The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke

Along with Childhood's End, The City and the Stars is considered one of Clarke's best, most provocative early novels. It introduces a concept he wrote about in many of his later works: an advanced, but insular Earth being confronted by superior alien intelligence - an encounter that catapults Earth into the next stages of evolution.

This is a full cast, unabridged audio book, almost 9 hours long, on 8 CDs.

In the first sample, Alvin and Khedron the Jester have discovered the long-hidden entrance to the world-spanning transportation system beneath the city. Glowing beneath their feet is a map of the ancient system, but the only destination still possible to reach after thousands of years is a place called Lys. With an impulsiveness that stuns Khedron, and even surprises himself, Alvin makes a decision that will have world-changing consequences.

In the next sample, the Central Computer delves into the mind of the strange robot Alvin has discovered, and recreates the moment in time when "The Great Ones" come to Earth. This eventually leads Alvin to a momentous discovery, buried for eons beneath the sands outside the walls of Diaspar.

You can purchase The City and the Stars audio CD here, or download it for your iPod, iPad, iPhone, or other mp3 player from Audible

My Close Encounter with Sir Arthur

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Sample 1

Sample 2