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When one
reads Clement's (born Harry Clement Stubbs) work you can't help but think
that he could be the progenitor of the more famous SCI-FI writers we all
know, like Arthur C. Clark
and Issac Asimov. He shares the similar backgound of many authors who've
hit thier stride in the mid-section of the last century, he has a scientific
background ( B.S. in astronomy from Harvard, and a Masters in Chemistry)
as well as a military tint from his tour as a pilot in WWII.
His stories have the feel
of the classic 50's-60's work where you can envision the space craft as
almost silvery, cigar-shaped rockets that land on it's fins. It also deals
with the concept of technology versus religion on a subconscious level
as well as perhaps a touch of the Twilight Zone feel with hidden
meanings that make you sit down and think about what you'd had read.
There is also that aura of
the cold war in the background that tinges how societies are run in the
future that stamps Hal's work in the period it came from. At least in
the short stories, they seem to deal with a military presence or large
governmental systems in dealing with the issues of space and the phenominums
found there. The bulk of his work deals with the way-faring space stories
full of the imagery like the movies Forbidden Planet or Silent
Running, full of presure suits and nebulas.
Clement's stories are rather
easy to get into and don't use technology as a center-peice of the work,
so you won't get too bogged down in strange lingo, they do tend to wax
a bit on philisophical elements and such but they are a relatively fast
read. They are also very interesting in a sense as they are a portal back
to the time when SCI-FI was just about to hit full stride and while Clement
may not have directly laid the foundation for others to follow his works
sure feel that way.
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