Songs of the distant Earth

Cánticos de la leja Tierra (Songs of Distant Earth) is a science fiction novel by celebrated author Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1986.

According to several comments, this novel has a style that differs from the rest of the author's work, in the sense that it is more focused on emotions and interactions between characters than on technological aspects; the prevalence of technical mastery (at which Clarke undoubtedly excels) over the humanity of the characters frequently serves as a point of criticism of his work.

Some say this play is Clarke's response to such criticism, demonstrating that she also knows how to create deeply human characters and settings, though such comments should only be taken as such.

It has also been said that this is Clarke's most musical work, beginning with its title, and continuing with the numerous allusions to music throughout the text. As a curious fact, this novel inspired the musician Mike Oldfield to create, in 1994, an album with the same title, and which is possibly one of his best instrumental works.

Plot

Centuries after the destruction of the Earth, due to the premature conversion of the Sun into a supernova, the last salvage expedition, containing a million cryogenized survivors during the trip aboard the interstellar ship Magellan ("Magellans&# 34;), arrives at Thalassa, the place where one of the first expeditions that left Earth was established.

Thalassa is described as a paradise world, where there is a small colony of humans brought there six centuries before in the form of simple genes, later reconstituted by machines. Such humans have meanwhile formed a rather peculiar native culture, with a few thousand inhabiting the only three islands within the vast ocean that covers the entire planet.

Some of the surviving Earthlings awaken to make necessary repairs after their centuries-long journey, resulting in the first visit by otherworldly humans in Thalassa's history and quite a shock to humans accustomed to utter solitude within his own world.

The Thalassan culture is a good example of a rational utopia in Clarke's vision, since the first Thalassians were manufactured from simple genes and educated by machines, being devoid of any religion or mysticism in their culture, which which according to Clarke results in a healthier society and much less malicious than that of the Earthlings. These carry with them "the sins" of a superstitious culture torn by religious wars, as well as the scars of witnessing the death of the Earth.