Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Songs of Distant Earth (Arthur C. Clarke)

[***]

This is a very clever short story made novel length. What happens when ark-ships are sent to distant planets and the humans are raised by robots, along with the rest of the flora and fauna. Who decides the kind of social structure they will inherit? Who decides what kind of art and culture they get? What happens when much speedier travel is possible and their cousins from earth show up, carrying all the negative cultural and sociological baggage the ark-children were denied?

These are interesting questions, entertainingly entertained. Ultimately, the typical, liberal spin is given to everything. But the story is nicely told and most of the characters are richly drawn.

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