Reviews

• Fascinating concepts (in 1979), bland story, flavorless characters

  While it says it's about building a space elevator, it's really about three things - ancient ruins in Sri Lanka and their history, an alien probe passing through the solar system and its impact, and the space elevator. I found the alien probe story as well as the rescue during the tower's construction at the end of the book to be the most interesting. Although I'm sure in 1979 the concepts could have been considered revolutionary, now, in 2020, they could easily be covered by a 10-minute YouTube (especially Kurtzgesagt) video. However the characters felt dimensionless, and the stories seemed almost tacked onto a dull history professor's monologue describing various aspects of the bureaucratic process of approving and constructing the tower, often referring back to the ancient ruins and their history. This was my first Arthur C. Clarke book, and probably my last. Just before this I read Becky Chambers' The Long Way..., which had much more deeply textured characters, intricate world-building, and carefully-woven plots and sub-plots.

• An amazing engineering treatise wrapped in a novel

  I love Clarke's writing. He can so eloquently describe and summarize complicated scientific principles, exotic locales, and far-fetched alien ideas with just enough detail to be explicit without boring the reader with long-winded exposition. This book is no exception. The Fountains of Paradise reads like a modern fiction story with a historical fiction backstory, mixed with some well-founded engineering and scientific knowledge, and capped with just enough Sci-fi to leave us wanting. I wish Clarke had a stronger drive for sequels. The Starholme could very well have been developed on a parallel course to Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. This book captivated me, entertained me, educated me, and sent my imagination soaring. Of course, as a 2022 reader, I find it hard to believe that such a project as the space elevator could have been accomplished by what seemed to be such a small team. Clarke kinda oversimplified the complexities of large corporation, even by 1970's standards, but it doesn't take anything away from the book. A highly recommended book.

• The fountains of paradise

  Avery good read.

• Good SciFi Addition to Your Collection!

  Immerses you in future reality. Telling the story of an elevator into space, this also describes a flashback related story thousands of years earlier as a Sri Lankan king builds a palace high on the mountain top. Both celestial projects stretch the limits of human achievement and engineering ability and Clarke’s unique talent ties the two stories together. Much of the narrative is devoted to explanations of the problems and obstacles to overcome for such a marvel of technology and engineering. Clarke also sets this in the near future and describes other preeminent projects like a bridge across Gibraltar. Essentially, this is a filament tether connecting the mountain top to an orbiting satellite and we can easily transport people and supplies hundreds of kilometers into low space. Clarke’s scientific imagination and vision are again on exhibition. This one also features better characterization than what we usually expect from him.

• This book is a monarch in hard sci fi. ...

  This book is a monarch in hard sci fi. The whole idea by Clarke is exceptional with lot of imagination yet completely believable and realistic. A must for a sci fi reader.

• extrêmement bien écrit

  une histoire qui renvoie à Jules Verne, et au lointain passé du Sri Lanka, une histoire qui mêle passé, et avenir.

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