Book Review: The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke

It is one of the finest books ever written by Arthur C. Clarke. I enjoyed reading this book right from the start. It painted vivid images as I read the novel. It is undoubtedly a master class of writing in modern literature and a perfect example of aesthetic blending of historical and science fiction.

With increasing technology goes increasing vulnerability; the more Man conquers Nature the more liable he becomes to artificial catastrophes.

But man-made obstacles had never stopped him before. Nature was his real antagonist-the friendly enemy who never cheated and always played fair, yet never failed to take advantage of the tiniest oversight or omission.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke does not underestimate the knowledge of his readers, nor does he get carried away by writing pure science. The amusement is only grows as I rode on the Orbital Tower. The motive of the plot explores the themes of man's desire to conquer the world, earn his fame despite the challenges of technology, politics and religion.

Over the years Rajasinghe - himself the bearer of a royal name, and doubtless host to many regal genes - had often thought of those words; they demonstrated so perfectly the ephemeral nature of power, and the futility of ambition. "I am the King." Ah, but which King? The monarch who had stood on these granite flag-stones - scarcely worn then, eighteen hundred years ago - was probably an able and intelligent man; but he failed to conceive that the time could ever come when he would fade into an anonymity as deep as that of his humblest subjects.

The plot is set in Taprobane, present day Sri Lanka, in the 22nd century where an ambitious engineer, Van Morgan, plans to build a space elevator on the mountain of Sri Kanda. This ingenious project is faced with strong opposition from the Buddhist Temple on top of mountain, from the devious hands of politics and also by critics (referred as Donald Ducks) whose only job is to criticize. But Van is not going to stop until his dream is realized.

The eyes of the Buddha were completely blank empty pools in which a man might lose his soul, or discover a universe. Upon the lips there lingered a smile even more ambiguous than the Mona Lisa's. Yet was it indeed a smile, or merely a trick of the lighting? Already it was gone, replaced by an expression of superhuman tranquility. Morgan could not tear his eyes away from that hypnotic countenance, and only the familiar rustling whir of a hard-copy readout from the console brought him back to reality – if this was reality.

For me, it's one of those books which I found extremely engrossing right from the beginning and made me read fast like I was always on the ledge to know what builds up next. The writing style is very subtle because it makes you read between the lines. No words or lines are thrown to the reader to digest directly; he is always made to chew first. It is very intelligently written that way.

“There will be some aerodynamic noise,” Morgan admitted. “But nothing like that near a large airport.” “Very reassuring,” said the Mahanayake Thero. Morgan was certain that he was being sarcastic, yet could detect no trace of irony in his voice. He was either displaying an Olympian calm, or testing his visitor's reactions. The younger monk, on the other hand, made no attempt to conceal his anger.

Unfortunately, Bickerstaff did not know his limitations. Though he had a devoted coterie of fans who subscribed to his information service – in an earlier age, he would have been called a pop-scientist – he had an even larger circle of critics. The kinder ones considered that he had been educated beyond his intelligence. The others labelled him a self-employed idiot. It was a pity, thought Morgan, that Bickerstaff couldn't be locked in a room with Dr. Goldberg/Parakarma; they might annihilate each other like electron and positron – the genius of one cancelling out the fundamental stupidity of the other.

What I really liked is the discussion of technical issues ranging from geographical and meteorological problems to astronomical difficulties that can encounter in building this huge tower. This was written in 1979 and the the reference of global internet search and social media blew my mind. You won't be disappointed if you are fan of science fiction. I won't be surprised but thrilled to watch this work on film.

Book Review: Sons Of Gods - Mahabharatha by Sharon Maas

It was a coincidence when I was browsing through my news stream of goodreads.com and a post caught my eye. It was the announcement of a free giveaway of this book: Sons Of Gods - Mahabharatha posted by the author: Sharon Maas. Since I was disappointed with C. Rajagopalachari's version of Mahabharata, I was keenly looking for a better work of the great epic written in English. I wasted no time in showing my interest in reading her work. She sent it to me right away. When I read the prologue and I thought: Wow! It's amazing. This is the one! I am and will be grateful to her forever.

Book Cover

It overwhelmed me right from the start. The writing style, the apt use of poetic words, the conversations, the dialogues and the way the story eloquently flows like a calm river has made me fall in love with it. It's aesthetically appealing. The beauty of the language is experienced throughout the book as it weaves through all the episodes covering the substance of the original epic. I can imagine how difficult it was for her to first read the other versions of the great epic, then analyze them, and then meticulously extracting all the essential details and to finally come up with something as priceless as this, is nothing short of a literary marvel. (As a matter of fact, she has watched TV series of the epic. It really shows how interested she was about Mahabharata.) It's not just the beauty that appeals to the reader, but also that it misses nothing important; thereby doing justice to the original epic nonetheless.

There are 72 chapters. The chapters are more or less equally spaced. Each chapter is about ten minutes long. So, it will help you keep up with it without boring you even for a minute. Therefore, you can easily read a chapter or two during a break from your busy work schedule.

The aesthetics in defining each of the great characters, for instance, describing the charm of the heavenly maidens, their relationships with the kings - the conspiracies and fight scenes, and the principles of wisdom, makes the reader fondly remember all the episodes and the epic as a whole. It's truly a commendable effort. Well done, Sharon!

I want to urge all the people who are interested to read Mahabharata in English, buy this version without a speck of doubt. You won't be disappointed. I'll give you my word for it. It is prose poetry in the form of a novel.

Links

• This book on goodreads.com
• Author profile on goodreads.com

Book Review: 2001 A Space Odyssey

Well, what can I say! I am at a loss of words to express the enthusiasm of reading this masterpiece. It is a nail-biting read. With this work, I believe that Arthur C. Clarke is at his best. He described all the scientific aspects with such great care and detail that I felt I was in a space ship traveling to the Moon and Saturn all along.

The story begins with retelling the history of human evolution - from man-ape to a civilized human being. It provides an intriguing perspective about "how" the it happened. Beginning with Road To Extinction towards A New Dawn. This forms the basis of history of things to come.

Arthur Clarke adores Saturn - the ringed planet of our Solar System. The way he admires this beauty is nothing short of admiring a strong willed lovely woman. It really made me wonder what an amazing planet it can be! I also remember a short story by him from the collection: Tales From Planet Earth, where he describes Saturn more beautifully.  You might want to read that also: Saturn Rising.

The greatest experiences of reading this novel is about the journey through space. It eloquently describes how amazing space travel can be and entices its readers to embark upon the journey despite its shortcomings.

One of the major themes that Clarke describes is about Artificial Intelligence (AI). HAL 9000, the artificially intelligent computer fully controls the spaceship leaving astronauts to perform other important tasks. He questions AI when HAL misbehaves. He compares HAL's misbehavior to a criminal's behavior when he tries cover up a crime by committing more crimes.

Bowman could easily believe Dr. Simonson's theory that unconscious feelings of guilt caused by his program conflicts caused HAL to break the circuit with Earth.

This raises questions about the current trend in technological advancement. Machine Learning and AI should be employed to the extent that they should only offer a helping hand to humanity; not to the extent of controlling our lives.

When I found HAL as an interesting character, I immediately browsed through the images of HAL in the film adaptation of the novel. Then I was sure that the robot Auto, from the movie WALL-E, was inspired by HAL. This was evident when I found out that WALL-E was homage to the movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien and Blade Runner. Andrew Stanton, director of WALL-E, also voiced HAL in a short film adaption.

 

HAL 9000 and Auto

Clarke's vivid and awe-inspiring imagination overwhelmed me near the end. The entry into the Star Gate, arrival at The Grand Central and under The Alien Sky is so fantastic that you will feel the adrenaline rush throughout the journey. He has blended fantasy and science fiction exquisitely.

If you are not used to science fiction, then I highly recommend this novel. Its an amazing read - A op class page turner (one of my fastest reads). Oh, if you are confused about the ending, I've got one word for you: Evolution. All the sequels to this novel are in my to-read list. I am picking up 2010: Odyssey Two next, as soon as my thoughts about this work that are still lingering in my head settle down.

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I bought a Kindle edition of this book from a gift card. And it was long overdue being in my to-read shelf. What I really love about this novel is that it does an excellent job in manipulating the readers's mind and does it successfully. The first part of the story is a series of diary entries by the lead character, Amy Dunne. It gives a very sympathetic outlook of her. I felt very sorry for what she had been through. Honestly, it leaves your eyes in tears. And you will feel exactly opposite about her husband, Nick Dunne. In fact I got furious about him. Its the tale about the disappearance of Amy and trying to find her if she's alive. But as the second part approaches, there is a sudden change in perspectives in the way we look up to the characters. Whether its real or not, I'll leave it for you guys to decide. But the twist is overwhelmingly atrocious, cruel, disturbing and repulsive. It freezes our minds for a few moments in trying to accept this dramatic shift in the story. Then I realized - you can count on evidence, but not your thoughts.

The characters develop splendidly as the chapters progresses; thus unfolding the instincts of each of them. Apart from the central plot, the book explains how media can be exploited to turn everyone against you; to make people think what you are based on forging a public opinion and luring them to believe it without facts. Also, it talks about the family bonding. No matter what happens, your family will be there to stand by your side. This is evident by the relationship showcased between Nick and his twin sister.

The heart of story is how people pretend to be someone else in order to be accepted as perfect. Despite our shortcomings, almost all of us wear masks when we face the world outside our own. We crave for people to believe that we are nice, kind, generous, helpful, etc. But the real face unveils itself in marriage.

On the whole its an entertaining read - it plays with the mind all along. And most importantly, all the themes it describes are intertwined nicely. The episodes it presents to us are perfectly structured showcasing the discipline of the author, Gillian Flynn. I am looking forward to watching the film adaptation of this novel.

Footnote (Spoiler Alert)

The only thing I didn't like about the novel is its ending: Nick compromises with Amy. I expected a more exciting end to the story. I wanted Nick to outsmart his wife in someway or the other and send her to prison (or a mental asylum). I couldn't tolerate the height of harassment inflicted on him by her just because she wanted to be Amazing Amy to the whole world. He has to watch out for every word he utters and each step he takes every moment of his life. How could he live a life with her peacefully without a bond between their hearts? How can he choose to live with someone who plays torturous mind games with him all the time? It's like living in hell. I just couldn't agree with this.