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A review by rainbowrachel
Cradle by Arthur C. Clarke
0.0
It is hard to express just how abysmal this book truly is.
If you're like me, you might be thinking, "but how can a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke be bad?" To which the answer is that this isn't really science fiction, isn't really a novel, and isn't really by Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke himself has stated:
"Another important influence on my life, of course, has been Gentry Lee, who was introduced to me by Peter Guber, who wanted to make a film based on Gentry's ideas. It was never filmed, but it led to the novel, Cradle, which was based on our joint ideas but almost entirely written by Gentry."
So, it isn't really by Clarke, and it is more a novelisation of a failed idea for a movie than a story that was originally conceived as a novel. As far as science fiction goes, it is certainly a story that has science fiction elements, but they are not prominent. The majority of the story is in a contemporary setting, and it would not have beendifficult to rewrite the whole thing to completely remove all traces of science fiction.
And yet, it is probably best labeled as science fiction because no other label fits either. It has elements of a thriller, yet it is not thrilling. It has elements of a romance novel, yet it is not romantic. Sometimes, it seems to aspire towards literary fiction, yet I can't imagine anyone considering it literature. Science fiction is where it arrives by default.
When I read some of the classics of older science fiction, I often come away feeling conflicted. On the one hand, they contain grand ideas and flights of fancy, they paint a vision of a possible future, envision glorious new technology, or shine a light on the human condition. Yet on the other hand, they are often deeply flawed. Too often, the genre is highly sexist, or it features wooden characters, stilted dialogue or awkward sex scenes.
Cradle feels like a condensation of all that is bad about old science fiction, without any of the good in there as a counterweight.
There are no grand science fiction ideas to be found, here, no exciting plot, no lovable characters, no redeeming features of any kind. Instead, there is sexism and racism aplenty, a boring and meandering plot in which very little happens, inconsistencies and plotholes, a cast of entirely unlikable characters, date rape, a 43 year old man lusting after a 17 year old girl, a pornographic video game, terrible dialogue, clumsy and misfiring attempts at social commentary, and badly written prose.
I can't say for sure that this is the worst book that I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I've read a lot of books, and some of them have been pretty terrible. However, if this isn't the absolute worst, then it's certainly a close contender. Every aspect is a failure, and it has no redeeming features. Avoid, at all costs.
If you're like me, you might be thinking, "but how can a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke be bad?" To which the answer is that this isn't really science fiction, isn't really a novel, and isn't really by Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke himself has stated:
"Another important influence on my life, of course, has been Gentry Lee, who was introduced to me by Peter Guber, who wanted to make a film based on Gentry's ideas. It was never filmed, but it led to the novel, Cradle, which was based on our joint ideas but almost entirely written by Gentry."
So, it isn't really by Clarke, and it is more a novelisation of a failed idea for a movie than a story that was originally conceived as a novel. As far as science fiction goes, it is certainly a story that has science fiction elements, but they are not prominent. The majority of the story is in a contemporary setting, and it would not have beendifficult to rewrite the whole thing to completely remove all traces of science fiction.
And yet, it is probably best labeled as science fiction because no other label fits either. It has elements of a thriller, yet it is not thrilling. It has elements of a romance novel, yet it is not romantic. Sometimes, it seems to aspire towards literary fiction, yet I can't imagine anyone considering it literature. Science fiction is where it arrives by default.
When I read some of the classics of older science fiction, I often come away feeling conflicted. On the one hand, they contain grand ideas and flights of fancy, they paint a vision of a possible future, envision glorious new technology, or shine a light on the human condition. Yet on the other hand, they are often deeply flawed. Too often, the genre is highly sexist, or it features wooden characters, stilted dialogue or awkward sex scenes.
Cradle feels like a condensation of all that is bad about old science fiction, without any of the good in there as a counterweight.
There are no grand science fiction ideas to be found, here, no exciting plot, no lovable characters, no redeeming features of any kind. Instead, there is sexism and racism aplenty, a boring and meandering plot in which very little happens, inconsistencies and plotholes, a cast of entirely unlikable characters, date rape, a 43 year old man lusting after a 17 year old girl, a pornographic video game, terrible dialogue, clumsy and misfiring attempts at social commentary, and badly written prose.
I can't say for sure that this is the worst book that I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I've read a lot of books, and some of them have been pretty terrible. However, if this isn't the absolute worst, then it's certainly a close contender. Every aspect is a failure, and it has no redeeming features. Avoid, at all costs.