About the Author Arthur C. Clarke is considered to be the greatest science fiction writer of all time. He is an international treasure in many other ways: An article written by him in 1945 led to the invention of satellite technology. Books by Mr. Clarke--both fiction and nonfiction--have more than one hundred million copies in print worldwide. He lives in Sri Lanka. "From the Trade Paperback edition." Product Description This volume is of special interest -- included are a wide range of classic stories, including the title story, "Jupiter Five," "The Deep Range," "Second Dawn," and the earliest of the splendidly comic narratives told by Harry Purvis for the benefit of the denizens of the White Hart. From Library Journal With so little serious sf currently available on unabridged audio, the release of this comprehensive collection of Clarke's short stories is an occasion for celebration, for he is an undisputed master of hard sfDthat which combines creative storytelling with ideas grounded in plausible science. Clarke is, after all, best known as the writer behind 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the few films that depicts space travel realistically. It is thus not surprising that his tales are filled with intelligent, fresh, and fascinating ideas, as well as interesting and plausible characters. The stories on these tapes are arranged in chronological order, with titles printed on each side of each cassetteDa nice feature that more audiobook publishers should emulate. Clarke himself reads the foreword to the first set, and each of his stories is preceded by a brief discussion of its themes and publishing history, read by someone else. The readers are a large and diverse assemblage, ranging from actors such as Maxwell Caulfield, Samantha Eggar, and William Windom, to other well-known sf writers, such as Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova. The collection is overproduced; its many different reading voices make it confusingDespecially the introductions that are read by two different people. Moreover, screen actors and writers don't always make the best readers. Nevertheless, libraries with many serious sf fans should consider buying the entire cassette collection, and other libraries should consider the CDs.DR. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From AudioFile Some of the most influential and well-known science fiction stories of the Golden Age are captured here, all by British genius Arthur C. Clarke. The title story is especially well known; so is "The Deep Range," about whale herding, and "The Star," the real (fictional) truth about the Star of Bethlehem. The producers' technique is to assign a single performer to each story. They're not all equal, but all are effective, and there is no outrageously bad choice. Harlan Ellison, a well-known science fiction author himself, stands out with the passion he brings to all his readings, and so does Stefan Rudnicki, a producer of this audiobook series, who brings a friendly, deep-voiced gravitas. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine