The Last Theorem
by Arthur C. Clarke, Frederik Pohl
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Book Reviews of The Last Theorem
Book Review: Good Writing, Weak Plot, No Climax.
Summary: 2 Stars
Act I:
Ranjit Subramanianis is obsessed with proving Fermat's last Theorem.
Aliens decide to kill all humans.
Act II:
Ranjit Subramanian solve's Fermat's Last Theorem.
Fifteen years pass by.
Act III:
Aliens decide not to kill all humans.
This decision has nothing to do with Ranjit Subramanian or Fermat's last theorem.
Moral of the Story:
You can count to 1023 using only your fingers.
Recommendation:
Don't buy this book. The final climax of the story was resolved so quickly, with so little explanation, and by even less action on the part of the main character that I was left wondering why this character was even in this novel, and why did I have to read fifteen years worth of trivia about his life. The initial premise was interesting, and the writing was excellent, but after a while it becomes little more than a vehicle for Clarke to discuss his own pet ideas, most of which ideas have already been discussed in previous books.
Book Review: Clarke's Last Book
Summary: 2 Stars
This was Arthur C. Clarke's last book, written in collaboration with Fred Pohl (Clarke died in 2008). The authors are, as everyone knows, two Immortals of science fiction. Unfortunately, their collaboration produced little more than an outline of a novel that never really came together.
In Clarke's future history, some Alien Invaders decide to wipe us all out, but back off when we finally shape up Just In The Nick Of Time (have you seen this plot before?)
Meanwhile, Pohl gives us the story of a hero who discovers a remarkable proof of Fermat's Theorem, which has nothing at all to do with Clarke's plot!
Neither author's contribution stands well on its own, and the resulting book is even less than the sum of its parts. Unless you are obsessively collecting the complete works of Clarke and Pohl, I'd skip right past this one, and go instead to Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pohl's Heechee series, or any other of the great books from SciFi's Golden Age by these two masters.
Book Review: A fair book could have been great!
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree with almost everything that has been said by the two main reviewers, but I'll put it more simply. A great premise: the light waves (and other advanced waves) from the 1945 bombs in Japan reach the guardians of the universe, and it is determined that Earth (which has always been watched closely) must be sterilized.
That means us. The sterilizers start toward earth years ago (60??), and arrive in our solar system at about the same time as earth discovers a way to make our planet peaceable (or nearly so).
Will the galactic cleansers back off, or eliminate us anyway?
This could have been a thriller, a tense book of the Michael Crichton or Larry Niven or Alastair Reynolds type, that kept you on the edge of your seat. But it too often plays to the comedy aspects of the other galactic races, and basically tries to be too cute.
I give it three stars for the first 90% of the book, and one star for the sappy, we are the galaxy, 13001 space odyssey ending.
Book Review: Clarke's swan song
Summary: 3 Stars
Like so many others, I was sad to learn of Arthur C. Clarke's passing earlier this summer. I started reading his books in junior high school, almost 30 years ago now. I wish I could say that his more recent efforts (the second and third entries in the "Time's Eye" series, and this one) lived up to his earlier outings, but such is not the case. As others have noted, this book contains many of the same themes as prior works, woven together just slightly differently. Ultimately, the story never really grabbed me the way Rendezvous with Rama, City and the Stars, Songs of Distant Earth, and so many other stories did -- perhaps because I'd seen parts of it all before, from the same man.
That said though, Clarke was always an optimist about the future of the human race, and this story most certainly ends on an optimistic note about humanity, thus perhaps providing a fitting coda to his life. Rest in peace, Mr. Clarke. You and your outlook will be missed.
Book Review: Don't waste your time.
Summary: 2 Stars
In the past, I've enjoyed novels by both Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl. Unfortunately, The Last Theorem was a terrible novel. By the title, you might think that some small part of the story had to do with solving Fermat's Last Theorem. Well, the solving does happen, but I would not say it was any part of a "story". In fact, I didn't notice much of a story at all, at any point. The entire book seemed to merely be a listing of things that happened to the main character, Ranjit Subramanian. Events that happened at the beginning of the story seemed to be totally unrelated to the events at the end of the book. Despite all the events covered by the book, nothing ever HAPPENS. I never knew why the authors related particular anecdotes, and important developmental information was consistently left out, relating instead simply the facts that occurred. It reads very much like a dry history book. Don't waste your time.