THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH & OTHER STORIES The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke 1956-1961

The first part of this volume, the fourth in a series, consists of a collection of barroom yarns told from the highly suspect memories of regular Harry Purvis. Midway through, the tone changes, and the stories, including the title one, move onto more serious ground. Both the playful and the serious stories are handled well by the narrators. My favorites, choosing two from many gems, are "The Ultimate Melody," a Purvis yarn about a tune that literally won't leave one's mind, and "Summertime on Icarus," about a brush with death on an asteroid plunging toward the sun. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]