Imperial Earth
Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke
I’m not one hundred percent sure what sub genre I'd put Imperial Earth in. I guess it’s a slice of life political space drama? Maybe? Whatever it qualifies as, I've not really read anything like it before. While not remotely action packed, and not really having much conflict either, it somehow keeps an interest pace, while having you hooked in the dry story. I’m not sure how Arthur C. Clarke does it as times, or maybe I'm just a fanboy.
Imperial Earth follows a third generation clone named Duncan Makenzie. The time has come for him to travel from his home on Titan, back to the Mother planet, Earth. The place where he was born, but has spent none of his life. There, he’s to take part in the celebrations uniting the planets and moons within the solar system, while also getting to experience what Earth has to offer. It’s a diplomatic trip, with a chance to do a little travelling, and also create a baby clone of himself to eventually succeed him.
I don’t know if that description really does the book justice. It sounds a little dry and maybe boring, but the book feels anything but that. It’s not so much a page turner, as an interesting dairy of sorts. A look at a future through a slice of life convention. We get to see Duncan in a fish out of water role learning about futuristic Earth, while also being an expert in his own field. And as always in these type of fish out water stories there’s a girl, but even that story is far from a typical romance.
Imperial Earth is full of the normal things you’d expect from Arthur C Clarke. Gorgeous descriptions of space. Detailed tech stuff and maths. Technological ideas, including a very idealistic version of the internet that did briefly exist, but has long since been morphed into porn and memes. There’s incredible descriptions of Titan and Saturn. And wonderful little moments on Earth about the Titanic and Coral Reef. I’ll always be a fan of his writing.
As it’s Duncan’s story, I was pleased that I found Duncan likeable throughout, even if he did have his moments. He felt real, and it was interesting to see how he behaved in a culture very different from his own, despite being the same race. The whole book just felt like something that could happen, with people who could exist, with world building that’s probably on it’s way.
Not a roller coaster page turner by any means, but more of an interesting futuristic slice of life read. A concept that could probably never translate to film, but works well as a book. Not my favourite Arthur C. Clarke book, but another good entry in his strong body of work. Imperial Earth maybe isn’t one I'd recommend to everyone, but I think if you’re a fan of Hard Sci-fi and Clarke’s work, you’ll appreciate the deliberate pace and careful ideas.
