The city and the stars ; and, the sands of Mars

From Library Journal Published in 1953, 1952, and 1979, respectively, this trio of novels follow Clarke's recurring theme of humans thrusting themselves into space and then not necessarily liking what they find. The religious images that run throughout Clarke's work also are present here. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product Description The City and the Stars: The 10-billion-year-old metropolis of Diaspar is humanity's last home. Alone among immortals, the only man born in 10 million years desperately wants to find what lies beyond the city. The Sands Of Mars: Science fiction writer Martin Gibson finally gets a chance to visit the research colony on the Red planet. Its a dream come true, until he discovers the perils of survival on another world. Clarke's masterful evocation of the far future of humanity, considered his finest novel Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar. For millennia its protective dome shut out the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it held powers that rule the stars. But then, as legend has it, the invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man, a Unique, to break through Diaspar's stifling inertia, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders

Two classic novels are collected in this volume that includes a new introduction written by the author. In "The City and the Stars", the only man born among immortals wants to find out what lies beyond the city. And in "The Sands of Mars", a science-fiction writer visits a research colony on Mars and discovers the perils of survival on another world.