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Description edit
Vannemar Morgans dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all timea 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Kalidasa: king of Taprobane in the past
- Maxine Duval: famous journalist and sometime Professor of electronic journalism
- Johan Oliver de Alwis Sri Rajasinghe: special assistant (acting ambassador) for political affairs
- Dr.Vannevar Morgan: Brilliant engineer and construction visionary, he is the architect in charge of building the Tower and previously in charge of building a bridge from Europe to Africa across the Gibraltar straits.
Quotes edit
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“From Paradise to Taprobane is forty leagues; there may be heard the sound of the Fountains of Paradise.”
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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“If you assume that the universe can be quote explained unquote as the creation of an entity known as God, he must obviously be of a higher degree of organization than his product. Thus you have more than doubled the size of the original problem, and have taken the first step on a diverging infinite regress. William of Ockham pointed out as recently as your fourteenth century that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily. I cannot therefore understand why this debate continues.”
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“While the different religions wrangle with one another as to which of them is in possession of the truth, in our view the truth of religion may be altogether disregarded. . . . If one attempts to assign to religion its place in man’s evolution, it seems not so much to be a lasting acquisition, as a parallel to the neurosis which the civilized individual must pass through on his way from childhood to maturity.”
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Two hundred and two years ago, on 7 November 1940, that lesson had been driven home in a way that no engineer could ever forget.
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If one thing had been learned from the bloody history of mankind, it was that only individual human beings mattered: however eccentric their beliefs might be, they must be safeguarded, so long as they did not conflict with wider but equally legitimate interests.
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‘Belief in God is apparently a psychological artifact of mammalian reproduction.’
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You are the sort of man who will never be really happy, Dr. Morgan, unless you are shaping your universe.”
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“Since women are better at producing babies, presumably Nature has given men some talent to compensate. But for the moment I can’t think of it.”
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“Fame is the spur. . .” he recited in the silence of his thoughts. How did the rest of it go? “(That last infirmity of noble mind) / To scorn delights, and live laborious days.”
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“I’ve always wanted,” he said dreamily, “to know exactly what would happen when an irresistible force meets an immovable
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There was no easy way to heaven, or nirvana, or whatever it was that the faithful sought. Merit was acquired solely by one’s own efforts, not with the aid of machines. An interesting doctrine, and one containing much truth; but there were also times when only machines could do the job.
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
First Sentence edit
The crown grew heavier with each passing year.
Table of Contents edit
I - The palace
1. Kalidasa 15
2. The engineer 19
3. The fountains 24
4. Demon Rock 26
5. Through the telescope 33
6. The artist 37
7. The God-king's palace 40
8. Malgara 47
10. The ultimate bridge 52
11. The silent princess 60
II - The temple
12. Starglider 69
13. Shadow at dawn 72
14. The education of Starglider 77
15. Bodhidharma 80
16. Converstaions with Starglider 85
17. Parakarma 89
18. The golden butterflies 94
19. By the whores of lake Saladin 96
20. The bridge that danced 102
21. Judgement 107
III - The bell
22. Apostate 113
23. Moondozer 116
24. The finger of god 123
25. Orbital roulette 125
26. The night before VEsak 127
27. Ashoka station 130
28. The first lowering 134
29. Final approach 138
30 The egions of the king 142
31. Exodus 144
IV - The tower
32. Space express 149
33. CORA 154
34. Vertigo 156
35. Starglider plus eighty 163
36. The cruel sky 165
37. The billion-ton diamond
V - Ascension
38. A place of silent storms 175
39. The wounded sun 178
40. The edn of the line 183
41. Meteor 185
42. Death in orbit 187
43. Fail-safe 189
44. A cave in the sky 192
45. The man for the job 197
46. Spider 200
47. Beyond the aurora 206
48. Night at the villa 211
49. A bumpy ride 214
50. The falling fireflies 217
51. On the porch 219
52. The other passenger 222
53. Fade-out 226
54. Theory of relativity 230
55. Hard dock 232
56. View from the balcony 237
57. The last dawn 240
58. Epilogue: Kalidasa's triumph 244
Afterword: Sources and acknowledgements 251
Series & Lists edit
This is book 34 of 70 in Science Fiction Masterworks. (edition-based publisher list)
Preceded by Non-Stop, and followed by Pavane.
This book is in Significant Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror). (community list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Arthur C. Clarke (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 1979
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 305
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 1979
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 305
Awards edit
- Hugo (1980: Best science fiction novel)
- Nebula (1979: Best Novel)
- BSFA (British Science Fiction Association) (Finalist, 1979)
- Locus Science Fiction Award (Finalist, 1980)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 823.914
Subjects edit
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