The City and the Stars
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4.4 • 22 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This grand space adventure explores the fate of humanity a billion years in the future— A visionary classic by one of science fiction's greatest minds.
Far in the future, Earth's oceans have evaporated and humanity has all but vanished. The inhabitants of Diaspar believe their domed city is all that remains of an empire that had once conquered the stars. Inside the dome, the citizens live in technological splendor, free from the distractions of aging and disease. Everything is controlled precisely, just as the city's designers had intended.
But a boy named Alvin, unlike his fellow humans, shows an insatiable—and dangerous—curiosity about the world outside the dome. His questions will send him on a quest to discover the truth about the city and humanity's history—as well as its future.
A masterful and awe-inspiring work of imagination, The City and the Stars is considered one of Arthur C. Clarke's finest novels.
Customer Reviews
A great concept with horribly flawed execution
This was my favourite book when I was twelve, and I’ve just re-read it at forty four for the first time. As it turns out, it’s pretty terrible. It begins with one of the most interesting concepts in all of sci-fi, but quickly devolves into random disconnected gibberish. It is also one of the most poorly written works I’ve ever read. Seriously… the writing is staggeringly terrible. Again… at it’s heart is a genius concept that should have lead to one of the most thrilling reads ever, but around 30% of the way through everything falls apart and you’re stuck slogging it out through hundreds of pages of nonsense.