Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke

...Had to go with the cool older cover ....

Book 10 started, Book 9 finished

Expedition to Earth by Arthur C. Clarke

Published by Rosettabooks, 2012 (1953)

It’s good to read some of the works of the forefathers of science fiction.  It’s been decades since I’ve read any Clarke and it’s like visiting an old friend.  These are 11 tales originally published between 1949 and 1953 and are, of course, of varying quality individually.  Combined, they’re fascinating in style and content and a joy to read.

Most of these stories aren’t about laser guns or space battles – although I enjoy that kind of science fiction – but about the human condition.

Second Dawn – This is a cautionary tale.  A race of psychics discover a psychic weapon of mass destruction in war time.  In their horror, they turn away from it and the knowledge that lead to it and instead down a path of physical sciences ….

If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth – A child looks upon the radioactive wastes that is the Earth from the relative safety of the Moon.

Breaking Strain – A spaceship loses its oxygen reserves.

History Lesson – Long after humanity is gone, what will be found to show who we were and what will be made of us?

Superiority – A military tribunal holds a reminder that superior technology and superior hubris does not necessarily guarantee success on the battlefield.   This is a truism that’s often forgotten and this story is a very nice reminder.

Exile of the Eons – A tyrant saves himself at the end of his empire with 100 years of suspended animation that ends up as eons and eons beyond imagining.

Hide and Seek – A spy, a battle cruiser and a moon of Mars, what could go wrong?

Expedition to Earth – Humans centuries more advanced than us find and Earth full of primitives.

Loophole - When Martians insist the Earthicans give up research into rocketry and set up monitoring stations to enforce their edict, those wily humans find an itty bitty loophole.

Inheritance – A little ditty about test pilots and vivid dreaming.  I’m not sure I really grokked this one.

The Sentinel – This is the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and considered a classic.  But, it’s far from my favorite in this collection.  There’s just no there there for me to love it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this collection and I need to revisit the old masters more often.  But, I may also be overdosing on short stories this month, too …

3.5 stars.