reading list
Fountains of Paradise
Arthur C. Clarke
published: 1979, read: 1/1/24
263 pages, genre: Sci-Fi
rating: 7/10, normalized: 6.667/10
-0.23σ worse than average
0.016σ or 0.015/10 better than average in Sci-Fi genre
The premise of this book is the construction of a space elevator which is a topic that's had homage paid to it in several other series as well. Feels kinda like a deep dive interlude detailing plausible engineering background to the great infra projects of 3BP, Terra Ignota, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, etc.
Arthur C. Clarke also wrote 2001: a Space Odyssey, and there's some tongue-in-cheek references to contemporary sci-fi of the time e.g. "Space Wars 2000."
Use of the word "orientated" pisses me off.
Technical details make me happy.
Overall this book is a solid "tight five" for the genre. In and out, well scoped, doesn't bite off more than it can chew, and his some good plot devices along the way to keep the reader interested (e.g. interludes from thousands of years into the past and the future which also tell stories/fables of great engineering feats of their time and how they relate to space exploration.)
related
| Read | Author | Title | Pages | Published | Genre | Rating | Rating' | Tags | Recommended by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1/24 | Arthur C. Clarke | Fountains of Paradise | 263 | 1979 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 1/15/25 | qntm | Ed | 144 | 2021 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | referenced | |
| 6/13/24 | Neal Stephenson | Seveneves | 880 | 2015 | Sci-Fi | 8.750 | 8.611 | space elevator | |
| 4/5/23 | Ada Palmer | The Will to Battle Terra Ignota (3) | 353 | 2017 | Sci-Fantasy | 8.750 | 8.611 | space elevator | roon |
| 9/21/26 | Yoko Ogawa | The Memory Police | 288 | 1994 | Sci-Fi | 4.000 | 3.333 | ||
| 7/1/26 | Vernor Vinge | A Fire Upon the Deep | 626 | 1992 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 12/31/25 | Cixin Liu | To Hold Up the Sky | 336 | 2021 | Sci-Fi | 6.700 | 6.333 | ||
| 11/9/25 | Greg Egan | Distress Subjective Cosmology Cycle (3) | 342 | 1998 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 10/29/25 | Greg Egan | Quarantine Subjective Cosmology Cycle (1) | 280 | 1992 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | ||
| 10/15/25 | Robert A. Heinlein | Starship Troopers | 290 | 1987 | Sci-Fi | 8.000 | 7.778 | Charlie J. | |
| 9/14/25 | Kurt Vonnegut | Player Piano | 296 | 1952 | Sci-Fi | 6.650 | 6.278 | ||
| 9/10/25 | George Orwell | 1984 | 328 | 1949 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | ||
| 9/7/25 | Yevgeny Zamyatin | We | 226 | 1924 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 9/6/25 | Aldous Huxley | Brave New World | 288 | 1932 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 8/11/25 | Greg Egan | Diaspora | 376 | 1997 | Sci-Fi | 8.000 | 7.778 | thesephist | |
| 8/11/25 | Olga Ravn | The Employees | 126 | 2020 | Sci-Fi | 5.500 | 5.000 | ||
| 6/8/25 | Helen Phillips | The Need | 272 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 7.150 | 6.833 | ||
| 4/7/25 | Pierce Brown | Light Bringer Red Rising Saga (6) | 704 | 2023 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | Thomas | |
| 3/27/25 | Pierce Brown | Dark Age Red Rising Saga (5) | 784 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | Thomas | |
| 3/18/25 | Pierce Brown | Iron Gold Red Rising Saga (4) | 596 | 2018 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | Thomas | |
| 3/18/25 | qntm | Fine Structure | 386 | 2021 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 3/13/25 | Pierce Brown | Morning Star Red Rising Saga (3) | 518 | 2016 | Sci-Fi | 5.125 | 4.583 | Thomas | |
| 3/5/25 | Pierce Brown | Golden Son Red Rising Saga (2) | 464 | 2015 | Sci-Fi | 5.875 | 5.417 | Thomas | |
| 2/28/25 | Pierce Brown | Red Rising Red Rising Saga (1) | 382 | 2014 | Sci-Fi | 5.500 | 5.000 | Thomas | |
| 2/18/25 | Hugh Howie | Dust Silo (3) | 480 | 2013 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | Jack M. | |
| 2/14/25 | Hugh Howie | Shift Silo (2) | 576 | 2013 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | Jack M. | |
| 2/9/25 | Hugh Howie | Wool Silo (1) | 592 | 2011 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | Jack M. | |
| 2/1/25 | Matt Dinniman | Dungeon Crawler Carl Dungeon Crawler Carl (1) | 464 | 2020 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | Noah | |
| 1/13/25 | qntm | Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories | 107 | 2022 | Sci-Fi | 7.375 | 7.083 | ||
| 1/3/25 | Isaac Asimov | Nightfall and Other Stories | 352 | 1969 | Sci-Fi | 6.737 | 6.374 | ||
| 12/7/24 | Dan Simmons | The Rise of Endymion Hyperion Cantos (4) | 579 | 1997 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | ||
| 11/30/24 | Dan Simmons | Endymion Hyperion Cantos (3) | 441 | 1996 | Sci-Fi | 6.250 | 5.833 | ||
| 11/30/24 | George R.R. Martin | Dreamsongs: The Second Kind of Loneliness | 670 | 1972 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | ||
| 11/24/24 | Dan Simmons | The Fall of Hyperion Hyperion Cantos (2) | 517 | 1990 | Sci-Fi | 8.250 | 8.056 | ||
| 11/16/24 | Dan Simmons | Hyperion Hyperion Cantos (1) | 482 | 1989 | Sci-Fi | 8.025 | 7.806 | ||
| 9/6/24 | Alastair Reynolds | Eversion | 352 | 2022 | Sci-Fi | 7.083 | 6.759 | Nick W. | |
| 9/6/24 | Greg Egan | You and Whose Army? | 34 | 1998 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 9/5/24 | Greg Egan | Planck Dive | 23 | 1998 | Sci-Fi | 9.250 | 9.167 | ||
| 9/4/24 | Paul Anderson | Tau Zero | 232 | 1970 | Sci-Fi | 7.250 | 6.944 | roon | |
| 8/29/24 | José Saramago | Blindness | 352 | 1995 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 8/28/24 | Margaret Atwood | Oryx and Crake MaddAddam (1) | 400 | 2003 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | Steg | |
| 8/1/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Telling Hainish Cycle (8) | 416 | 2000 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 7/28/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | Four Ways to Forgiveness Hainish Cycle (7) | 320 | 1995 | Sci-Fi | 5.500 | 5.000 | ||
| 7/26/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Left Hand of Darkness Hainish Cycle (4) | 337 | 1969 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 7/26/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Word for World is Forest Hainish Cycle (5) | 189 | 1972 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | ||
| 7/16/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | City of Illusions Hainish Cycle (3) | 199 | 1967 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 7/10/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | Rocannon's World Hainish Cycle (1) | 258 | 1966 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 7/10/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | Planet of Exile Hainish Cycle (2) | 135 | 1966 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | ||
| 6/30/24 | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Dispossessed Hainish Cycle (6) | 284 | 1974 | Sci-Fi | 7.850 | 7.611 | ||
| 6/14/24 | Philip K. Dick | Ubik | 241 | 1969 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 6/14/24 | Philip K. Dick | The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | 290 | 1964 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 6/2/24 | Philip K. Dick | Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said | 259 | 1974 | Sci-Fi | 7.063 | 6.736 | ||
| 5/27/24 | Philip K. Dick | A Scanner Darkly | 220 | 1977 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 5/22/24 | Philip K. Dick | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | 274 | 1968 | Sci-Fi | 8.000 | 7.778 | ||
| 5/12/24 | Italo Calvino | Cosmicomics | 179 | 1965 | Sci-Fi | 7.029 | 6.699 | Will Liff. | |
| 1/13/24 | Iain Banks | Consider Phlebas Culture (1) | 471 | 1987 | Sci-Fi | 6.250 | 5.833 | roon | |
| 12/17/23 | James S.A. Corey | Caliban's War The Expanse (2) | 605 | 2012 | Sci-Fi | 5.000 | 4.444 | Charlie J. | |
| 10/28/23 | James S.A. Corey | Leviathan Wakes The Expanse (1) | 577 | 2011 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | Charlie J. | |
| 10/14/23 | Roger Zelazny | Lord of Light | 308 | 1967 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 8/23/23 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Cage of Souls | 638 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 8.000 | 7.778 | Alex W. | |
| 7/15/23 | Gene Wolfe | Fifth Head of Cerberus | 244 | 1972 | Sci-Fi | 9.083 | 8.981 | ||
| 6/18/23 | Various | Obsolescence | 360 | 2023 | Sci-Fi | 6.000 | 5.556 | ||
| 1/31/23 | Greg Egan | Permutation City Subjective Cosmology Cycle (2) | 275 | 1994 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | ||
| 1/29/23 | George Saunders | Escape from Spiderhead | 10 | 2010 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | ||
| 1/27/23 | Robert A. Heinlein | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | 382 | 1966 | Sci-Fi | 8.250 | 8.056 | ||
| 1/18/23 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Ruin Children of Time (2) | 475 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 6.750 | 6.389 | Alex W. | |
| 1/15/23 | Blake Crouch | Dark Matter | 368 | 2017 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | Nick W. | |
| 1/13/23 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Children of Time Children of Time (1) | 513 | 2015 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | Alex W. | |
| 1/11/23 | Ted Chiang | Exhalation | 368 | 2019 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 1/8/23 | Joe Halderman | The Forever War | 236 | 1974 | Sci-Fi | 5.000 | 4.444 | ||
| 10/27/22 | Cixin Liu | Deaths End Three Body Problem (3) | 592 | 2008 | Sci-Fi | 8.500 | 8.333 | Alex W. | |
| 10/17/22 | Cixin Liu | The Dark Forest Three Body Problem (2) | 400 | 2008 | Sci-Fi | 9.000 | 8.889 | Alex W. | |
| 10/10/22 | Isaac Asimov | Second Foundation Foundation (4) | 210 | 1953 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 10/1/22 | Cixin Liu | The Three Body Problem Three Body Problem (1) | 302 | 2008 | Sci-Fi | 8.000 | 7.778 | Alex W. | |
| 9/15/22 | Isaac Asimov | Foundation Foundation (3) | 255 | 1951 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 9/11/22 | Isaac Asimov | Forward the Foundation Foundation (2) | 417 | 1993 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 9/5/22 | Frank Herbert | Dune Messiah Dune (2) | 256 | 1969 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 | ||
| 9/5/22 | Frank Herbert | Children of Dune Dune (3) | 444 | 1976 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 8/6/22 | Frank Herbert | Dune Dune (1) | 412 | 1965 | Sci-Fi | 7.500 | 7.222 | ||
| 7/13/22 | Isaac Asimov | Prelude to Foundation Foundation (1) | 448 | 1988 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 10/13/16 | Ernest Cline | Ready Player One | 384 | 2011 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 8/16/16 | Douglas Adams | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | 224 | 1979 | Sci-Fi | 6.500 | 6.111 | ||
| 4/20/16 | Orson Scott Card | Ender's Game Ender (1) | 324 | 1985 | Sci-Fi | 7.750 | 7.500 | ||
| 6/28/13 | Eoin Colfer | The Supernaturalist | 290 | 2004 | Sci-Fi | 7.000 | 6.667 |