The Songs of Distant Earth

...Whether Clarke managed to write something that is less fantastical than shall we say Star Wars is questionable. Clarke's futures always carry a touch of utopia, something that in my opinion at least, is most certainly not supported by history of the 20th century. Progress is one thing, what we're doing with it is quite another. Mix in the controversial science and highly speculative solution to the solar neutrino problem I'd say Clarke would have been wise to stick to a somewhat wider definition of science fiction that he seems to be advocating. That is, at least partly, hindsight though and it didn't keep me from thoroughly enjoying this book. It won't top anyone's favourite list but if you are looking for a quick but thought provoking and slightly fantastic science fiction tale you could do worse than The Songs of Distant Earth.