Tales from the White Hart. by Arthur C. Clarke. 1957
TALES FROM THE WHITE HART IS RATED 83%.
AVERAGE STORY: 3.67
15 STORIES : 0 GREAT / 10 GOOD / 5 AVERAGE / 0 POOR /0 DNF
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This collection shows a side of Arthur C Clarke that is mostly overlooked: quaint science fiction humorist. These fifteen gently wry frame stories take place within the fictional London pub called the White Hart. In this home of writers, journalists, and editors, a man named Harry Purvis tells a series of tall tales with a science fiction bent. Presumably narrated by Clarke himself - who is quite skeptical about their truth - each story details an invention and frequently describes how it went wrong..
Nothing here rises to the level of true greatest, but the collection as a whole is a wonderful peek into an older era of scientific imagination, where everything is possible and nothing is verifiable. Stiff drinks, private men’s clubs, and scientists who aren’t quite mad yet.
If you are going to read this, I recommend taking it slowly. Just dip in from time to time. Don’t swallow the whole book in one gulp as it may blend together a bit.
TALES FROM THE WHITE HART IS RATED 83%.
15 STORIES : 0 GREAT / 10 GOOD / 5 AVERAGE / 0 POOR /0 DNF
Silence Please • (1950)
Good. A device that creates silence turns fatal.
Big Game Hunt • (1956)
Average. Scientists use electrodes to control animal behavior.
Patent Pending • (1954)
Good. An invention allows for the recording and replaying of human sensory experience. It is used for gustatory and sensual pleasure.
Armaments Race • (1954)
Good. A special effects artist in Hollywood is push to create ‘ray-guns’ of ever increasing realism.
Critical Mass • (1949)
Good. The cargo of a crashed truck leads to an evacuation.
The Ultimate Melody • (1957)
Average. The search for the Ultimate Melody leads to tragedy.
The Pacifist • (1956)
Good. An incompetent General is embarrassed by a computer named Karl.
The Next Tenants • (1957)
Good. Scientists play God with a microscopic civilization on a Pacific atoll.
Moving Spirit • (1957)
Average. The production of spirits creates a massive explosion.
The Man Who Ploughed the Sea • (1957)
Good. Off the coast of Florida, a tale of personal submarines, an abnormal mining ship, and a greedy industrialist luxury yacht.
The Reluctant Orchid • (1956)
Good. A very weak young man finds the perfect antidote to his overbearing Aunt. A ravenous plant!
Cold War • (1957)
Average. California dressed up a submarine as an iceberg to mess with Florida.
What Goes Up • (1956)
Good. A smartly humorous story about the creation of a gravity well.
Sleeping Beauty • (1957)
Good. A man cures snoring by curing sleeping.
The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch • (1957)
Average. A husband and wife compete with a device that counts their words.
