Information AboutImperial Earth |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT IMPERIAL EARTH | |
| 1976 novels | |
| novels by arthur c. clarke | |
| science fiction novels | |
| titan in fiction | |
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The puzzle game Pentomino s features in a prominent subplot of the novel. The book offers socially liberal ideas about sexuality and racial attitudes. Duncan Makenzie is Black , which is not mentioned until approximately halfway through the book, because the fact is of no more importance to him than his hair color. At several points he also reminisces about sexual affairs with males, and that Bisexuality is now considered the norm. EDITIONS The original UK hardcover edition (ISBN 0575020113) has the subtitle "A Fantasy of Love and Discord" and has 38 chapters and "Acknowledgments and Notes". The later US hardcover edition has 43 chapters, drops the subtitle, and expands the Acknowledgements and Notes. The later US paperback edition adds a quote from Ernest Hemingway and an "Additional Note" about a possible biological error in the plot. A number of other sub-plots suggest some sort of greater mystery, but remain unexplored. The book ends with him returning home with his new "child" (who is a clone of a brilliant but erratic former best friend), leaving the other plot threads dangling. It is common in science fiction to offer perspectives of social issues. Clarke addresses issues of racism, the spectre of cloning (which was a very new topic in the early 1970s), and the economics of energy production and control. He describes in great detail a personal communications device combining mobile video phone and PDA with global data connectivity. |
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