- Authors:
- Arthur C. Clarke (author) and Michael Whelan (covers)
- Language:
- English
- Publisher:
- HarperCollins
- Categories:
- Novel and science fiction
- Publication year:
- 1998
- Original publication year:
- 1986
- ISBN:
- 0-586-06623-3
- Pages:
- 238
- Synopsis:
The Earth is swallowed in the explosion of the Sun in the year 3620, and the novel begins with the landing of the starship Magellan on the now-colonized planet of Thalassa, a world covered almost entirely in ocean except for three closely linked islands. They need to repair their ship for their upcoming journey to their real destination, a planet called Sagan 2, which, with their millions of colonists in cryo-sleep, they hope to colonize.
Almost the entirety of the novel takes place on Thalassa.
- Review:
A very beautiful novel full of memorable scenes. (The lifting of the kilometer-wide hexagonal ice blocks for the ship's shield comes to mind.) The pacing is good, the characters are well-developed, and the writing is excellent (but then again, this is a Clarke novel).
- Images:
- Table of Contents:
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- Author's Note
I THALASSA
- 1 The Beach at Tarna
- 2 The Little Neutral One
- 3 Village Council
- 4 Tocsin
- 5 Night Ride
II MAGELLAN
- 6 Planetfall
- 7 Lords of the Last Days
- 8 Remembrance of Love Lost
- 9 The Quest for Superspace
III SOUTH ISLAND
- 10 First Contact
- 11 Delegation
- 12 Heritage
- 13 Task Force
- 14 Mirissa
- 15 Terra Nova
- 16 Party Games
- 17 Chain of Command
- 18 Kumar
- 19 Pretty Polly
- 20 Idyll
IV KRAKAN
- 21 Academy
- 22 Krakan
- 23 Ice Day
- 24 Archive
- 25 Scorp
- 26 Snowflake Rising
- 27 Mirror of the Past
- 28 The Sunken Forest
- 29 Sabra
- 30 Child of Krakan
V THE BOUNTY SYNDROME
- 31 Petition
- 32 Clinic
- 33 Tides
- 34 Shipnet
- 35 Convalescence
- 36 Kilimanjaro
- 37 In Vino Veritas
- 38 Debate
- 39 The Leopard in the Snows
- 40 Confrontation
- 41 Pillow Talk
- 42 Survivor
- 43 Interrogation
VI THE FORESTS OF THE SEA
- 44 Spyball
- 45 Bait
- 46 Whatever Gods May Be ...
VII AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD
- 47 Ascension
- 48 Decision
- 49 Fire on the Reef
VIII THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH
- 50 Shield of Ice
- 51 Relic
- 52 The Songs of Distant Earth
- 53 The Golden Mask
- 54 Valediction
- 55 Departure
- 56 Below the Interface
IX SAGAN 2
- 57 The Voices of Time
- Chronology
- Bibliographical Note
- Acknowledgements
