Two classic novels in one volume includes a new introduction written by the author. In "The Ghost from the Grand Banks", the "Titanic" is raised 100 years after its sinking, but fatal obsessions rage and the ship may become a deathtrap again. In "The Deep Range", a traumatized astronaut becomes a submarine warden, and finds as many dangers underwater.

Two classic novels in one volume includes a new introduction written by the author. In "The Ghost from the Grand Banks", the "Titanic" is raised 100 years after its sinking, but fatal obsessions rage and the ship may become a deathtrap again. In "The Deep Range", a traumatized astronaut becomes a submarine warden, and finds as many dangers underwater.

Publisher description

A collection of four unique science fiction novels by the innovative, award-winning author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This collection not only thrills and excites readers with Clarke’s passion for science fiction and speculative work, but his words ask readers big questions about what it means to be human, and humanity’s relationship with nature and technology. The Deep Range: A hundred years into the future, humanity lives mostly on the oceans, tending vast whale herds and plankton farms. Walter Franklin works on a submarine patrol, and his adventures under the sea are told in this riveting tale, set against the backdrop of a world both futuristic and familiar. The Trigger: A team of scientists develops the ultimate passive weapon, a device that detonates all nitrate-based bombs. But even protective weaponry comes with moral dilemmas, and the device’s inventor struggles to keep the weapon from those with violent intentions. The Ghost from the Grand Banks: An astonishing discovery is made when the two halves of the Titanic are raised from the seabed, six perfectly preserved bodies, including a beautiful woman who was not listed among the ship’s original passengers. The mission to discover her secret becomes obsessive, and dangerous. Richter 10: A violent earthquake killed Lewis Crane’s parents when he was just a child. Now grown up, he has devoted his life to protecting humankind from earthquakes. A renowned scientist, Crane has developed technology to fuse the Earth’s tectonic plates to stop earthquakes forever, but what repercussions will this have on the planet?

This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.

Containing more than 600 entries, this valuable resource presents all aspects of travel writing. There are entries on places and routes (Afghanistan, Black Sea, Egypt, Gobi Desert, Hawaii, Himalayas, Italy, Northwest Passage, Samarkand, Silk Route, Timbuktu), writers (Isabella Bird, Ibn Battuta, Bruce Chatwin, Gustave Flaubert, Mary Kingsley, Walter Ralegh, Wilfrid Thesiger), methods of transport and types of journey (balloon, camel, grand tour, hunting and big game expeditions, pilgrimage, space travel and exploration), genres (buccaneer narratives, guidebooks, New World chronicles, postcards), companies and societies (East India Company, Royal Geographical Society, Society of Dilettanti), and issues and themes (censorship, exile, orientalism, and tourism). For a full list of entries and contributors, a generous selection of sample entries, and more, visit the Literature of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia website.

Already renowned for his science fiction and scientific nonfiction, Arthur C. Clarke became the world's most famous science fiction writer after the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He then produced novels like Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise that many regard as his finest works. Gary Westfahl closely examines Clarke's remarkable career, ranging from his forgotten juvenilia to the passages he completed for a final novel, The Last Theorem. As Westfahl explains, Clarke's science fiction offered original perspectives on subjects like new inventions, space travel, humanity's destiny, alien encounters, the undersea world, and religion. While not inclined to mysticism, Clarke necessarily employed mystical language to describe the fantastic achievements of advanced aliens and future humans. Westfahl also contradicts the common perception that Clarke's characters were bland and underdeveloped, arguing that these reticent, solitary individuals, who avoid conventional relationships, represent his most significant prediction of the future, as they embody the increasingly common lifestyle of people in the twenty-first century.