The Collected Stories Of Arthur C. Clarke (GOLLANCZ S.F.) [Paperback]

THE STORY:
Well, there's 104 actually. Ranging from Clarke's first ever published story, 1937's 'Travel By Wire!', right up to 'Improving The Neighbourhood', published in 1999.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Clarke's genius is clearly shown here as we read stories about various things that actually came true years later. For instance, in reading 'The Sentinel' (upon which '2001: A Space Odyssey' was based) his description of the moon's surface is so good that it's hard to believe it was written more that two decades before Armstrong actually got there. In this collection we also see Clarke's creation of what are now common, essential and taken for granted, commercial communications satellites. There's also a great many Harry Purvis stories, in which that colourful character tells stories of his own to argue a point, educate his friends or simply for entertainment. Fans of Clarke's works will also be interested in reading the short stories which went on to become some of the best loved full-length science fiction novels of all time; as I say above 'The Sentinel', 'The Songs Of Distant Earth' and 'The Hammer Of God' among a few others. There's also quite a few brief editorial notes by the man himself, giving anecdotes and the like, which adds a personal touch to the book.

WHAT'S BAD:
In an anthology of more than one hundred stories, there are bound to be some bad ones. On occasion the stories here are either boring or outdated, but I'd say they're still worth reading.

I've recently gotten into SciFi and picked this up along with a few other kindle books.
This contains over 100 stories and while I've only made it about 50% through I have been astounded by the foresight of a writer whose stories seem timeless. I haven't found any the felt particularly dated and some seem able to predict the future.

I am an avid reader and the best thing about this collection is that there are so many great stories collected together, it's kept me busy for weeks and I normally finish books in a day.

The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

"Travel by Wire!"
"How We Went to Mars"
"Retreat from Earth"
"Reverie"
"The Awakening"
"Whacky"
"Loophole"
"Rescue Party"
"Technical Error"
"Castaway"
"The Fires Within"
"Inheritance"
"Nightfall"
"History Lesson"
"Transience"
"The Wall of Darkness"
"The Lion of Comarre"
"The Forgotten Enemy"
"Hide-and-Seek"
"Breaking Strain"
"Nemesis"
"Guardian Angel"
"Time's Arrow"
"A Walk in the Dark"
"Silence Please"
"Trouble with the Natives"
"The Road to the Sea"
"The Sentinel"
"Holiday On the Moon"
"Earthlight"
"Second Dawn"
"Superiority"
"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth"
"All The Time in the World"
"The Nine Billion Names of God" referenced in "godfellas"- futurama

I'm this far in,

"The Possessed"
"The Parasite"
"Jupiter Five"
"Encounter in the Dawn"
"The Other Tiger"
"Publicity Campaign"
"Armaments Race"
"The Deep Range"
"No Morning After"
"Big Game Hunt"
"Patent Pending"
"Refugee"
"The Star"
"What Goes Up"
"Venture to the Moon" (six individual connected stories)
"The Starting Line"
"Robin Hood, F.R.S."
"Green Fingers"
"All that Glitters"
"Watch this Space"
"A Question of Residence"
"The Pacifist"
"The Reluctant Orchid"
"Moving Spirit"
"The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch"
"The Ultimate Melody"
"The Next Tenants"
"Cold War"
"Sleeping Beauty"
"Security Check"
"The Man Who Ploughed the Sea"
"Critical Mass"
"The Other Side of the Sky" (six individual connected stories)
"Special Delivery"
"Feathered Friends"
"Take a Deep Breath"
"Freedom of Space"
"Passer-by"
"The Call of the Stars"
"Let There Be Light"
"Out of the Sun"
"Cosmic Casanova"
"The Songs of Distant Earth"
"A Slight Case of Sunstroke"
"Who's There?"
"Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting..."
"I Remember Babylon"
"Trouble with Time"
"Into the Comet"
"Summertime on Icarus"
"Saturn Rising"
"Death and the Senator"
"Before Eden"
"Hate"
"Love That Universe"
"Dog Star"
"Maelstrom II"
"An Ape About the House"
"The Shining Ones"
"The Secret"
"Dial F for Frankenstein"
"The Wind from the Sun"
"The Food of the Gods"
"The Last Command"
"Light of Darkness"
"The Longest Science-fiction Story Ever Told"
"Playback"
"The Cruel Sky"
"Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq."
"Crusade"
"Neutron Tide"
"Reunion"
"Transit of Earth"
"A Meeting with Medusa"
"Quarantine"
"'siseneG': 'Genesis' spelled backwards"
"The Steam-powered Word Processor"
"On Golden Seas"
"The Hammer of God"
"The Wire Continuum" (with Stephen Baxter)
"Improving the Neighbourhood"

This is one fantastic book. It contains every short story ever published by legendary science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke, including some that has not been published since the '30s. Arthur C. Clarke has written a brief foreword to almost all of the stories which are presented in order of publication. From 'Travel by wire' (1937) through 'Improving the neighbourhood' (1999) this is a real treasure. In this collection ACC's visions of the future comes to life like never before. Although some of the stories are a bit dated they are no less fun. And don't worry. All your favorite ACC short stories are here. 'The Sentinel' (the inspiration for 2001), 'Second Dawn', and the short stories that would later become the novels 'Childhood's End', 'Earthlight', 'The Songs of Distant Earth' and 'The Hammer of God' are included. At 970 pages this collection will keep you up many a night. Recommended without reservation.