Predating the earliest manned space mission: the first full-length science fiction novel from the acclaimed author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. First published in 1951, before the achievement of space flight, Arthur C. Clarke created this visionary tale. Renowned science fiction writer Martin Gibson joins the spaceship Ares, the world’s first interplanetary ship for passenger travel, on its maiden voyage to Mars. His mission: to report back to the home planet about the new Mars colony and the progress it has been making. In The Sands of Mars, Clarke addresses hard physical and scientific issues with aplomb—and the best scientific understanding of the times. Included are the challenges of differing air pressures, lack of oxygen, food provisions, severe weather patterns, construction on Mars, and methods of local travel—both on the surface and to the planet’s two moons. “[Clarke is] one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age.” —The New Yorker

"Prelude to Space, the first of the novels, is a vivid account of the events that culminate in a man's first voyage to the moon. Written when the adventure seemed a remote possibility, and now regarded as a classic in its field, it gains fresh interest from an introduction discussing ways in which the actualities of space travel are overtaking the author's speculations about it. Actuality has yet to overtake Sands of Mars, a novel in which courageous and visionary men bring off a vast experiment to make permanent colonization of that forbidding planet possible"--Front jacket flap.

Story of a science fiction author who tells of his participation in the establishment of a colony on Mars.

When Nyssa is kidnapped, the Doctor and Tegan must stop the plans of Sadan Rassul in order to save her and the future of England.

The omnibus edition of three classic and inspirational Clarke tales ISLANDS IN THE SKY, first published in 1954, sees Roy Malcolm winning a trip to the Inner Station, a space station rotating 500 miles from Earth. THE SANDS OF MARS, set in the 21st century, has a group of pioneers struggling to change the face of this inhospitable planet. In EARTHLIGHT, two centuries hence, man has colonised the planets and the inhabitants of the Moon owe no allegiance to any nation on Earth - or to Earth itself ... This omnibus edition of three of Arthur C. Clarke's early novels shows the author of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY exploring space and time in adventurous and thoughtful ways.