I'm probably unique in this, but to be honest this is my favorite novel by Clarke, despite it being very atypical for him. Arthur C. Clarke was my mother's favorite author. She loved the transcendental in him, the religious flavor in his futuristic science fiction. She loved to tell the story of how she took me to see 2001: A Space Odyssey in theaters when I was a toddler and ruined it for her by squalling during the psychedelic scenes--it's actually one of my oldest and most traumatic memories. But for her, that's what she loved--the idea of all of us as star children, of a apotheosis of space and the heavens. If you're looking for that Clarke, you might want to put this book down and go find Childhood's End, Rendezvous with Rama, The City and the Stars or 2001: A Space Odyssey, either the book or film.
So many might find this book prosaic compared to his more cosmic, ambitious works. Rather this is a suspenseful book of disaster and rescue--more The Poseidon Adventure than 2001. Twenty-two people, the passenger and crew of the tourist boat Selene, are caught in "a fall of moondust" on the Sea of Thirst. They're trapped 15 meters below the surface with no way of communicating with the outside--and time--and breathable air--is running out. The basic premise about how moondust works is dated--this was published in 1961 before the moonlandings and when there had been only a few unmanned probes of the lunar surface. But did I care? Not in the least. Great read.
