Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Ballantine Books (1975), Mass Market Paperback
Description
A compendium of science fiction stories that combine elements of comedy and horror, including Silence Please, Critical Mass, and What Goes Up.
User reviews
LibraryThing member dlenmn
The stories in this book are among my favorite Clarke short stories, and he is my favorite hard SF short story writer. I think the very idea of SF tall tales is brilliant and Clarke executes it perfectly — it's a great mix of humor, science fact, science fiction, and some thought provoking ideas.
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Many of the stories were on the edge of believability back in the 50's, and, for better or worse, many of them remain there now (although some have been created — thankfully active noise cancellation systems don't work the way he predicted...) Show Less
LibraryThing member aulsmith
The Tales are the first science fiction I ever read, mainly because the day after seeing my first Star Trek episode I ransacked my parents home for any science fiction they had and a battered copy of The Tales was it. I devoured it. Most of the stories I barely understood, but some of the themes
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and questions they brought up have haunted me to this day. Highly recommended. - Billie Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I found this a charmer--it grew on me--a sum more than its parts. This isn't the usual collection of stand-alone stories. In his Preface Clarke wrote that the tales came out of, "a long unfelt want--for what might be called the "tall" science-fiction story. By this I mean stories that are
Oh, but that's what makes this set of stories fun. These "tall tales" are told at the White Hart--a London pub in sight of the Thames river near Fleet Street. There can be found writers, scientists, and hybrids who are both--including Arthur C. Clarke, who is apparently addressed in one of the stories--he seems to be the first person narrator. He's not the storyteller though--that (almost always) is "Mr. Harry Purvis, B.Sc. (at least), Ph.D. (probably) F.R.S. (personally I don't think so, though it has been rumored.)"
Another thing that's rather fun about these stories written from 1953 to 1956 are the allusions to the times--the cold war, McCarthyism, the beginnings of the sexual revolution. Even though not graphic, I was startled at how risque was "Patent Pending." I'm positive I first read this book as a child under ten years old. I can't remember my reaction, and wondered just how much went over my head. Also fun was, well, how these books gave Clarke some scope to show his diverse interests and knowledge. The "Edward England" mentioned in "Silence Please" has to be Benjamin Britten. Orwell's 1984 gets a mention only a few years after it was first published. There's some sharp (but mostly gentle) satire, some black humor--nothing laugh-out-loud funny, but consistently amusing. And even though these tales were written separately, I think they benefit from being read together. I don't think any one tale should rank among Clarke's best short stories. I'm really fond of "Moving Spirit" and "The Reluctant Orchid" but I wouldn't list it up there with "Rescue Party" "The Star" or "The Nine Billion Names of God." But these are fun.
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intentionally unbelievable; not, as is too often the case, unintentionally so. At the same time, I should hate to say exactly where the Great Divide of plausibility comes in these tales, which range from the perfectly plausible to the totally improbable."Oh, but that's what makes this set of stories fun. These "tall tales" are told at the White Hart--a London pub in sight of the Thames river near Fleet Street. There can be found writers, scientists, and hybrids who are both--including Arthur C. Clarke, who is apparently addressed in one of the stories--he seems to be the first person narrator. He's not the storyteller though--that (almost always) is "Mr. Harry Purvis, B.Sc. (at least), Ph.D. (probably) F.R.S. (personally I don't think so, though it has been rumored.)"
Another thing that's rather fun about these stories written from 1953 to 1956 are the allusions to the times--the cold war, McCarthyism, the beginnings of the sexual revolution. Even though not graphic, I was startled at how risque was "Patent Pending." I'm positive I first read this book as a child under ten years old. I can't remember my reaction, and wondered just how much went over my head. Also fun was, well, how these books gave Clarke some scope to show his diverse interests and knowledge. The "Edward England" mentioned in "Silence Please" has to be Benjamin Britten. Orwell's 1984 gets a mention only a few years after it was first published. There's some sharp (but mostly gentle) satire, some black humor--nothing laugh-out-loud funny, but consistently amusing. And even though these tales were written separately, I think they benefit from being read together. I don't think any one tale should rank among Clarke's best short stories. I'm really fond of "Moving Spirit" and "The Reluctant Orchid" but I wouldn't list it up there with "Rescue Party" "The Star" or "The Nine Billion Names of God." But these are fun.
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LibraryThing member Stevil2001
Essentially, this is a collection of sf "tall tales". Clarke, in his introduction, says it was his intention to prove "that science fiction and humor are [not] incompatible" (viii). Well, a good start would have been finding someone who was actually funny to write the book. Oh, snap! Seriously,
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though there are not many in the way of belly laughs in this book, it is generally amusing, with a number of scientific ideas taken to their absurd extreme. "The Ultimate Melody" (about an attempt to scientifically isolate the quality of songs that gets them stuck in your head) was probably my favorite, but "The Defenestration of Erminitrude Inch", "The Reluctant Orchid", and "Patent Pending" were also good. It's somewhat interesting to note the number of stories that hinged on electrical manipulation of the brain of some sort. Show Less
LibraryThing member smilekb17
These were entertaining short stories. While obviously dated, it is neat to see how Arthur Clarke could predict some of the technology we came up with in the future. I found the last story refreshingly funny and different of of line with the rest.
LibraryThing member kevinashley
Entertaining easy read as is typical from his short stories. To be dipped into rather than read at a sitting as otherwise the similarities begin to annoy.
But each of them is a charming gem, lightweight though they may be. If you are looking for a gentle introduction to science fiction and enjoy
But each of them is a charming gem, lightweight though they may be. If you are looking for a gentle introduction to science fiction and enjoy
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the short story form, this would be a good start. Show Less
LibraryThing member TadAD
This is probably my favorite Clarke book.
LibraryThing member dodau
A fun collection of short stories based on tales told in a pub.
LibraryThing member PMaranci
Absolutely outstanding. I hadn't re-read this book for at least twenty years. Somehow it had gotten pigeonholed in my memory as a bit boring and dull.
But it's anything but dull or boring! Classic and funny science fiction stories using the classic bar-story format. Over and over I found myself
It's a pity that Clarke wrote so few of these stories. They're wonderful.
But it's anything but dull or boring! Classic and funny science fiction stories using the classic bar-story format. Over and over I found myself
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coming across phrases and ideas which I'd incorporated into my personal lexicon, only to forget where they'd come from. "Oh, so this is where I first read that!" I kept saying.It's a pity that Clarke wrote so few of these stories. They're wonderful.
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LibraryThing member ptdilloway
Despite that most every story features a scientist dying or being incapacitated, there's still a lighthearted feel about this book of short stories. It's probably that these are being related in a bar by outside observers.
LibraryThing member BruceCoulson
For some reason, I never cared for these stories quite as much as the de Camp/Pratt 'Tales from Gavagan's Bar'. These are fine, amusing little tales that somehow never quite grabbed me.
LibraryThing member okjlsaz
The short stories in this collection by the famous science fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke, revolve around a bar called The White Hart. The narrator for the stories is retelling some hard-to-believe tales told by a frequent customer by the name of Harry Purvis. No matter how much the other
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customers might question Purvis's stories, Purvis always wins out in the end with customers plying him with free drinks so that he can continue his tales. I found it a little tedious after awhile because the stories didn't seem to be going anywhere and they were quite far fetched. I even left it for awhile to read another book that was more entertaining and easy to read. Still, I'm glad that I added another Clarke creation to compare with his other writings. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgiunta
Harry Purvis is a master storyteller who regales his fellow patrons every Wednesday evening at the White Hart pub with fantastical yarns of eccentric characters and outrageous scientific catastrophes.
While Tales from the White Hart is considered one of Clarke's most popular anthologies, I found a
"Patent Pending" - After a professor invents a device that records brain waves corresponding to human sensations, his assistant envisions a far more profitable, and sensual, use for the device...
"Armaments Race" - While working on a low-budget SF series for Hollywood, a special effects expert is tasked producing ever more impressive ray guns... until he creates one that actually works—with devastating results.
"The Pacifist" - The military presses a mathematician to construct a computer capable of flawless combat strategy. When the project begins falling behind schedule, the scientist is bullied by a clueless general. In response, a hidden circuit is built into the computer—one that turns out to be hilariously insubordinate.
"The Man Who Ploughed the Sea" - Harry Purvis travels to Florida with a lawyer friend to explore the coastal waters in a small submarine. During their expedition, they encounter a large yacht owned by an elderly chemist who invented a method for collecting elements and precious metals directly from saltwater.
"Moving Spirit" - When an eccentric, reclusive scientist's still explodes, he finds himself arrested for manufacturing illegal alcohol and requests help from his nephew, Harry Purvis, attorney-at-law. With the odds stacked against them, Harry literally concocts an incendiary defense for his uncle.
"The Reluctant Orchid" - A meek, timid clerk with an affinity for orchids is routinely intimidated by his imperious Aunt Henrietta. After planting a rare, carnivorous species of orchid in his greenhouse, he soon devises a plot to get rid of her...
"What Goes Up" - In the deserts of Australia, a team of scientists are confounded while testing a new design of nuclear reactor. Rather than an explosion, the reactor forms an anti-gravity bubble several hundred feet in diameter. Entering the bubble, however, could prove as dangerous as falling off a mountain...
While Tales from the White Hart is considered one of Clarke's most popular anthologies, I found a
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handful of the stories—such as "Big Game Hunt", "Critical Mass", "Cold War", and a few others—to be either prosaic, mundane, or anticlimactic. However, there were a number of humorous and rousing romps, including:"Patent Pending" - After a professor invents a device that records brain waves corresponding to human sensations, his assistant envisions a far more profitable, and sensual, use for the device...
"Armaments Race" - While working on a low-budget SF series for Hollywood, a special effects expert is tasked producing ever more impressive ray guns... until he creates one that actually works—with devastating results.
"The Pacifist" - The military presses a mathematician to construct a computer capable of flawless combat strategy. When the project begins falling behind schedule, the scientist is bullied by a clueless general. In response, a hidden circuit is built into the computer—one that turns out to be hilariously insubordinate.
"The Man Who Ploughed the Sea" - Harry Purvis travels to Florida with a lawyer friend to explore the coastal waters in a small submarine. During their expedition, they encounter a large yacht owned by an elderly chemist who invented a method for collecting elements and precious metals directly from saltwater.
"Moving Spirit" - When an eccentric, reclusive scientist's still explodes, he finds himself arrested for manufacturing illegal alcohol and requests help from his nephew, Harry Purvis, attorney-at-law. With the odds stacked against them, Harry literally concocts an incendiary defense for his uncle.
"The Reluctant Orchid" - A meek, timid clerk with an affinity for orchids is routinely intimidated by his imperious Aunt Henrietta. After planting a rare, carnivorous species of orchid in his greenhouse, he soon devises a plot to get rid of her...
"What Goes Up" - In the deserts of Australia, a team of scientists are confounded while testing a new design of nuclear reactor. Rather than an explosion, the reactor forms an anti-gravity bubble several hundred feet in diameter. Entering the bubble, however, could prove as dangerous as falling off a mountain...
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LibraryThing member kevn57
I love this book of funny SF stories by a real master of SF. my favorite stories in this book are The Pacifist, Silence Please and The Defenestration of Ermintrude. I read this book many times over the years by it never fails to entertain me.
Language
Original publication date
1957 (Collection)
1957 Short Story (he Next Tenants)
1957 Short Story (Sleeping Beauty)
1956 Short Story (What Goes Up)
1957 Short Story (Cold War)
1956 Short Story (The Reluctant Orchid)
1956 Short Story (The Man Who Ploughed the Sea)
1957 Short Story (Moving Spirit)
1956 Short Story (The Pacifist)
1957 Essay, Preface (Tales from the White Hart)
1957 Short Story (The Ultimate Melody)
1949 Short Story (Critical Mass)
1954 Short Story (Armaments Race)
1954 Short Story (Patent Pending)
1956 Short Story (Big Game Hunt)
1950 Short Story (Silence, Please!)
1957 Short Story (The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch)
Physical description
151 p.; 6.9 inches
ISBN
0345241657 / 9780345241658
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Clarke |