The Sentinel: Short Stories by Arthur C. Clarke
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Amazon.co.uk Review
This version of The Sentinel is subtitled the 2001 Anniversary Edition, and to be pedantic one might ask, what anniversary? Rather more accurately, this is an edition for the intersection of the calendar with SF history, the most memorable date in fiction since 1984. "The Sentinel" is a short story, written in 1948 and only 11 pages long, renowned for providing a starting point for the greatest science fiction film ever made, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey:
So they left a sentinel, one of millions they have scattered throughout the Universe, watching over all the worlds with a promise of life.There are eight other stories, each introduced by the author, who also contributes a substantial forward. The tales, illustrated with 11 excellent full-page black and white drawings by Lebbus Woods, span the length of Clarke's career as a professional short story writer, from 1945's "Rescue Party" to 1971's Nebula Award-winning "A Meeting With Medusa". This story forms a bridge of sorts between 2001 and 2010: Odyssey Two, which was as Clarke writes, "in some ways ... also a sequel to this story". As a wonder-filled tale of a meeting with the truly alien in the clouds of Jupiter it is unsurpassed. The book concludes with the original outline for a possible second SF film with Stanley Kubrick. The film wasn't made, but the outline became one of Clarke's most beautiful novels, The Songs of Distant Earth. This is essential reading, though dedicated fans will probably opt for the complete Collected Stories. --Gary S. Dalkin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘Clarke is one of the greatest imaginative writers of hard science fiction’
New Scientist
‘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
‘3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative’
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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's been a long while since I have read Arthur C. Clarke's work and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy his style of writing is to get back into. I think The Sentinel offers a great deal in its short pieces for a wide variety of readers who like the genre. Clarke writes with humour, imagination and intelligence and has a flair for technical detail that adds to the tale (without requiring the reader to be a scientist to follow it) whilst often making you sit and think 'this could happen' in even the most fantastic pieces. The fact that many of these stories are aged only seems to add to Clarke's ability to do this when comparison is made to events and technology since they were penned. The story introductions are a bonus and allow any interested reader an insight into how they came about as well as offering a brief snippet of the man behind them. In my humble opinion this modest book offers a good opportunity for anyone coming back to this genre / writer (like myself) or those new readers of Clarke, to settle in for a journey of imagination. The stories themselves are excellent and some of the ideas therein are evidently used as a base for other, much more widely known work making it as good a place to begin your travels as any.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is a selection of short stories with fascinating introduction by Clarke before each story and at the start. That makes it a collector's item; a real gem. Here you stand right next to the spring that widened to the fountain of hope in Childhood's End (Guardian Angel), the mystery and quest in 2001, a Space Odyssey (The Sentinel) and the leap of faith in the Songs of Distant earth; written in 1957, a full six months before Sputnik I.
Then there is Breaking Starain', a 1948 classic about two astronauts in a spaceship hit by a meteorite that leaves just enough air for ONLY ONE to reach safety. 'Rescue Party'(March 1945), Clarke's first story sold for publication about aliens attempting to rescue earthmen after the Sun turns Supernova and 'a meeting with Medusa', Clarke's last short story written in 1971 about the first manned(?) exploration of Jupiter.
Read it. Treasure it. You will enjoy it mpre with every re-reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book contains nine short science fiction stories written by Arthur C. Clarke in the early part of his career. They are a good sample of the themes of his larger body of writing. Two stories here were later expanded into full-length novels. "The Sentinel" became 2001: A Space Odyssey and "Guardian Angel" became Childhood's End. My three favorites are described below.
"Guardian Angel" follows the careful communications between Earth's representative and the leader of an alien delegation that has come to help us. As always, the devil's in details.
"Breaking Strain" is an interesting contrast to Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" published in 1954. It was written in 1948. Two spacefarers traveling to Venus survive a meteor strike to find their reserve oxygen gone--leaving not enough for both of them to reach their destination.
"The Sentinel" tells of an unexplained alien artifact uncovered on the Moon. As all Earth wonders who made this object, it creates quite an outcry.
The stories in this book are recommended as well-written and entertaining. I agree with another reviewer's recommendation to read them in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke along with more stories by this science fiction Master.
"Guardian Angel" follows the careful communications between Earth's representative and the leader of an alien delegation that has come to help us. As always, the devil's in details.
"Breaking Strain" is an interesting contrast to Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" published in 1954. It was written in 1948. Two spacefarers traveling to Venus survive a meteor strike to find their reserve oxygen gone--leaving not enough for both of them to reach their destination.
"The Sentinel" tells of an unexplained alien artifact uncovered on the Moon. As all Earth wonders who made this object, it creates quite an outcry.
The stories in this book are recommended as well-written and entertaining. I agree with another reviewer's recommendation to read them in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke along with more stories by this science fiction Master.
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