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Review
‘Arthur Clarke is one of the true geniuses of our time’
Ray Bradbury
‘Arthur C. Clarke is the prophet of the space age’
The Times
‘A one-man literary Big Bang, Clarke has originated his own vast and teeming futurist universe’
Sunday Times
‘The most consistently able writer science fiction has yet produced’ Kingsley Amis on Frederik Pohl
‘In his grasp of scientific and technological possibilities, Pohl ranks with Asimov and Clarke, but he has greater originality than either’ Sunday Times
‘I want to be remembered most as a writer - one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well’ Arthur C Clarke
‘Clarke is one of the greatest imaginative writers of hard science fiction’
New Scientist
‘Arthur C. Clarke is blessed with one of the most astounding imaginations ever encountered in print’
New York Times
‘One of the truly prophetic figures of the space age… the colossus of science fiction’
New Yorker
‘The universe is full of wonder… and we reach out for such wonder… But none, surely, have succeeded so well as Arthur C Clarke’
Stephen Baxter
‘Clarke was a pioneer in so many areas, but one of his most interesting achievements was making scientific humility a unique core of “scientific” mysticism.’
Greg Bear
‘Clarke was one of the all time greats, and his books will be remembered for as long as people still read science fiction.’ George R R Martin
‘His impact, you might say, was indistinguishable from magic.’
Scientific American
‘No one has done more than Clarke in the way of enlightened prediction.’
Isaac Asimov
Sunday Times
`A one-man literary Big Bang, Clarke has originated his own vast and teeming futurist universe'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am a long time SF reader. I picked this gem up for a mere £1 (for the hardback version) I think i paid too much for it to be honest. The bits which are obviously Clarke (about 33% of the novel) are the dullest parts. Pohl's contribution raises the bar a little. The only really interesting parts of the novel are the brief descriptions of math tricks and problems (of which there are too few to sustain the readers interest through the turgid conservative middle class dialogue and what passes for a plot.
The plot consists of old ideas patched together which were done far better in their original forms years previously. Pohl occasionally adds a bit of gritty realism (ie torture sequences) but these when contrasted against the grand absurd theme of the grand galactics just show the novel to be even more unbelievable and ridiculous.
The super intelligent aliens (the grand galactics)come across as ill thought out and would have been better portrayed as in a comic parody ala HGTTG.
The book is a disjointed affair, the last theorem has nothing at all to do with the main plot at all. The main plot is also not worth the ink or paper used to print it on.
Overall a sad ending to Clarke's brillant career and Pohl does little better. But he has't written anything decent for 20 years either.
Heaven forbid that any new readers to Clarke & Pohl get their hands on this travesty. Please new readers to these authors please check out Clarke's "2001:A Space Odyssey" "The City & The Stars" "Rendezvous with Rama" and Pohl's "Starchild Trilogy" "Man Plus" & "Gateway" to name just a few classics. They are way above the level of this monster.
I read all of this novel and by the time i got to the end i wished i had not wasted my time and had read something more worthy. The whole thing comes over as a contractual obligation exercise. Avoid at all costs.
The plot consists of old ideas patched together which were done far better in their original forms years previously. Pohl occasionally adds a bit of gritty realism (ie torture sequences) but these when contrasted against the grand absurd theme of the grand galactics just show the novel to be even more unbelievable and ridiculous.
The super intelligent aliens (the grand galactics)come across as ill thought out and would have been better portrayed as in a comic parody ala HGTTG.
The book is a disjointed affair, the last theorem has nothing at all to do with the main plot at all. The main plot is also not worth the ink or paper used to print it on.
Overall a sad ending to Clarke's brillant career and Pohl does little better. But he has't written anything decent for 20 years either.
Heaven forbid that any new readers to Clarke & Pohl get their hands on this travesty. Please new readers to these authors please check out Clarke's "2001:A Space Odyssey" "The City & The Stars" "Rendezvous with Rama" and Pohl's "Starchild Trilogy" "Man Plus" & "Gateway" to name just a few classics. They are way above the level of this monster.
I read all of this novel and by the time i got to the end i wished i had not wasted my time and had read something more worthy. The whole thing comes over as a contractual obligation exercise. Avoid at all costs.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I saw this, I thought it sounded promising with its talk of Alien invasion and the World being on the brink of nuclear war.
Instead of the exciting thriller that was expected, it delivered an insipid, at times downright boring tale during which I spent the entire time waiting for some decent plot development instead of lots of pointless little side stories that amounted to nothing.
One of the most frustrating things about this book, was the so called "Alien threat" Rather than the menacing invasion promised on the back cover, it was presented as an almost comedic event and dismissed in a really abrupt and unconvincing manner.
It would also have been nice if the main character solving Fermat's Last Theorem was somehow relevant to the rest of the story, but it just seemed like a red herring.
As a big science fiction fan, over the years I have read and enjoyed many of Clarke's classic stories. Sadly this was a real disappointment.
I'm just glad this isn't the book he will be remembered for.
Instead of the exciting thriller that was expected, it delivered an insipid, at times downright boring tale during which I spent the entire time waiting for some decent plot development instead of lots of pointless little side stories that amounted to nothing.
One of the most frustrating things about this book, was the so called "Alien threat" Rather than the menacing invasion promised on the back cover, it was presented as an almost comedic event and dismissed in a really abrupt and unconvincing manner.
It would also have been nice if the main character solving Fermat's Last Theorem was somehow relevant to the rest of the story, but it just seemed like a red herring.
As a big science fiction fan, over the years I have read and enjoyed many of Clarke's classic stories. Sadly this was a real disappointment.
I'm just glad this isn't the book he will be remembered for.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There is some sadness here, while the last of the three great science fiction writers from the so-called "Golden Age" has passed away. Of the Big Three (the other being Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov) Arthur C. Clarke was the more gentle writer, as such famous stories as "The Nine Billion Names of God" or "The Star" can attest to. His grand galactic and spiritual vision (obviously from the "school" of Olaf Stapledon's transhumanism) found its way in such novels as "The City and the Stars", "Childhood's End" and "2001: A Space Odyssey"; they belong to the best of science fiction of that period.
Clarke has cooperated with other writers, notably Stephen Baxter, and for this last novel, with Frederik Pohl, another well-known and respected science fiction writer.
The story of finding a contemporary solution of Fermat's Theorem (that is: with mathematics within the time-span of that mathematician), coupled with aliens knocking at our door, is written with obvious love of Sri Lanka and its people in the forefront. But, just as Asimov and Heinlein before him, he tried to twine the various strands of earlier novels and worlds, such as "Fountains of Paradise", "The City", "Childhood's End" and "2001" into this book. And, predictable, he (and/or Fred Pohl) failed to convince. The Great Galacticans, a glittering utopia hanging before our eyes, and world problems solved with the stroke of a paragraph, it is all a bit too much contrived. It is a 'feel good' book, with much empathy but not with much depth, and a rather plodding plot.
And that is sad. Was Shakespeare really the only one who got better with age? At any rate, Clarke has started his own odyssey into the unknown, and there is much written by him to be fondly remembered. But not this last theorem.
Clarke has cooperated with other writers, notably Stephen Baxter, and for this last novel, with Frederik Pohl, another well-known and respected science fiction writer.
The story of finding a contemporary solution of Fermat's Theorem (that is: with mathematics within the time-span of that mathematician), coupled with aliens knocking at our door, is written with obvious love of Sri Lanka and its people in the forefront. But, just as Asimov and Heinlein before him, he tried to twine the various strands of earlier novels and worlds, such as "Fountains of Paradise", "The City", "Childhood's End" and "2001" into this book. And, predictable, he (and/or Fred Pohl) failed to convince. The Great Galacticans, a glittering utopia hanging before our eyes, and world problems solved with the stroke of a paragraph, it is all a bit too much contrived. It is a 'feel good' book, with much empathy but not with much depth, and a rather plodding plot.
And that is sad. Was Shakespeare really the only one who got better with age? At any rate, Clarke has started his own odyssey into the unknown, and there is much written by him to be fondly remembered. But not this last theorem.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Terrible book
Being something of a fan of Clarke's earlier books but not having read any of his later ones, I picked this up while on holiday from a service station, and I wish I'd left it... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Varnor
Near future invasion
The Last Theorem stands at the opposite end of the 'Earth under attack' spectrum to Independence Day. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. G. Battle
Dull from start to finish, read anything else
Picked this up in the airport and as others have already noted, the blurb on the back cover does a great job of making a mountain out of a molehill. Read more
Published on 29 April 2010 by Shannon
more like "The last thorurm errm, what shall we write now'
I agree with 90% of people here, how could the old Grandmaster of Sci fiction turn out this mess. He wrote the Rama series!! a classic of its time. Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by M. Williams
A huge let down ...
Having read and loved the "Rama" books, I was immediately drawn to this, evidently one of the great Mr Clarke's final novels. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2009 by V Patel
Clarke Pohl-axed
Sadly, Clarke's last book was the only one I have thrown into the recycling and not kept to be read again and again as with his own earlier books. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2009 by A. J. Parsley
Absolute Guff!
Like a number of people reviewing this book I was very disapointed. I enjoyed the relationship with Clarke and Baxter and looked forward to this one although to be honest I thought... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2009 by S. A. Lindsay
Clarke's Worlds, Revisited
I wish I could say that this last book by one of the greats of the field is a masterpiece, but unfortunately it's not. Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by Patrick Shepherd
Great ideas, but not very well told
If you're a Clarke fan (as I have been since childhood) then 'The Last Theorem' is required reading, if only because it is his last novel. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2009 by Adrian Horsman
What a sad comedown
I had tried and waited a long time to get this book, full of anticipation of a thourghly good read from two great story tellers. How sadly and massivly disapointing. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2009 by D. Oulton
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