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hippxcrates's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book made me far too reflective of the current state of politics, which is a testament to the writing (it's great) but sure made me slow to read it as oftentimes i got to introspective and depressed about the trajectory of our current climate. But it boasts an ending that's hopeful, only with great sacrifice.
civil6512's review against another edition
3.0
With mankind spreading around the Solar System, scarcity of certain resources leads to tensions between the governments of Earth (covering Earth and Moon) and Federation (covering other planets and satellites). As the conflict for resources develops, an agent from an Intelligence Agency of Earth travels to the Moon, trying to uncover a spy passing information to the Federation.
Earthlight is a short book, and tells a simple but interesting story. Its descriptions of a Moon society, although dated by the technology described there, are detailed and satisfying, and a certain amount of optimism and hope can be perceived all throughout the book. However, the ending is a bit anticlimactic -and the fact that the author himself repeats the word anticlimax a couple of times doesn't help much.
Earthlight is a short book, and tells a simple but interesting story. Its descriptions of a Moon society, although dated by the technology described there, are detailed and satisfying, and a certain amount of optimism and hope can be perceived all throughout the book. However, the ending is a bit anticlimactic -and the fact that the author himself repeats the word anticlimax a couple of times doesn't help much.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting ideas but not as epic as Clarke's more famous works. It is amazing to consider it was written a decade before humans landed on the moon.
nonb_horror_fan's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
thetashc's review against another edition
3.0
In the 200 years since man first made it to the moon in the 1950s, we’ve colonised Mars, Venus and more. A clear rift has developed between these outer colonies, known as the Federation, and the Earth & Moon. The Earth has grown jealous that all of its best and brightest scientists move to these colonies to study at the frontier of their fields, while the Federation feels that Earth is holding out on sharing much-needed resources. This tension will soon come to a head if certain information doesn’t get stopped from making its way into the wrong hands.
This was an incredibly well-written novel. I was afraid Clarke’s scientific knowledge and expertise would result in boring and unnecessary details, but it instead just made the story more realistic and engaging. I wish it had been longer with more of the spy element being explored, but it was an enjoyable read none-the-less.
This was an incredibly well-written novel. I was afraid Clarke’s scientific knowledge and expertise would result in boring and unnecessary details, but it instead just made the story more realistic and engaging. I wish it had been longer with more of the spy element being explored, but it was an enjoyable read none-the-less.
kb_208's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun and enjoyable little read from the amazing mind of Mr. Clark. It involves a man going to the moon under the guise of checking the moon's expenditure, but in reality he is searching for a spy from the federation. The other planets are growing intolerant of Earth holding all the resources for the planets. War is likely to break out. He needs to find the spy, but other researchers stumble across something else happening on the moon.
Overall it's a decent story, but not his best. But he does paint a vivid world of what stations may be like on the moon.
Overall it's a decent story, but not his best. But he does paint a vivid world of what stations may be like on the moon.
livia_r's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
trinitypoints's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I rarely read fiction but I quite enjoyed this. I love a good anti-war, retrofuturism space moon colony story
zee's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
Earthlight essentially boils down to a whodunnit novel that happens to take place on the moon. Sadler is responsible for investigating a possible leak, and must find who they are before Earth and its planetary colonies go to war (with strong flavours of the Cold War). This is far from Clarke's best work, and the spy/thriller portion lacked excitement. It's definitely a slow (but short) burn. There are no female characters, but the upside to that is there's also no weird mid-century sexism. It was fascinating to read his interpretation of the moon, as it was published well before the moon landing.
liamdearlove's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0