Rating: 
Summary: Something Akin To A Masterpiece
Review: After the incredible back-to-back success of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous With Rama, Clarke returned in 1976 with Imperial Earth, a novel less about science than the human spirit. The story revolves around a Titanite making a trip to Earth, and seeing the vast differences between the two places ("For a horrifying second, Duncan thought he was going to have to eat real meat"), but also touches on the elements of the human spirit and mind that will always be with us. Along the way, many predictions about the future are made, and a generally exciting (though not exactly fast-paced) story is told throughout. A rather touching story quite different from most of Clarke's other works, this is a story that will stay with you long after you have read the last page.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books!
Review: Fantastic exptrapolation of the future from the present. It's truly a great armchair adventure, but not in the explosion-chasing-killing manner of so many other stories. It has an almost meditative quality which enhances consideration of the social and ethical problems presented.
Rating:
Summary: Clarke at his "Predict the future" best,
Review: Having read just about everything that AC Clarke has put out, I believe that this tale of the futures energy barons (Hydrogen, not Oil) shows a plausable future and is Clarkes best (And yes I have read the RAMA series). In it a family that has become very rich and powerful has to come to terms with the fact that a new "Drive" that does not use H2 has been developed. The young protogei (SP?) is sent to earth to sort things out. But a life long friend of his, scared by their version of LSD has become obsessed with SETI.Clarke has all his normal future talk and ideas (Cloning, space travel, future society etc). The two become entangle in a plot, that as the title suggests, is more about colonies and empires as it about future tech and SciFi. Think of it as Scifi meets Imperial India and you have a good idea.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best but a fun yarn
Review: I don't think this is Arthur C. Clarke's best work. I like to see more of a grandiose, "future of civilization in thousands of years"--type story. This one is about a man named Duncan Makenzie who, in the year 2276, is on his first trip to Earth from the Saturnian moon of Titan. He discovers many things about Earth, himself, and humanity. Basically, it's a fun, quick read, but not as magnificent as 2001 or The City and the Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best but a fun yarn
Review: I don't think this is Arthur C. Clarke's best work. I like to see more of a grandiose, "future of civilization in thousands of years"--type story. This one is about a man named Duncan Makenzie who, in the year 2276, is on his first trip to Earth from the Saturnian moon of Titan. He discovers many things about Earth, himself, and humanity. Basically, it's a fun, quick read, but not as magnificent as 2001 or The City and the Stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Plot Goes AWOL
Review: I loved the RAMA books, but I felt totally burned by this Clarke outing.Through the whole volume Clarke used the device of a mystery--raising motivational questions about the many underdeveloped characters (including the protagonist)--but then the book ended without resolving a single loose thread. If he was making some point about race (a theme so undeveloped that it baffled me every time a character's race was mentioned), I didn't get it. I didn't find the futurism especially novel, either (at least not as a reader in 2001--perhaps it was more exciting in 1976). The ending (and I use the term only because I ran out of pages) left me asking "What the &%? Am I missing some pages?"--reminiscent of the film ending of "2001 A Space Odyssey". Unlike that film (or the Philip K. Dick stories I've read), the interest of the ride didn't make up for the unresolved storyline. It's easily the poorest of the 7 or 8 Clarke novels I've read.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but Meandering
Review: If you want to start reading the works of Arthur C. Clarke, one of the 20th century's great visionairies, you can do worse than this one, but you could also do better. This work is basically the Earth of 2276 as seen through the eyes of an outsider. A lot of what he sees is remarkable and quite plausible, and the cast of characters is generally likeable. Like many Clarke novels, there is little in the way of conflict here - Clarke is not one for hero vs. villain - but unlike Childhood's End or 2001 or Rendevous with Rama, there is no sense of grandeur either. There are just a lot of incidents that just barely add up to something more. Still, Clarke's unusual approach to writing - he is the only novelist who writes in stle of an essayist - and his appealing vision of a mature secular utopian Earth still works after seeing it often. Fans of dystopias are best advised to stay home. Fans of a happy tomorrow, where everyone is well-fed and sexually liberated and needs nothing more than a nice vacation, are invited in. If you care for this, I recommend you move onto to his somewhat more action-oriented Rama and then to his masterowrk, Childhood's End.
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Summary: We've made it to Titan - read this book!
Review: In commemoration of the landing of the Huygens probe on Titan, I think everyone should reread "Imperial Earth". It may not be Clarke's best, but it's always been one of my favorites. The plot falls a bit thin at the end, but the description of "life" on Titan, and Duncan Makenzie's adjustment from Titan to Terra, is fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read !!
Review: Like many of Clarke's other books, Imperial Earth was a very enjoyable read and you don't have to be a sci-fi fan to relate to the subject matter. It tells the story of the central character's journey to Earth from one of the space colonies in the solar system. In doing so, we come across several recurring themes of cultural and economic differences between colonialists and mother Earth, as well as political intrigue and unrequited love. What I found quite absorbing was Clarke's narration of the relationships between each of the characters, and this sets the book apart from other 'shoot 'em up' sci-fi publications. I had no problem purchasing this book (in fact it was a 1997 copy, published by Vista).
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but not thrilling
Review: This book is rather boring. The futuristic images of Earth are quite interesting but a lot of the details about the characters are rather long and dull. I'd suggest you find a secon-hand copy of this book rather than buying a brand new one!
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