The table of contents of this collection of short stories by legendary science fiction writer—and co-writer of the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey—is pretty hefty business. The table lists more than a hundred stories written by Clarke over a period stretching from 1937 to just a couple years shy of that iconic date of the Kubrick film. That translates into near a thousand pages of science fiction fun.
The only room for analysis here, really, boils down to a single question. Are you interested in reading stories about such still-futuristic machines and capabilities as teleportation devices, inter-dimensional travel, and the ironic possibility that space exploration and lunar colonization could actually worsen the problem of overpopulation on earth to an exponential degree. And those topics describe just three of the stories.
Of course, ultimately, one need not be a science-fiction fan to find something of interest among this collection. That is the single greatest advantage of creating a comprehensive collection based on chronology rather than theme. There is no recurring theme among these stories; there dozens of them. There is no single unifying aspect relative to structure, style, tone, setting, plot or anything else. The one and only thing shared by every one of these stories is the name of the man who wrote it. Massive, career-spanning compendia of a single writer’s output—especially one as unusually productive and prolific as Clarke—comes with an element to it that mandates the title usually given them. These are not the “selected” stories of Clarke by any means of measurement. They were not selected other than by virtue of being written.
Volumes such as this truly do represent truth-in-advertising: they present a process of collecting everything that an author has written in short form (or, in some cases, everything that the writer is not ashamed or embarrassed at having written) to serve a single specific purpose. The intent of canon-collection represents one of the few decision in publishing that is anti-economic. While the publishers can, of course, charge a hefty price for such a hefty tome, pricing it to high will merely have the effect of driving down sales. Far wiser would be splitting the stories by theme and putting out multiple collections. Instead, what a great big book of every short story written by Arthur C. Clarke (or any other author) is really all about it reader appreciation. These books are a way for author or his executors to say thank you for being a fan, here’s the gift of a book so big you aren’t likely to lose it and will be the once book you need to have to enjoy everything you love.
It is a thing to behold and appreciate as a reader. Those who love Clarke can revel in their favorites. Those who are just starting to appreciate him can hold in their hands an opportunity to explore his amazing world at their own pace and leisure.
