust filled 'seas' of the moon offering fantastic view of earth dominating the lunar skyscape. By great misfortune, Selene's passage over the dust bowl coincidence with a 'moonquake' which causes an underground cavern to collapse. The disturbance causes Selene to be pitched down into the chasm where it is immediately covered by tones of fine silicon dust which, as well as smothering the ship and hiding it from vie, also render radio contact impossible.
The rest of the story revolves around the attempts firstly to locate and then rescue the Selene. Clarke always pitched his stories in the realms of the scientifically plausible and unlike many science fiction writers, he had a great understanding of human relations. His characters are always utterly believable, regardless of the outlandish circumstances in which they might find themselves. Here he gives us a varied list of passengers from different walks of life back on earth, including, fortuitously, ex-Commander Hansteen, one of the leading space navigators of his generation, who happened to be visiting the Moon in his retirement.
The sense of datedness arises partially from the attitudes of the characters. The all-pervasive male chauvinism is, no doubt, a reflection of attitudes prevalent at the time it was written, but that does not hold true for most of Clarke's other works. I also felt that he might have dashed this off rather quickly - it displayed an uncharacteristic ponderousness that left if feeling more like a latest draft than the finished article. Despite these doubts, I enjoyed rereading it, but this is clearly not a work in the forefront of what is generally an outstanding portfolio from one of the masters of the oeuvre.
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LibraryThing member xuebi
Arthur C. Clarke is one of the best writers of hard science fiction and A Fall of Moondust is a tense but enjoyable rescue mission set on the Moon. Clarke creates a fully believable futuristic world in which humanity has colonised the Moon and tourist cruises run across its "seas". Herein is the
The science in A Fall of Moondust is somewhat dated, but Clarke admits that in the preface to the new edition. Nevertheless, the book is still enjoyable in spite of this, and remains an excellent example of classic hard sci-fi.
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story set as one of pleasure cruises suffers an accident as is trapped beneath the moon dust. Each problem is presented after the previous one is solved, keeping a brisk pace, and though the characters remain rather flat, the story keeps the reader reading onwards, hoping that the rescue is a success. The science in A Fall of Moondust is somewhat dated, but Clarke admits that in the preface to the new edition. Nevertheless, the book is still enjoyable in spite of this, and remains an excellent example of classic hard sci-fi.
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LibraryThing member baswood
Originally published in 1961 this novel is now published in the science fiction Masterwork series. I have not been disappointed by Clarke's earlier science fiction novels and this one was another good solid read. It may lack that sense of wonder of some of his novels, but this one shows that Clarke
Captain Pat Harris earns a living on the moon by shuttling tourists over one of the moon's seas in a craft named the Selene. The Sea of Thirst is actually made up of very fine dust and the Selene skims along the surface. In the middle of the sea are the inaccessible mountains and Pat Harris provides some thrills for the tourists by hurtling the Selene through a narrow gorge. Coming out of the gorge and back on the sea there is a moonquake and the Selene sinks beneath the dust. There are 20 passengers on board as well as Captain Harris and a stewardess. They have lost all radio contact and are 20 metres below the surface and cannot move under they're own power. They have enough air and provisions to last a week. The story is a rescue attempt against the clock to get everybody out of the stricken vehicle. The moondust flows like a liquid making it impossible for individuals to reach the surface and threatens to encase the stationary vehicle.
Captain Pat Harris is a competent pilot of the Selene, but lacks ambition to become a space pilot, he is falling in love with the stewardess. He is fortunate that his passengers include a range of scientists as well as a celebrated, but retired spaceman. They must work together to keep their spirits raised while waiting to be found. Clarke's story alternates between the efforts of the passengers to survive the catastrophe and the efforts of the scientists and engineers to find the Selene and then launch a rescue mission.
Clarke does a good job in bringing his characters to life and the dialogue between them is well handled, tempers get frayed, but also friendships form. It is to Clarkes credit that life in the stricken craft is as interesting as the rescue mission.
The story takes place in 2042 and from snapshots of the conversation in the Selene we learn bits of the history that has enabled man to conquer the solar system. Unfortunately money still controls all men's actions and male chauvinism is similar to what it was in 1961. On the more positive side there is recognition of the destruction of ethnic people on earth, as one of the passengers a scientist and an aborigine tells moon born Pat Harris of the attempted elimination of his people and their culture. This is a good disaster novel whose moon setting creates additional and unforeseen problems. It is well written and a 4 star read.
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could do characters as well as ratcheting up the tension in an escape from disaster scenario. There is enough hard science and mechanical engineering to satisfy those reader who want to be convinced that they are on solid ground with their science fiction reading, however it is the lack of solid ground that provides the excitement in this novel.Captain Pat Harris earns a living on the moon by shuttling tourists over one of the moon's seas in a craft named the Selene. The Sea of Thirst is actually made up of very fine dust and the Selene skims along the surface. In the middle of the sea are the inaccessible mountains and Pat Harris provides some thrills for the tourists by hurtling the Selene through a narrow gorge. Coming out of the gorge and back on the sea there is a moonquake and the Selene sinks beneath the dust. There are 20 passengers on board as well as Captain Harris and a stewardess. They have lost all radio contact and are 20 metres below the surface and cannot move under they're own power. They have enough air and provisions to last a week. The story is a rescue attempt against the clock to get everybody out of the stricken vehicle. The moondust flows like a liquid making it impossible for individuals to reach the surface and threatens to encase the stationary vehicle.
Captain Pat Harris is a competent pilot of the Selene, but lacks ambition to become a space pilot, he is falling in love with the stewardess. He is fortunate that his passengers include a range of scientists as well as a celebrated, but retired spaceman. They must work together to keep their spirits raised while waiting to be found. Clarke's story alternates between the efforts of the passengers to survive the catastrophe and the efforts of the scientists and engineers to find the Selene and then launch a rescue mission.
Clarke does a good job in bringing his characters to life and the dialogue between them is well handled, tempers get frayed, but also friendships form. It is to Clarkes credit that life in the stricken craft is as interesting as the rescue mission.
The story takes place in 2042 and from snapshots of the conversation in the Selene we learn bits of the history that has enabled man to conquer the solar system. Unfortunately money still controls all men's actions and male chauvinism is similar to what it was in 1961. On the more positive side there is recognition of the destruction of ethnic people on earth, as one of the passengers a scientist and an aborigine tells moon born Pat Harris of the attempted elimination of his people and their culture. This is a good disaster novel whose moon setting creates additional and unforeseen problems. It is well written and a 4 star read.
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LibraryThing member PastorBob
A simple story of a lunar tourist vessel that is sucked into a 'sea' of surface dust on the moon during a rare seismic event.
Clarke's account in this book is not quite as technically focused as some of his work, such as in Prelude To Space, and that actually means there is a bit more story to
Since the book was written in advance of man's landing on the moon, it provides a fascinating insight into the expectations and imagination of that era as shaped by the educated guesses of a master science fiction mind. Also interesting is Clarke's perception not only of the science and discoveries to come, but also his estimation of social developments like the use of music, people born and raised on the moon, and even a kind of developing multiculturalism (New Zealand aboriginals, for example).
Worth a read!
Clarke's account in this book is not quite as technically focused as some of his work, such as in Prelude To Space, and that actually means there is a bit more story to
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enjoy in this book. There's even a romantic sub-plot, though it is rather flat.Since the book was written in advance of man's landing on the moon, it provides a fascinating insight into the expectations and imagination of that era as shaped by the educated guesses of a master science fiction mind. Also interesting is Clarke's perception not only of the science and discoveries to come, but also his estimation of social developments like the use of music, people born and raised on the moon, and even a kind of developing multiculturalism (New Zealand aboriginals, for example).
Worth a read!
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LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
A great set piece hamstrung by the need to fill an entire book with it. At times too much seems to happen that doesn't have to, like the subplot of the private investigator chasing down some kind of Walter Mitty character.
LibraryThing member KevinRubin
It's fun reading hard science fiction novels from earlier times. This one is from 1960, before Yuri Gagarin's first flight into space, and long before his most famous novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey" and before Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon...
It's a standard disaster and rescue
The plot is very linear, with only one problem being dealt with at a time and only one disaster at a time. Each time a problem happens (the boat sinking further, the temperature rising, etc.) it's fixed before the next occurs.
Clarke mostly glosses over the too-technical details involved, though he does give us readers a quick lecture on the difference between weight and mass and how that affects (or doesn't, in this case) a construction worker in low gravity.
Most of the characters take things easy enough and any psychological problems are solved quickly so the tension never builds to nail biting or edge-of-the-seat levels.
It's a standard disaster and rescue
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story. In this case a boat that's sunk beneath the surface of a sea of dust on the moon.The plot is very linear, with only one problem being dealt with at a time and only one disaster at a time. Each time a problem happens (the boat sinking further, the temperature rising, etc.) it's fixed before the next occurs.
Clarke mostly glosses over the too-technical details involved, though he does give us readers a quick lecture on the difference between weight and mass and how that affects (or doesn't, in this case) a construction worker in low gravity.
Most of the characters take things easy enough and any psychological problems are solved quickly so the tension never builds to nail biting or edge-of-the-seat levels.
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LibraryThing member sf_addict
An excellent book about what happens when the crew of a lunar tourist expedition sink into the regolith of the moon. Although dated and somewhat innacurate it still holds the reader's attention.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is more of a thriller than many other Clarke novels. It is the 2040s and a group of tourists is visiting the Moon's Sea of Thirst, a featureless desert of incredibly fine powder, in a vessel logically if unimaginatively called Selene. A freak combination of circumstances causes Selene to sink
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into the dust without visible trace on the surface. The passengers and crew have only days to live before the oxygen runs out. Then begins a desperate race against time by the outside world (the Earth and the Moon) to locate and rescue them, punctuated by numerous setbacks. This is a very good read, though it lacks the majesty and grandeur of The City and the Stars or Rendezvous with Rama. Most of the characters are fairly wooden. Like a lot of SF, it tells more about the time in which it was written (1960) than about the future, in terms of relations between the sexes and the state of technology. Finally, it is also dated scientifically as in 1960 there were some scientists who believed the Moon's surface was made of such dust, caused by billions of years of erosion of the rocks out of which it was formed, and that no spacecraft would ever be able to land there. Clarke concedes this anachronism in a foreword to this edition, written in 1987. Despite these flaws, this is another great novel by one of the masters of SF. Show Less
LibraryThing member Razinha
Solid science fiction...or fiction with a science base. With a little Irwin Allen thrown in.
LibraryThing member ikeman100
Typical Clark. Good SF story. Not his best.
LibraryThing member MerryMary
The characters may not be as finely tuned as I would wish, but the story is superb. I love the setting - a moon tour bus in trouble, inter-planetary media sharks, primitive survival amidst useless technology, the rescue efforts that run into one snag after another, and the snotty prude on the bus
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that pushes the pilot and "stewardess" into a romantic interlude! Show Less
LibraryThing member Ilirwen
Some bits were quite exciting, but the sexism bothered me a lot. So did the absence of personal computers, the internet and mobile phones, though I guess it isn't fair to expect that from a book written in the early 1960's.
LibraryThing member unclebob53703
Crackerjack story about a rescue mission on the Moon.
LibraryThing member themulhern
This is the BBC radio play of the book, not the book itself. It is dated in a pleasant, early Doctor Whoish sort of way. The book is probably able to describe the technology more, and is therefore, probably more interesting. A female "assistant" to the astronomer plays dumb in order to get him to
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actually run his experiment to locate the missing tour bus. It is not specified what her assisting role amounts to, but it must be an engineering or technological one as it seems unlikely that the astronomer would go to all that trouble for his charlady. Perhaps the book explains more fully. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeanClark
Quality science fiction. No fantasy, no magic.
LibraryThing member BruceCoulson
As a student of real disasters, this is an excellent book on a possible future disaster. Dramatic and realistic (within the science of the time) the details of the unfolding story hold up well, even with derailing by various side plots that have little to do with the problem at hand. Believable
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characters and situations, complete to real-time coverage of the protagonists' plight on interplanetary TV. Well worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member rmckeown
When I was in 7th grade, I discovered Jules Verne. I read several of his books, and fell in love with science fiction. I began reading Frank Herbert’s epic series beginning with Dune. I watched films such as Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still. I tackled the two volume story, When
I do not know how many years it has been since I last read Moondust, or Clarke, or even any SciFi for that matter, but Clarke’s novel seemed to be exactly what the librarian ordered. I have been searching for a hardback first edition with no luck, so all I have now is a worn and yellowed paper back from the 60s. Oh how the years have altered my reading habits! I wondered if this novel would stand the test of neglect I had imposed on it.
From the first page, Clarke’s brilliant and clever prose drew me in, but I began to notice a series of time stamps he had unwittingly written into his novel. His foresight was most definitely NOT 20/20. For example, I laugh when I watch Forbidden Planet and the captain lifts a microphone from a console with a retractable wire to address the crew. Likewise, Clarke did not imagine some things that would make us cringe today. Male characters notice, and comment on, physical characteristics of women.
Bu the most astounding thing I discovered involved the plot. As I was making notes for this review, I began to feel as if I recognized some of the characters. I began making a list, and suddenly, it dawned on me – the plot of Moondust had a remarkable resemblance to the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, based on a novel by Paul Gallico, with a screenplay by Stirling Siliphant and Wendell Mayes.
Both involve a set of tourists, stranded in a boat after a natural disaster. Each story has a charismatic leader, who has the talent and confidence to lead the others to safety. In the final scene of the film, the survivors reach the stern of the capsized ship and bang on the floor/ceiling. A return thumping lets the survivors know of their imminent rescue. A similar situation occurs in Moondust.
I think I need to get a copy of Gallico’s novel and make a closer comparison. Unfortunately, Paul Gallico died in 1978, but research might reveal another reader who noticed the difference, or – better yet – an acknowledgment by Gallico of his inspiration. After all, if Irving Block could write a short story loosely based on Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, why couldn’t Gallico been inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust?
My next book club read is also science fiction, so I am glad I am easing into that work by returning to those wild days of my youth when Arthur C. Clarke thrilled and inspired me to write my first story of horses, about which I knew almost nothing, and alien abductions, about which I knew even less. Thankfully, that manuscript is long lost. But Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust has hung in there as my favorite work of science fiction. 5 stars
-Jim, 9/21/13
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Worlds Collide and After Worlds Collide. This last, by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, occupies one slot in the top five best SciFi thrillers. But the number one spot is firmly held by Arthur C. Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust.I do not know how many years it has been since I last read Moondust, or Clarke, or even any SciFi for that matter, but Clarke’s novel seemed to be exactly what the librarian ordered. I have been searching for a hardback first edition with no luck, so all I have now is a worn and yellowed paper back from the 60s. Oh how the years have altered my reading habits! I wondered if this novel would stand the test of neglect I had imposed on it.
From the first page, Clarke’s brilliant and clever prose drew me in, but I began to notice a series of time stamps he had unwittingly written into his novel. His foresight was most definitely NOT 20/20. For example, I laugh when I watch Forbidden Planet and the captain lifts a microphone from a console with a retractable wire to address the crew. Likewise, Clarke did not imagine some things that would make us cringe today. Male characters notice, and comment on, physical characteristics of women.
Bu the most astounding thing I discovered involved the plot. As I was making notes for this review, I began to feel as if I recognized some of the characters. I began making a list, and suddenly, it dawned on me – the plot of Moondust had a remarkable resemblance to the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, based on a novel by Paul Gallico, with a screenplay by Stirling Siliphant and Wendell Mayes.
Both involve a set of tourists, stranded in a boat after a natural disaster. Each story has a charismatic leader, who has the talent and confidence to lead the others to safety. In the final scene of the film, the survivors reach the stern of the capsized ship and bang on the floor/ceiling. A return thumping lets the survivors know of their imminent rescue. A similar situation occurs in Moondust.
I think I need to get a copy of Gallico’s novel and make a closer comparison. Unfortunately, Paul Gallico died in 1978, but research might reveal another reader who noticed the difference, or – better yet – an acknowledgment by Gallico of his inspiration. After all, if Irving Block could write a short story loosely based on Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, why couldn’t Gallico been inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust?
My next book club read is also science fiction, so I am glad I am easing into that work by returning to those wild days of my youth when Arthur C. Clarke thrilled and inspired me to write my first story of horses, about which I knew almost nothing, and alien abductions, about which I knew even less. Thankfully, that manuscript is long lost. But Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust has hung in there as my favorite work of science fiction. 5 stars
-Jim, 9/21/13
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
A story about a rescue in difficult conditions; well researched, well played. Another good sci-fi by Arthur C Clarke.
LibraryThing member olyra
A very good, if somewhat drawn out story. it could have been a bit more concise.
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1963)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1961
Physical description
208 p.; 17.4 cm
ISBN
0330023128 / 9780330023122
Local notes
Omslag: Ikke angivet
Omslag: Dean Ellis, selv om det ikke står i bogen
Omslaget viser en stor raket ude i rummet. Længere væk ses et mere rumfærgeagtig rumfartøj.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Omslag: Dean Ellis, selv om det ikke står i bogen
Omslaget viser en stor raket ude i rummet. Længere væk ses et mere rumfærgeagtig rumfartøj.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Similar in this library
Pages
208
DDC/MDS
| 813 |