Sentinel
The best collection ever of Arthur C. Clarke’s short fiction, including the stories on which 2001: A Space Odyssey and Childhood’s End were based.
The Sentinel is a magnificent retrospective showcase of Arthur C. Clarke’s finest shorter fiction. Spanning four decades of writing, this book includes many gems of a genius at the height of his powers. The title piece is the story that inspired 2001. ‘Guardian Angel’ is a rarely anthologised work that gave birth to Childhood’s End, and ‘The Songs of Distant Earth’ is the original version of Clarke’s own favourite novel.
Along with other vaulting tales of imagination are fascinating introductions telling the history of each story from conception to completion.
From one of the greatest science-fiction writers of all time. The Sentinel is one of those all-too-few collections that must be read, re-read, then treasured.
Born in Somerset in 1917, Arthur C. Clarke has written over fifty books, among which are the science fiction classics 2001, A Space Odyssey, Childhood’s End, The City and the Stars and Rendezvous With Rama. He has won all the most prestigious science fiction trophies, and shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for the screenplay of the film of 2001. He lives in Sri Lanka.