The Songs of Distant Earth

I can state, after TSODE, that ACC is an excellent writer- well beyond the genre he's best known for. That said, it's easy to see why even hardcore sci fi fans might not be drawn to him in the way they are to the more pulpy Frank Herbert- descendent of the Jules Verne, HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs vein, the more accessible Philip K. Dick, or the more stoic Isaac Asimov. In all of his books ACC is more of a visionary than a storyteller. His characters are merely ins to the greater tale that he sets out to tale- usually of some global, or cosmic, significance- the mysterious aliens of the 2001 series, or the development of technology that renders privacy nil in TLOOD. Who they are & what they represent are not as important as what they do. ACC is also not a great craftsman of gorgeous sentences. 1 does not read him for the joy of wordplay, memorable images, or striking metaphors. Yet, there is a poetry of ideas that most off-the-rack sci fi lacks. Granted, I'm not a voracious reader of the genre, so am guided by the recommendations of others. I am awaiting Robert Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land (the uncut version), at the push of my pal Art Durkee, & hope it's alot better than Frank Herbert's Dune- a book I regret reading after another pal, Joe Homrich, persuaded me it was a book that would change my life. It didn't....While this is all interesting, & the stuff novels should rightly deal with there is no great event in the future to counterbalance the destruction of the Earth & solar system, & the novel suffers from a kind of anticlimax in its last ½, especially after a 1st ½ detailing earth's demise & humanity's survival. As for some specific good & bad points- on the good ledger is the fact that ACC always seems to strive for harder sci fi, rather than mere fantasy- he pointedly distances himself from the Star Trek/Star Wars sort of sci fi in the Introduction, even as he indulges in Star Trek utopian fantasies- such as the elimination of religion & violence. This `rationalism' is purportedly achieved through collective human determination for specific survival. I could more easily believe genetic engineering succeeding in this, given only centuries till Doomsday. Given the atmosphere of the mid-1980s, when TSODE was adapted from a 1950s short story to full novel length, perhaps this was merely the notoriously Left Wing ACC's reaction against the Reagan/Thatcher imperialism of the day.

Similar views re: the free love ideas of the Thalassans seem too contrived & convenient. Especially silly is the idea that bisexuality is the norm for the human condition, & Thalassans have embraced this. Like religion this may have been just his reaction, at the time, to the Moral Majority mindset of the day, as this early PC Era viewpoint has fallen to dust. Fortunately the sexual escapades do not lead to any distracting love story of any consequence.
Regardless, while his interstellar science may be more scientific than others (although it's technologically feasible to circumvent or surpass the speed of light- something not seen during the 1980s) his ideas on human nature are outright utopian fantasy. Not that a little positivism isn't in order, now & then, it's just that humanity's best tends to come out at the worst of times. In The Songs Of Distant Earth the worst is already behind us as the tale opens, & its that worst which disallows the best of ACC to shine through in this novel. Still, overall, on a 1-100 scale I'd give it a solid 85. It's a good read that just needed a little more tweaking in its reconcile of science, ideas, & art, as well as its narrative structure. If ever made into a movie let's hope James Cameron, not Steven Spielberg, makes it, because Cameron's darker worldview would balance this book's radiance into a damned good tale, while Spielberg would drown it in schmaltz- & that music is best left to a dying sun.

Mankind has left the planet earth, about to be engulfed by the explosion of the sun, in spaceships that fanned out around the galaxy, the passengers sleeping for hundreds of years until reaching habitable planets. A new ship with its cargo of a million Sleeping Beautys has reached the planet Thalassa, an island surrounded by ocean. This civilization enjoys all the virtues and the gentler vices of the South Sea islands, with neither God (belief in whom had done mankind "more evil than good") nor sexual jealousy. (Clarke goes to pains to emphasize his book is science fiction, rather than fantasy, but when it comes to human nature he allows himself a dose of utopian fantasy.)
There is not much of a plot here in the ordinary sense of the word. But the pictures Clarke evokes of the death of our planet, colonization of others in a slow-motion diaspora, of islands in a sea of potentially hostile blue, made the book well worth the read for me. Clarke's planet is less exotic and more ominous than C.S.Lewis' water-world of Perelandra; his literary and psychological imagination less acute, but more scientifically disciplined.
As a student of comparative religion, I was interested in how faith fared in Clarke's 27th Century. Clarke allows vestiges of a vague deism among a specialist or two, but the idea of a God who answers prayer has long since been ruled out by "statistical theology," which shows that good things happen to good (and bad) people just as often as you would expect by the laws of chance. This seems a bit feeble to me; I personally have had experiences that would take a tremendous number of unanswered prayers to flatten on the statistic curve. Another interesting touch is that one of the refugees has brought with him a tooth of the Buddha, because he "founded the only religion that never became stained with blood." This was a nice touch, artistically. But I get the impression Clarke, between writing novels and doing science, had little time left to learn much about the real religious history of East or West, as opposed to rubber-stamping popular skeptical prejudices. Oh well....

I've read a lot of sci-fi books, and this one is at the top of my list. It's the best book of any kind I've ever read.
But don't expect shoot-em-up action, cyber sex, demonic aliens, or hollywood endings. This is not an action novel, and it's not a Rama book. This is a novel more than a sci-fi novel. It is a literary work that keeps you thinking days after you put it down.
Clarke's writing is beautiful, poetic and imaginative. His story is unconventional in science fiction terms but excessively conventional in human terms. Clarke solves a conflict by not resolving the conflict at all. He leaves a subplot hanging because it's the only appropriate thing to do. He says more about religion in one paragraph than every religious leader combined has said in the last two thousand years. The end leaves you unfulfilled but fully satisfied.
This book is awesome not because of what Clarke writes but because of how he writes it. It's Clarke's best work by far, and I loved the Rama series. Buy this one in hard back.

Plausibility and readability come as standard with Arthur C Clarke's novels. And these are two features that are far from guaranteed in the sci-fi arean.
In fact, Clarke writes SO convincingly, that you can easily believe you are reading a factual account rather that a hugely imaginative work of fiction.
With this novel there is an additional dimension.
Emotion.
Sure, it is there in his other novels, in the same way the emotion is with our every living moment. But this book is genuinely moving as it tells the tale of two cultures meeting and overlapping. It tells of love and loss, of heartache and tragedy, but without ever ceasing to be a ripping good yarn.
The pages skip by - it can be read in a few hours - but its memory will linger. And for me it is one of those few books that I will recommend to others without any reservations.
It is impossible to pick a single one of Clarke's novels as his best, but the Songs of Distant Earth are guaranteed a place in any shortlist.

Fascinating what if story of Earth colonists and what would happen when humans run into the inhabitants of a long established colony Clarke has given us a great story here. What does happen when humanity starts over in another location? If we meet again after the inexorable march of evolution will we still recognize one another as kindred?

This is one of Clarke's quieter stories. It's a chamber piece rather than a symphony. And because he aims for intimacy and muted volume over grandeur, it doesn't have the sweep of his best work.
It tells the story of a society of humans, transplanted from a dying earth, who are visited by a starship of later generation humans also fleeing destruction. In terms of plot, that's really about it. The rest of the story is a relaxed reflection on the consequences of such a meeting. In almost every way, it rehashes themes that Clarke has explored before. The utopian existence of a self satisfied, slightly stagnant society shaken by the arrival of strangers was explored in various stories, but especially The City and the Stars. The evolution of life in a watery environment was covered in 2010. Unattached sex and atheism are to be found in practically all of his works. And a ship full of hibernating passengers on a long and distant journey was used first on 2001 and then on Rama.
The trouble with this book is that it suffers in comparison with those other works. If it had come earlier in his career, it could at least have claimed the distinction of originality. But themes so much better presented elsewhere gives this book the feel of a used hand-me-down. It is interesting, in a quaint sort of way, but does not arrest us with the sheer power of revelation that we have come to expect from Clarke's best.
This is a work I would only recommend to his most die-hard fans. But even such fans will find the pace slow and the story uninspiring. I sense what he has tried to do here, which is to depart from his usual exploration of vast themes and come closer to the human dimension. But he has always been weak with his character development and he doesn't play the introspection card at all well. Clarke is out of his element here. Intentions are not enough, and marks earned for trying are lost again to mediocrity.

"Songs of the Distant Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke is vintage Clarke. Science fiction at it's best. Even though there were veiled references to "Mutiny on the Bounty", Captain Bey rather than Captain Bligh, there was no major mutiny setting the captain adrift in outer space. Good read.

Arthur C. Clarke has consistantly provided science fiction stories that are stories to make us think. The action is pulled along not so much by big events but the development of characters and relationships that we come to care about. This is no exception to this. But in it, Clarke weaves his story with large pieces of his own views on religion. In his story, we are transported to Thalassa, a new world - a carefully balanced Eden for some of the remains of mankind after the destruction of the Earth. Yet to balance this vision of Eden, he has removed all concepts of God, removed from the collected knowledge of Earth when we sent outselves out to the stars. Religion is unknown in Eden, and so much of the cultural foundations that we take for granted are now unknown, being so intertwined with religious thoughts. Instead, religion has been debunked, and man has become God, given the choice of who will survive, and who will perish in the end of the Earth. As well as sending out DNA to the stars, to "create" new humans on distant planets. Science seems to be God to Clarke, and in this he makes great strains to show how irrelevant it is and twists his story along to match it. Just as he showed in 3001, religion is illogical and the root of our suffering. Here the new planet thrives, is happy and successful (if not mentally stagnant) without religion. While I support his right to have his view, it sometimes feels as if he's building his stories to support it.
Otherwise, however, the book is extremely enjoyable - both a disheartening and hopeful look at the future, the end of one world, and the beginning of new ones for the human race. The central question of whethere the visitors on the Magellen spacecraft should or could stay or not is presented with balance, with reasons for both individuals and society as a whole should or should not just stay. What is a hallmark of Clarke is kept going here - the story is believable. That is Clarke's gift - to let us realistically see beyond our own time and place.

"The Songs of Distant Earth" is an engaging story centered around one of Arthur C. Clarke's deceptively simply plot hooks: Prior to the destruction of the Earth in a nova 1,500 years from now, "seedships" were sent to the stars so humanity could live on. An early seedship birthed a small, Eden-like civilization on a planet called Thalassa.
Now, hundreds of years after this society achieved near perfection, another seedship has arrived. And it is carrying people who have come directly from the now destroyed Earth.
Like most of Clarke's work, "The Songs of Distant Earth" is a story driven by ideas. Ideas about how the future of humanity will turn out. Ideas about how we will eventually solve the problems of today. And ideas about how we will finally reach the stars, and what we'll do when we get there.
Unlike much of his later work, "Songs" holds up well. This is not only the best of his late-period writing, but falls in with the very best novels he has written no matter the era. The pacing is quick, with a new revelation or theory around every corner, luring the reader deeper into the story with short, pithy chapters, each revealing a small (but fascinating) part of an intricate whole.
Most of the classic Clarke hallmarks are here, including the handful of themes that grew to dominate his later works. The space elevator, the possibly intelligent yet wholly alien lifeform, the theories on how humans will cross the gulf between the stars, and the diatribes against religion.
The cast of characters is not huge, but he rotates the viewpoint from chapter to chapter between about half-a-dozen of the people. The variety is good, as subtlety in painting his characters has never been a Clarke strong suit.
As mentioned, "Songs" is driven by ideas. The first third of the book, maybe even the first half, is a never-ending stream of theories and predictions and discoveries. One of the author's great strengths is his ability to easily yet convincingly paint a picture of mankind's future. What takes other authors chapter after chapter to flesh out Clarke manages in small and succinct bites.
This book is heavy with the hallmarks of later Clarke. Those of a strongly conservative philosophy may be uncomfortable with some of Clarke's blunt thoughts on matters like religion, guns and sexuality.
Like all of his later works, the book is permeated with Clarke's disdain for organized religion (save his soft spot for Buddhism). Sometimes he is subtle, sometimes not; here, one entire chapter is devoted to one character's monologue about why religion is The Great Evil.
And Clarke does not limit the anti-religious sentiments to his characters; he openly debases the entire concept of God in the narrator's voice on several occasions. It's somewhat jarring to have the author's philosophy pushed in the voice of the narrator rather than through a character. Of course, Clarke readers should not be surprised by this, as it has been a running theme in his stories for years.
The inclusion of one specific passage on another subject, however, is puzzling, as it serves no purpose to the story and seems only to have been included for Clarke to expose a political viewpoint. Clarke uses the irrelevant scene to espouse his view that gun ownership is a "perversion," notes that the character has stirrings in his loins when holding the gun, and passes the gun off as a phallic symbol. The gun never comes into play again. A puzzling and an unnecessary intrusion of politics.
Also like later Clarke, the author runs with the presumption that everyone is somewhat bisexual. At one point, he indicates that in the future people who are 100 percent heterosexual are considered flawed and borderline psychotic. The author isn't always so heavy-handed, however, and his frank but not in-your-face treatment of the subject is almost refreshing in its casualness.
None of this should serve to ruin the story even for those who lean to the right, because like Arthur C. Clarke at his best, he lays out a possible future and how we got there with almost flawless execution. Only once or twice does his handling of political and social issues feel heavy-handed.
Also like Clarke at his best, he lures the reader along with hints of discovery at every turn; discovery, not preaching, drives the story. This is best reflected in the discovery of a life form indigenous to Thalassa. Clarke's revelations about them are spaced evenly throughout the novel - the better to lure you along - and walk that fine balance between telling you enough to keep you interested but not so much that your imagination is spoiled.
Because Clarke's stories generally don't hitch on some raging conflict or objective-based scenario, this one included, the ending may seem anti-climatic. Plot threads introduced midway through the book that look as if they will heat up are resolved well before the end. But that is Clarke. He presents an idea, a snapshot of the future, serves up a slice and gets out before the idea wears itself thin. That is a great strength of his work.
All in all, "The Songs of Distant Earth" stands as one of Clarke's best novels, surpassed only by his true classics. It is certainly the very best of his later work. No Arthur C. Clarke fan should go without reading this one, and probably neither should any fan of the genre.

I found this book to be not so much science fiction, but, rather a story about how we relate to each other. I don't know about everyone else, but I found it also to be a bittersweet story. It begins with the last spaceship from Earth (before our Sun goes supernova) with the last humans aboard arriving at a "seed" planet where humans were planted seven hundred years earlier. The story goes on to explore the differences between the Thalassans and these "strangers from the sky," before they continue on to their destination planet. Principally, it is the relationship between Loren Lorensen, Lt. Commander of the spaceship; Marissa, a beautiful Thalassan who thirsts for knowledge (and Loren); and Brant, her Thalassan "significant other." While Clarke writes that the Thalassans say they have done away with Jealousy, Lust and Fidelity in order to better mankind, don't you believe it. I read this book several months ago and I still can not stop thinking about. It is thoroughly enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

This book details the encounter between two groups of humans on a planet fifty years from Earth. It lacks an interesting plot and well-developed characters, but still is very good. Clarke masterfully encompasses thousands of years in his story. The descriptions of the quantum drive are exciting, and seem convincing (at least to a layperson). The ending (Chapter 47 and on) is surprising, sad and poetic, though it recalls other Clarke books.
Clarke acknowledges the inevitable evolution of human culture by describing people who lack jealousy, sexual posessiveness, superstition, and religion. However, he fails to fully develop this evolution---or consider revolutions---over the years his book encompasses. The changes that he does describe make the characters difficult to empathize with. The inevitable friction between groups who have these characteristics and groups who don't could have made for a far more interesting book.

Arthur C. Clarke is in fine form with this book about humanity after the death of Earth, burnt up by the Sun. Many colonies were started on other planets, and Thalassa was one of the later ones sent out before the Sun blew up. Thalassa is a quiet utopia, with the citizenry leading uneventful lives on their ocean world. This peace is shaken when the starship Magellan comes into their system, containing thousands of humans who were the last to leave the Solar System before the Sun blew up. Unlike the Thalassans, who grew up untroubled by the tensions and violence of Earth, the Magellan crew has fresh memories of the last violent days of Earth and still grieve for their home and loved ones; they remember religion, which was supressed on Thalassa to avoid religious strife; they remember tragedy. Clarke's book is a sensitive telling of what happens when the Thalassans are exposed to the last human survivors of Earth, and how those survivors are touched by the tranquillity of Thalassa. Clarke shows you love, remembrance, and tragedy infused with Clarke's sense of wonder.

This is a very good hard sci-fi novel, about a colony of humans on a distant planet that is visited by the remnants of the human race fleeing catastrophe. Having been seeded long long before, this colony had lost touch with the home world and developed a culture of its own, highly civilised and quite benign - they are peaceful and pursue their pleasures in an open and innocent way. However, underneath their oceans, an incredible transformation is taking place, perhaps one of the most significant in the history of the human race. Then the fleeing ships arrives, shaking things up with new ideas and desires. While avoiding spectacular adventure, this quiet novel is quite fascinating and chock full of intricately related ideas and systems, which are what Clarke portrays the best.

Warmly recommended. It is an intellectual adventure to read this.

This review may contain spoilers. If so, I apologise in advance.

Long ago, in my early teen years, I read a short story called "The Songs of Distant Earth". The story and its evocative title struck a chord in me and I began to take notice of this author, named Arthur C. Clarke. Decades later, I have read pretty well everything he ever wrote - many, including TSODE, over and over - and when Clarke eventually expanded his classic short story into a novel, I swooped on it immediately. I have not been disappointed.

Others writing reviews in this column have discussed the inter-personal and quasi-religious aspects of the book better than I could, so I will limit these comments to some of the other parts of the story.

Clarke was always an optimist, having the belief that such an approach to the future could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. While perhaps not as realistic as the world-view of the pessimist, Clarke's innate optimism was one of the things that attracted me to his writing. That, and the way he handled the science in his stories - he could take take the most esoteric scientific principles and theories and, without going too heavily into the details, weave them into the plot, making them seem as commonplace as walking into a room and flicking the light switch. Such as the quantum drive in this story that was discovered just in time to provide Earth with a means to save the human species.

A prominent theme throughout The Songs Of Distant Earth is the collision, albeit gentle, between two vastly different worlds. On one hand: Magellan's colonists, who represent the sole remnant of a vigorous culture that, as its last desperate act, sent them, and other ships, out into the galaxy to re-create, in whatever form they think best, what they had left behind. Their duty to those they left behind and who are now long dead is clear and their responsibility enormous. Touched on, but mercifully left mostly alone, is the "survivour's guilt" that many of Magellan's crew and passengers would surely have felt, having fled Earth almost at the moment of its destruction and knowing that they, and the other colony ships that were despatched in time, are all that remains of all the Home World's teeming biosphere.

On the other hand: the inhabitants of Thalassa, who, blessed with a temperate world, have evolved a stable, relaxed culture - if nothing else demonstrated their world-view for me, it was the encounter with the robotic road-working machine that played music to warn traffic and pedestrians of its approach, rather than tooting an "unfriendly" hooter. Because of the limited area of the inhabitable land on the planet, the Thalassans placed restrictions on the birth rate and, until the arrival of Magellan, things were going along quite nicely, one day after the other - it would not be unfair to say that, with regard to this society, another word for "stablility" could be "stagnation". Magellan's arrival provides the Thalassans with a much-needed stimulus and when Magellan eventually departs, several crew members, who had attempted mutiny, are left behind. They too give their adopted society a much-needed boost.

For all the enormity of the technological and cultural gap between the two groups, Clarke has kept the contact on a level where each side benefits from the other, rather than being threatened. He does however briefly speculate on a future for the Thalassans that has horrifying implications, when a Magellan crew member anonymously suggests on the ship's bulletin board that they end their mission at Thalassa and settle the planet, using ship-board technology to force an increase in land mass by stimulating the planet's tectonic activity. Fortunately, after a formal debate among the awakened officers and crew, that suggestion is rejected by an overwhelming majority, in favour of continuing with Magellan's primary mission. The starship carries in hibernation a million humans, and every Earth life form that they could salvage, and the effect of their introduction, and the required "terraforming" of an already inhabited planet, would have been devastating to Thalassan culture and planetary ecology.

I noticed one major discrepancy at the end of the book, when Magellan was departing Thalassa for the second part of its journey to Sagan 2. When Magellan's drive went on, even though the ship was on the far side of the planet from the settled islands, it lit up the night sky, and, as the ship receded from Thalassa, its drive was visible for decades - even from as far away as fifteen light years.

On its two-hundred-year journey from Earth to Thalassa, the ship would have reached the point when it needed to begin decelerating. Assuming that it would have to turn over so that the drive was pointing towards its destination, the drive would have blazed in the night sky of Thalassa from that moment - the Thalassans would have seen Magellan coming at them from light years out - and the display as the ship inserted into orbit around the planet would have been breathtaking. Instead, their first sign that they had visitors was when Magellan's shuttle entered the atmosphere and left a vapour trail across their sky.

No story is perfectly written and The Songs of Distant Earth (that title still grips me) has its share of faults, but I have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, reading it. Five stars from me, and thank you to Arthur C. Clarke for Childhood's End, 2001, Imperial Earth, The Fountains of Paradise, and all the rest.

It's not easy to find great science fiction today... Luckily we can look to our recent past to rediscover some great works from masters like Arthur C. Clark. It's always a thrill to find a story I had missed from one of the great masters of SciFi.

One of the key scenes in this novel has characters deliberately deciding not to save the life of a friend and colleague by cryopreservation. This dimmed sense of wonder at the future pervades this otherwise typical Clarke novel. Dr Clarke is well aware of present day opportunities of cryopreservation (see the appendix to The Ghost from the Grand Banks) but as far as I know has rejected it for himself. He therefore seems a bit like a butcher who has been converted to vegetarianism but still sells meat because this is the only way he can make a living. In my view Sci-Fi is about big issues and challenging the frontiers of time and space. I do not think the passive acceptance of death has a place here. (For example Asimov's "flying cities" stores had indeterminate lifespan as an essential backdrop. However he did reject cryopreservation as well, and now is annihilated as a person, but "lives on in his works".)

This is a book that you will likely not forget reading. Clarke's imagination here is staggering.
The novel takes place several thousand years from now. Earth has been destroyed by an unstable sun. Mankind foresaw the nova of Earth's sun for about two thousand years, and mounted an effort to colonize nearby stars in order to save the species. This was done in the nick of time.
The story takes place on planet Thalassa--a world largely of oceans with a single pair of islands perhaps the size of Taiwan. The Thalassans, originally colonists from Earth, have been alone for over a thousand years. Now they are visited by the last starship from Earth, which stops there en route to a different planet intended for colonization.
The story deals with the clash of cultures, but the best part are the flashbacks to Earth, and Clarke's highly intelligent and plausible extrapolations as regards science, politics, and societal development. Clarke's prose is outstanding as well, which is not all that common in science fiction. This is, quite simply, a wonderful story which will strike a chord in most readers.

This book is very thought-provoking. The ideas brought up challenge one's conception of life on Earth; our political, economic, and religious systems are under Clarke's microscope.

It is also very well written, once again convincing me that Clarke is the best pure writer of the big three of his generation of sci-fi authors (Asimov and Heinlein, being the others).

Unfortunately, the story itself seems not to progress very much. There is no "conflict". The story just seems to meander a bit and then the ends. I really enjoyed this book because it had so many of the great features of a classic sci-fi novel, but the story-line needed a more.

Lately I have been going through an Arthur C. Clarke phase, I've always been terribly addicted to his books, and The Songs of Distant Earth is by far one of the best yet. It is a very somber tale which concerns the next phase of humanity, as we leave earth behind upon the destruction of the sun and the rest of the solar system, the future of mankind residing within the stars.

The story resolves around one of the new colonies on Thalassa, having been establish for 700 years on an ocean planet, their secluded paradise is soon to change as Magellan, the last ship from earth, arrives in orbit bring with it a million survivors from the last days of earth. Although Magellan are only making a pit stop before continuing onward to their final destination, the 2 years it spends with the Lassans will chage the lives of both cultures forever and will echo down for generations to come...

This is not an action, suspense or thriller, there is no twist or surprise ending, it is just beautiful in every sense. Clarke doesn't only show his prowess with scientific accuracy, he also show a profound understanding of humanity, and even though it is present in most of his works, this book captures a truer, more pure essense of us than ever before.

A brilliant book, both a Swan Song for Earth and a beacon of hope for us as a species, a very moving text.

I loved this short novel with the exception of Clarke's missionary zeal in trying to debunk religions of all kind. The story was a great tale but closer to a fairy tale in that somehow man was able to breed our religion, violence and greed yet man still increases in knowledge and seeks for the missing answers in the universe. I think we need mans bad as well as his good if he is ever to fully progress until he learns good overcomes evil on his own accord and how to balance his needs against his wants.

A intruiging tale of a future which sees the end of Earth and our solar system and the visit of one colonized world in the far (yet so close in perspective to our galaxy even) reaches of space. This colony of Thalassa is at first a paradise with many interesting people and places to go as the last earthlings meet them. But by the end of the story a new world with Jealousy has poked through the seemingly perfect land, but all through A.C. Clarke gives what any book should undoubtedly have, a great mix of characters. This one is a definite must for any avid Science Fiction reader, and is my personal favorite Sci-Fi novel

Songs of Distant Earth is a great book that is a lot of fun and a very easy read. As another reviewer said its quite sad and poetic at moments, but it is also uplifting in its own way. At first I thought character and plot development was a little weak, but upon further reflection I think this may have been intentional - part of the effect that A. C. Clarke was going for.
A. C. Clarke is well known for predicting (inventing) the communications satellite. In Songs of Distant Earth he may very well have outlined a plan for mankind's ultimate survival... not bad, eh...

I have read a number of Clarke books the last 5 years or so and have become totally captivated with his writting.
Although I believe that the 2001 and Rama Series' are his best works yet, this book definetly does not take second place.
Showing a great deal about human nature I believe that it shows some ideas about people more than 1984 or A Brave New World ever did because it brings more aspects into account and is more realistic with our world.
If you enjoy staying up till 3am reading and thinking, this is definetly the book for you!

As a huge fan of Arthur C. Clarke, i feel this was not one of his usual great novels. It certainly had an interesting concept, and a predictable ending, but I found it dragged a little. I do not regret reading it though. I guess after reading the fantastic Rama series, anything else would seem to fall flat!

When I first read this many years ago, I felt Clarke laid out a few different approaches to life and showed that it is possible to have a moral civilization without the persecution and rewards of religions.

This is a classic science fiction story. I found the characterization a little dry but the story of a colony and a vast refugee ship coming in for repairs was intriguing. Each were escaping the destruction of Earth, with the new group having better technology and are recently departed, while the colonists have an established life far separated from Earth. When the ship's personnel become split on whether to go forward or remain, the two divergent society's begin to clash.

The Songs of Distant Earth is undoubtably one of the best works Clarke has given in years. Many sci-fi readers and writers tend to forget that storytelling also involves believable characters who move us, and not just science. This book has the most profoundly believable and moving characters Clarke has ever produced. Clarke is visually as well as emotionally evocative, and one can't help but be moved by the tragic circumstance which befalls our hero. It actually feels like this story could happen to any one of us. A truly great read

I remember buying this book - not really expecting much from it. I also wasn't that familair with Arthur C. Clarke (but that has changed). This is one of the best (if not the best) books that I've ever read. Hmmm.. it could very well be my "favorite". I'm not usually drawn to male writers. Although male myself, female writers are usually... well, in my opinion - better writers. But, Arthur C. Clarke is awesome and did a first-rate job writing this novel. I wish he had written a companion book about the colonist after they reached Sagan II. I've enjoyed reading and rereading this book many times.

I have recently spent some time reading Clarke's novels, and wow he has some really creative and insightful ideas. I bought this one for my son-in-law who is also a science fiction fan since it has the most exciting story line and some really mind-blowing ideas I mean, we survive the sun supernovaing!!!

After reading 2001, 2010, 2061, the Rama series, and Fountains of Paradise, I was expecting a lot more from this book. Not that it wasn't good; I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to Sir Clarke's usual fare...character development was a little weak, there didn't seem to be an ultimate goal to the story (and this is reflected in the fact that there isn't really any climax), and he seemed to let the ending kind of dribble out. Overall, I would recommend that people pick up the books I've mentioned above rather than this one...they are much better.

No one claiming to be a sci-fi lover could read this book and not be utterly fascinated by its realistic tale regarding our sun going nova in a few thousand years, forcing humanity to set out in suspended animation for the stars. Landing on a paradisical world, Thalassa, wherein a clash of cultures takes place to intensify the conflict and, thus, add this great book to many others: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "2001", "2010", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.

Guess I've become a Clarke groupie! While not all of his short stories are full-blown gems, his novels always hit it out of the park.
"Songs . . ." has now replaced "Fountains of Paradise" as my favorite of all time.
That's all I have to say -- just read this book.

I picked up this book thinking I was going to get to read Clarke's vision of the End of the Earth. I had previously read some of his other books and knew what to expect of his style. This, I thought, would be an intriguing look at the future of Earth when faced with impending destruction, as told by one of the great masters of the genre.

WRONG. This book picks up on a colony of humans living on an ocean world a thousand years after the destruction of Earth. They are visited early on by some of the last humans to escape the solar system, who need to strike a deal with the colonists to continue on their own journey. What followed was a huge disappointment for me. In between the fantastic depiction of Earth's final years (complete with ideas on technological development, sociological processes, doomsday cults, projects on a gigantic scale, etc.) is a clunky personal story about a handful of the colonists and a handful of the interstellar travelers. There's some weird romantic troubles and some unnecessary deaths, and the book develops a secondary plot that doesn't seem to fit the rest of the story (but ends up being more interesting than the fates of the main characters...?)

One thing I will give credit to: this book was printed 30 years ago, but the vision of future technology is still pretty good. Computer terms are getting dated (gigabytes and terabytes no longer inspire the kind of awe they once did), but Clarke has looked ahead in most all areas of life, and I appreciate that attention. I was most impressed that he remembered to think of political progress as well - most authors forget this and instead latch on to either socialism or American democracy as the only two viable governments of the future, so it's nice that Clarke had hoped we would some day have something even better.

Besides that, about the only thing it did well was to analyze the effect that hundred-year journeys would have on the travelers. Flying about the solar system takes a lot of time, even near the speed of light, and so people would experience an odd grieving process when they awake from suspended animation and realize their loved ones have all died three centuries ago. It's not particularly well done in this book, but at least it is captured.

I don't even feel like discussing the rest of the story - it's standard sci-fi fare about aliens and interplanetary colonists, tinged with all the free-love and semi-atheistic stuff I've already read a dozen times over. Maybe I'm being too harsh here, but I was very disappointed with where Clarke took his story. The book I was hoping to read is buried too far under bland storytelling to even be worth searching for.

The plot was interesting though it really lacked a climax but the writing was terrible. It felt scattered and lacked any emotion, you don't feel connected to any of the characters. It felt like this was written by someone who typically writes instruction manuals, where I think of a good writer as a painter who transcribes a story onto a canvas in my mind, the canvas Clarke evoked was blank. I also found many editing errors which made it hard for me to read.

I think I read that this was Clarke's personal favorite among his many novels. It is certainly one of my favorites. It is full of interesting science, of course, but the novel also depicts some interesting human elements that are not always present in Clarke's novels. There is also the wistful feel of the novel that fits so well with the title. This is a novel for the heart as well as the head.

This is my favorite end-of-the-world story, even though it's been overtaken by events. The Solar Neutrino Scandal is now resolved, but even so it's a wonderful confection of a little fictional science, much more not-known-to-be-impossible imaginings, and (in my opinion) better work on character development than was typical of ACC. I'm sorry there was no sequel.

This is the first science fiction book I have ever read; I casually picked it up one day and just couldn't put it back down! I finished the book in only 2 days; a record for me. There are some very deep, thought-provoking concepts in there that are incredibly fascinating, but will drive one into maddness if you think about them too much. I wish there was a sequel to this book; I really want to find out what became of Sagan II.

The reason I love most of Clarke's work is that it tends to focus on ideas and human interactions as opposed to saving the world, winning some war or saving a girl. Others, of course, will disagree.

This novel is one of the best of Clarke's later works, but for those of you looking for drama and crises that need resolved will be disappointed.

The novel takes place thousands of years in the future. Humanity discovered that our Sun was unstable and would nova far earlier than expected. In order to save part of humanity, various projects were developed to save something of our species.

One of the first used were "seeder ships". This were automated space craft containing human embryos and genetic material of many Earth creatures. The concept was that these ships would land on planets capable of sustaining human life and the automated systems on board would create a sutiable colony by providing a technological base and the onboard computers would educated the first generation of colonists birthed from the embryons on board with a very censored version of human history. The primary example of the effort to create a better human society is the censorship of religion. None of the great religious works (or works based on them) are included in the data banks of these vessels. The hope was that a society raised without religion would avoid the violence that often accompanies it.

The colony of Thalassa, where the action takes place, is a result of these plans. The Lassans live on two island of an otherwise watery world. The Earth they know is a sanatized version and their world is Eden like. Violence, jealousy and hate are rare. As the result of the breakdown of the colony's interstellar communication device the Lassan's are even more isolated than other seeder colonies having had no contact with other colonies for hundreds of years.

It is to this peaceful, beautiful world that the one of next generation of human colony ships arrives. It is the Magellan, a ship with an advanced drive system that finally allowed humanity to reach distant worlds in a "reasonable" amount of times meaning hundreds of years not thousands. The Magellan is more of a space ark because it contains over a million specially selected colonists in cryogenic suspension. Even more poignent, the Magellan was the last of these ships to leave Earth, escaping only days before the Solar system died. To them Earth is a recent memory, not an ancient past, and the crew still mourns its passing and the loss of those left behind.

The Magellan stopped at Thalassa because the ice shield that protects the ship during its voyage is in need of repair. The crew didn't think that Thalassa would be inhabited. Most of the resulting novel revolves around how much and what type of interactions do or should develop between the two very different groups and what knowledge can be passed on to the very curious Thalassans without permanently damaging their culture.

There is no one protagonist in this story. Rather the point of view moves between various characters and their reaction to the Lassans or vice-versa. There are a few interesting sub-plots such as the discovery of an intelligent marine based species and a plot by some of the crew to sabatoge the Magellan so they can remain on the idyllic world.

Overall the work is very bittersweet as both groups must deal with the knowledge gained, friends/lovers never to be seen again once the ship leaves and the grief/guilt that comes with being the last chosen survivors of a dying world.

An excellent read and one that stays in your thoughts long after you're done.

Earth is gone, but humanity survives. Realizing that the sun will go nova much sooner then expected Earth sends out ships to the far corners of the galaxy to colonize every planet possible. 'Songs of a Distant Earth' is a story of one of the more successfull colony's who has had a uneventfull 700 years of existance until the Magellan arrives. The Magellan left Earth 300yrs ago as the Earth boiled away into nothingness, the last of the colony ships, with the last of the Terrans. Thalassa is a pit stop for the Magellan, which with its Quantum RamJet needs a sheild of ice, and Thalassa is 95% water, so they stop by to use the Lassans water. Thus is the basic story of 'Songs of a Distant Earth.' The technical and ingenious writing style of Clarke always intrests me, even though I find him to be much more naïve then he finds the ideas of Star Wars/Trek and their warp speed and hyperspace. In all the Clarke books I have read lightspeed isn't possible even a 1000yrs from now, and all technology is based from technology now. Who 50 yrs ago could have ever thought of the Internet, or even LCD screens, but that we have, what more will there be 50 years from now that no one has yet to explain. This is an excellent read, and I suggest it to anyone who enjoys Clarke to pick this up.

I like this book because Arthur C. Clarke at last address the more "real' problems involved in traveling from one solar system to another. In Arthur's more science version of the universe, it will take about 8 or 900 years to travel from one star to the next, there's no warp factor six here to get you there in a week. The Songs of Distant Earth is much better reading then ten Star Trek novels combined.

I really liked the descriptions regarding the vacuum-energy drive or ramjet, as well as the continuing notion of earth to orbit tethers. The scorps as presented were a bit far fetched but anything is possible. This was a great read, good characters and plausible human interest!

The author apparently claimed it was his own favorite among his works; i can see why. Science fiction within the bounds of known science, with a story and characters of deep human resonance. Simply loved this book.

Songs of Distant Earth isn't the most compelling or well-written book unlike Rendezvous with Rama and 2001. However, it is a quick Sunday afternoon read. The characters are one dimensional and forgettable. I do recommend this book for its simple and elegant portrayal of the emotional and social impact of the time lag in realistic interstellar travel.

I have read many of arthur c Clarke's books and this is by far my favorite,and I am a fan of most of his books. this books hits all of the main themes I love in fiction. the book is grounded in a smart premise that makes sense, but more importantly has a very emotional part that should relate to anybody. You feel for the characters as they are faced with an awesome responsibility to there mission, yet are challenged by there emotions to go down a different path.

An interesting perspective on how religion shapes the way humanity has developed, along with speculation on the effect of censorship of humanities darkest moments within a new society. Again Sir Arthur is way ahead of the rest in his thinking, putting forward some very serious questions about our "civilization" with hints at some of the root causes of major problems and how they be improved.

All this very deep and serious stuff is bound up spectacularly in a wonderfully involving story that will suck you in so you can't put it down. It's not a sermon on the evils of mankind, it's a great entertaining work of fiction with some very pertinent messages - all done with Sir Arthur's inimitable style and humour. If you read no other Arthur C Clarke book (and if so shame on you) read this one. It's one of his best.

Arthur Clarke's first version of "Songs" was a 1958 short story, which became the title story for one of his many anthologies. It tells much of the same tale of arrival by a starship for repairs at an Ocean planet, but without the death of the Sun, and reading both makes for an interesting comparison between 1950s and 1980s sexual attitudes. The love story common to both is an evocative and poignant examination of just how tiny humans are in the Universe, how short our lives and loves really are against that background - a very common theme throughout Clarke's works.
I have a few quibbles with the novel because Clarke makes a few mathematical blunders in this book, which is unusual for him. One major mistake is about mass-ratios for interstellar flight. He squares the actual mass of fuel and not its mass-ratio and this is given as the main reason why only "seeder-ships" and not "space-arks" have colonised nearby stars, until quantum vacuum energy is developed for propulsion. Hopefully he made a deliberate mistake to create dramatic tension. Also he messed up the timeline at the back of book - the first edition's timeline would be correct in Thalassan years.
A recurring interest of Clarke's is God and the religions that besmirch Her name. Thalassa, the Ocean planet where the action happens, lacks religion and even an awareness of the God concept, a situation deliberately created by the colony's founders. Moses Kaldor - a terrestrial ideologue - becomes either the Snake in Eden or the new Law-Giver by discussing God with Mirissa, the female protagonist. Whether humans can go for any length of time without creating religion is a question even Clarke can't answer.

Arthur C. Clarke has done a fantastic job with this book. A wonderful story of the end of the world, and survival of the species, this novel has great depth and character development. We also get a taste of sociological strength, as we see two divergent social groups of humans interacting through necessity. As usual, A.C.Clarke does a masterful job of combining scifi with a great story, compelling characters, and a bit of tragedy thrown in, but not without the hopeful ending. I have read most of his work, and this book draws me back at least every couple of years. I would say that Songs of Distant Earth is one of his all-time greates works in character development and human drama. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book.
(this review is specific to the mass-market paperback)

At the end of this book i felt relaxed, the narrative is so quiet, without lethal weapons, without complicated technological cities, without criminals. Is a history of the humanity confronting the destruction of its home, in a time where the technology for space traveling do not let to save too much people.
Mr. Clark did used a group of theories proposed by comtemporary scientists, you will not find warp speed, time traveling, wormholes. The strongest part of the book is the history of the persons and their family values; the history of the interaction between the first colonists from the Earth and the latest survivors that arrived centuries after.
i highly recommend it.

As one of the other reviewers said, "Haunting, Sad, and Beautiful" describes it quite well.

It's amazing how many interesting concepts and events can be touched on in the book, but still it manages to keep its focus on stories about people.

And don't get me wrong I like a good Sci-Fi novel with Faster than Light travel, giant space battles, alien allies and enemies, as much as the next guy, but this is not that sort of book.

It focuses on technologies that seem quite believable and in the end feel much more plausible and true. It's that truth, that for me, gave a very strong punch of emotion. The ending is really quite memorable (even if there isn't a massive climax) and sad. I couldn't stop thinking about the book for months.

Highly recommended.

The book was to confusing because there were too many chapters and they were some of them weer too short. The book talk about one topic then a different topic and so on. I didn't get the book becasue I was so confused of what they were talking about. I think this book was poor because it had nosense in the book and there were characters that were confusing when they speak. So this is my review about this book.

Arthur C. Clarke has spun a tale of vast time and distance that tenderly regards the very humanity of his characters. Parts of this book are achingly beautiful, as the protagonists confront the riddle of their own mortality, and the sorrow of human love that ends too soon.

This was an interesting book that leaves you thinking of what would happen if the world was goig to be no more. At the begining of the book it was hard to understand but as you get further it get's better. I have always wondered what we would do if the world was going to end. In the book it gives a good example of what could happen.

Any book that can explain away organized religion (I almost converted to the idea of Alpha the utterly indifferent), expalin away organized politics (not government), explain the missing nutrino problem (what appears to be actual now 15 years later is just as amazing, but far less satifying), explain zero point energy and create a world as wonderful as Tarna deserves to be called the best. I do think this is my favorite Arthur C. Clarke book (and I rate it up there with Moving Mars by Greg Bear).
You could do much worse than reading this book.

The Songs of Distant earth is a journeyman's novel that could have been written by any number of writers. It is not terribly original, action packed, or thought provoking.

It was published based on Clarke's success with the Odyssey series. My bet is that it was a short story from his pulp days that he was able to expand to novel length.

Arthur C Clarke took an old short story, with excellent ideas in it and spread it out over 300 pages. I personally was a bit disappointed. The idea of a dying sun and the search for new homes for mankind is nice, but after 100 pages you get a bit tired of the one-dimensional characters who never really come to life.

The songs of distant earth is the only novel which I return to it to read and enjoy over and over again. The author always limits his imaginations by the boundaries set by science, yet he manages to foresee fabulous and far reaching futures, and at the same time create a very gripping plot with lots of interesting side stories. this is the best science fiction novel ever.

Part of me really wanted to like this novel, after all, I am a big fan of Clarke's work. But I must say, I was somewhat disappointed with the story. After such successes as Rendezvous with Rama and 2001, you would expect the works to only get better, but the results are not up to par.
My first problem with this book is its lack of centrality. There is really no "protagonist" character, unless Loren is counted, and there is very little in the way of plot, complication, or conflict. I'll admit, I was not exactly sure how the entire planetary-travel idea would be fixed, but the solution was presented within the first 100 pages, and the rest of the book was anticlimatic to the nth degree.
Also, Clarke seems to be using this work as merely an excuse to push an anti-family, anti-religion platform, which would be fine if it was that sort of a story, but the ideas don't seem to go with space theater very well. On a related (sort of) note, there is something to be said for conciseness. The chapters dedicated to how this "futuristic" technology was "discovered" or "works" are unnecessary, and detract from the meat of the story.
And, yes, there is some meat to this story, with a good amount of character development. But there is still no conflict, and very little in the way of interesting plot twists. Subplots detract from the main action, and in this case there is little enough of that to go around.
To simplify: what substance is here is an excellent morsel of food for thought. Unfortunately, there is so much fluff around it and nothing to keep the reader's attention after some time. You're better served with one of the 2001's or Rama's than this one.

Well written story of the last ship (Magellan) to leave a doomed earth making a pit stop for some agua on the previously colonized ocean world of Thalassa, before heading on further to the barren world of Sagan 2. Great characters from the ship Magellan and inhabitants of Thalassa and believable science await the reader of this book.

I have read almost all of Clarke's books, including the entire Rama series, the 2001 series, Childhoods End an others. In my view, this is the very best of them all, combining plausable future science with equally plausable human situations.
I have never seen the speed of light so masterfully woven into a story of human emotion as in this book, where the receeding spaceship is visible for the entire lifetime of the female lead character while her lover on board ages only minutes.
The 2nd best Clarke book, Fountains of Paradise (where he "invents" the Space Elevator) is great, but this is still the best of the works of probably the best SF author of all.

Well written story of the last ship (Magellan) to leave a doomed earth making a pit stop for some agua on the previously colonized ocean world of Thalassa, before heading on further to the barren world of Sagan 2. Great characters from the ship Magellan and inhabitants of Thalassa and believable science await the reader of this book.

While the author claims this isn't science FICTION, it certainly is. It's very technical at times and makes huge assumptions as to what we will evolve to philosophically and spiritually. There are huge assumptions about what we will be cable of scientifically in the future. I did find my self skimming occasionally. That said, I enjoyed the book

I tend to read more non-fiction these days. But occasionally I need to read for entertainment and escape from my non-fiction day.and this book took me there. Ive always enjoyed Clarke and was not disappointed with this book. I t was a quick and entertaining read.

This is a very good book with very interesting view points and many ideas that sound as if in few decades can actually come true (an elevator connected from the earth to a space station in space) and the characters are very interesting as well because they all have there own personlaity traits. The only real problem with the book is the ending, it's a nice one but not very descrptive as if the whole book was leading to it but ignored it at the last minute. Also, unlike other Clark novels, I could'nt find any real deeper meaning or theme that we can apply to ourselves. But it is still a very fun read.

Arthur C. Clarke's Songs of Distant Earth was, unfortunatly, a bit disappointing. The ideas, on which the story is based, e.g. the sun going nova prematurly, are geniunly worrying and interestingly handled. Unfortunatly, the story itself left little to be exited about, as one chapter seems to drag into the next. By the time I was half way into the book, I found it about as exiting as watching foot fungus evolve sentience. I have to give two stars for the brilliant ideas and the realistic depiction of space travel, but the story and characters let it down. If your a Sci-fi buff, defidently give it a try, you might like it.

Don't ask me why, but this book is one of my top 5 all-time favourites. The science isn't particularly interesting, there are few unique ideas, and the characters are just characters. However, it all comes together and feels right. I highly recommend it.

I am new to Arthur C. Clarke, but I have a good idea of his style of writing. This book deals more with what happens in the future rather than the events at the stories setting. The only thing that I really didn't like was that the book held you in suspense because you thought a major event would take place but that event never occurs. A good interesting story that lacks a climax. I reccomend this book to people who like thought more than action or at least don't mind not having much.

I can only strongly echo the high praise offered by the other reviewers. I have read the book many times, and it never fails to stimulate the sense of awe and wonder which all great works of science fiction evoke. A superior work by one of the masters of the genre. Highest recommendation.

As always, Arthur C. Clarke includes a lot of true science in this work. The ethical issues that arise regarding inhabiting other planets and human impacts are thought provoking. The characters are well develped and the plot interesting.

My sci-fi book number one. I really recommend its reading, especially together with the music composed by Mike Oldfield for the book (cd with the same title). It is also recommendable for people who are not so much into sci-fi because of its beauty.

The story served as an adequate vehicle to put forth some very interesting and thought provoking ideas about space travel and the time frames involved, without jumping to warp speeds. Character development was a bit thin, with some characters that were not needed at all. I think the book's best asset will be to inspire new writings with closer inspection of the ideas put forth. Overall, an entertaining read with plenty of ideas to ponder and expand on. Isn't that what good science fiction should do?

Enjoyed the book in general, but disappointed in the humanistic thought. The haunting musical themes from distant earth so celebrated are filled with religiosity. How does one celebrate the beginnings and endings of life, and everything in between, without God?

This is Arthur C. Clarke at his best. Clarke uses his extrodinary story telling and weaving skills to give the reader a story not about sci-fi, futuristic creatures; but about the human spirit, human strengths, human weaknesses, and human desires that just happens to be in a future time period. Truly a must read...also recommended are Clarke's 2001 series and Rama series.

It seemed very short, but it was very 'out their' and had a very good writing style. It had a good message and was an overall extremely good read. I recommended to those who love sci-fi, 2001 (movie or book), or extreme fiction.

Yet another masterpiece by Mr Clarke! This book was unlike any other science fiction books I have ever read; no alien invasions, no "let's take over the universe" attitude. It was really awesome and I highly reccomend it for anyone who can truly enjoy a good science fiction novel.

I first purchased this in May 1987. There are a few occasions where the players are a little predictable, but I liked it so much that, after loosing track of it through several Europe- North America transitions- I purchased another copy so that I could re-read it. Does anyone know of a sequel??

Songs of Distant Earth is in my Top 5 sci-fi books of all time...Great concept, heart-wrenching at times..Mike Oldfield actually wrote music for this book (the cd has the same title). Need I say more?

The basic premise of the book is tantalizing enough - Man seeks to colonize distant stars as Earth is consumed by the sun. Unfortunately, the book is poorly executed. Characters are hastily constructed with little or no depth. Love triangles have a sterile feel that lets you shrug your shoulders and care for no party in particular. While the ambiance of the novel is attractive enough - interstellar travel, a space elevator cameo, a new planet to explore - the actual action occurring within the setting is of very little interest or substance. Clarke does manage to cobble together snippets of philosophical thought - 90% of humans in this future world are bisexual, God has (to the relief of mankind) finally been dispensed with, etc.

My lasting impression is that the novel, quite simply, is utterly without a "good story".

As in the equal of the film on top of milk.

There's a great premise here, of the destruction of Earth, and the meeting of remnant colonies from different eras. Not original, but a great premise nonetheless. However, the greatness of the premise only magnifies the tragedy of the novel development. Or rather, the lack thereof. For there is no real development here. It was incredibly disappointing. All of the answers you hope for are not included- in fact there are an increasing number of questions raised in the book. It is like the TV show Lost, if there was never a second season. It is as if Clarke came up with the first half of the book and forgot to finish it.

This book is filled with long, drawn out romances that are neither interesting nor relevant. It is incredibly anti-Theist, seeking to attack any idea or person who is stupid enough to believe in a god. All this is ignorable if only it had a semblance of a plot; if events progressed, and the storyline completed. It doesn't.

The engineering prophecies were not so much outdated--they were the most interesting part of the novel. It was the blatant anti-religion message that Clarke harped on rather obsessively, as well as the Harlequin-styled romantic passages that could have taken place anywhere, not just on another planet, but more likely in a preachy romance novel. I remembered Clarke as better than this.

Meandering, amateurish writing with no conflict. Please save yourself the time of reading this unsatisfying book. I kept hoping that all the ideas that were introduced would be developed and paid off, but they never were. as I got later and later in the book, I thought perhaps there was a big surprise ending, but it never arrives! Lots of interesting storylines are started - is there intelligent life on the new planet? Will the starship stay and come into conflict with the native population? Will the legions of sleeping crew awaken? Will any of the crew abandon their mission, or natives stow away on the ship? Will either betrayed lover freak and do something? Will the VOLCANO go off for christ's sake??? Nothing happens!!! The book stomps all over Chekhov's cardinal rule of drama - if you put a shotgun on the wall in the first act, it damn well better go off in the third. There are shotguns everywhere in this book but they remain dusty relics that add nothing but frustration to the experience of the reader.

The love story is laughably dry, even though it should be a tension-filled shifting love triangle. You don't read about any of it happening as it develops. You just get boring, lifeless updates after the fact. I didn't care about any of the characters - none of them have any goals, they aren't developed beyond the most rudimentary descriptors, and you don't see them make any compelling choices, again we're just told about their actions after the fact in the most boring, lifeless terms.

The discussions of religion are amusing in moments, but on the whole pretty uncontroversial. Although the way it's written, you can tell Clarke THINKS he's blowing your mind. Maybe for some people it's earth-shattering (ha-ha), but again, even if they're good ideas, there's no reason to care about the ideas, because there's nothing at stake, i.e. no story.

seriously, there's no story. for a moment mutiny is threatened, but it goes away after a polite meeting and one slightly interesting but totally perfunctory interrogation. i mean it, that's IT. the love triangle goes nowhere. one character dies in a tidal wave and even THAT is completely undramatic, and he's brought back to life in a completely routine way on the next page. yawn! seriously. don't read it.

instead, if you haven't already, check out Childhood's End, another Clarke novel, which is completely brilliant. It has good ideas AND a story, complete with conflict, tension and characters you actually care about. it's still very cerebral, but in a way that works, unlike Songs of Distant Earth.

Even the title never pays off in the way you want it to. The starship brings with it all the artwork, literature and music of obliterated earth, and there's concern over how this influx of information will impact the young civilization. but then you never see any impact. there's one very mundane concert at the very end with no aftermath, good or bad! although the setup is there for some fascinating conflicts it just never pays off. kind of like the rest of the book. very disappointing.