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 enlarge | Authors: Arthur C. Clarke, Frederik Pohl
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
Buy New: $12.95
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New (41) Used (17) from $7.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 68464
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0345470214
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780345470218
ASIN: 0345470214
Publication Date: August 5, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Aliens Are Coming November 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Last Theorem (2008) is a standalone SF novel about Fermat and aliens. It is set in a universe where civilizations exist further than the mind can conceive. Within our galaxy, the Grand Galactics rule with some fairness and much wisdom.
In this novel, Ranjit Subramanian is a Tamil, but his best friend is Sinhalese. This difference means nothing to Ranjit and Gammi Bandara, but means much to their people on Sri Lanka. For a long time, the friends do everything together, but one day Ranjit's father summons him to the temple.
Ganesh Subramanian is chief priest of the famous Hindu temple of Tiru Koneswaram in Trincomalee. Ranjit loves and respects his father very much. But Ganesh tells him that his friendship with a Sinhalese is causing some dissension within the temple. He gives Ranjit the choice of shunning his friend or being shunned by Ganesh.
Ranjit sorrowfully chooses to stay friends with Gammi. Like the matter of religion, Ranjit disagrees with his father and goes his own way. But he is going to miss the conversations and kindness of his father.
In this story, Ranjit is obsessed with Fermat's Last Theorem. He has been studying the subject for years. Although a freshman at the university, he has little interest in other subjects. Even the math courses are rather boring, either because of their familiarity or their irrelevance to the Theorem.
Then he takes Astronomy 101 from Joris Vorhulst. His teacher has a doctorate from Caltech and worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Yet it isn't his education that captures the attention of his students, but his enthusiasm. From the first day, Ranjit and most students spend hours researching topics for the next class.
During his summer vacation, Ranjit meets a family living in a house on his father's property. The father is incarcerated for possession of stolen goods and his family is hard pressed to survive. Ranjit takes care of the four children for their mother while he works nearby.
One day the mother has found work near the docks and Ranjit drives the family there in the temple van. He drops them off, but later he sees the youngest waving to him and meets their father. He is lured aboard a ship and kept captive until pirates take over the liner.
Ranjit is eventually accused of being one of the pirates and taken far away to a prison where he is kept for a long while. In between his torture sessions, Ranjit starts thinking even more about Fermat's Last Theorem and develops a proof of its validity. After his return to civilization, he publishes his proof and becomes a celebrity.
This tale relates the dangers of human militarism within the Grand Galactic domain. Aliens are coming to devastate the Earth. Only luck will prevent the destruction of humanity.
The future society in this novel includes many of Clarke's innovations, providing an ambiance not found in the works of lesser writers. Pohl also contributed ideas from his previous works, including computerized personae. He probably added the parts about Fermat's Last Theorem.
Still, the novel feels more like Pohl than Clarke in many respects. Pohl has always been better at characterization than Clarke and it shows in this work.
The story is mostly about friendship and love. Ranjit not only keeps his best friend, but also meets a woman who captivates his mind and emotions and gives him very lovable children. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Clarke & Pohl fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of mathematical investigation, galactic domination, and abundant romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
 Not Clarke's November 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
In literary terms this book don't get close to the effect of smoothness and continuity that one saviours from Arthur C. Clarke's masterpiece, _2001: An space odissey_. I doubt ACC had an actual role in preparing the text. As for the scientific stuff, the idea of out-of-body life was better laid out and explored in _2001_.
 A sad final work November 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I grew up reading SF, and Arthur C Clarke was one I enjoyed regularly. From the late 1980's on, however, I became less enamored with his work. To be honest, I feel he did a better job with hard science and characters that would "fit" in the world he matured in (1940's-1960's). This book also reminded me of what a poor SF author I'd considered Pohl to be: most of this work is pure Pohl. Putting these two thoughts together, this work was plagued by characters I did not care about, and lacks any scientific "hook" that drives the novel forward. Finally, the sociopolitical frame work used by the authors as the environment in which the plastic characters operated was, for want of a better term, silly. I have lived in some of these island countries, and believe me, they could not pull this off.
Regarding science, I did learn that any form of space elevator would take weeks to get material and people up to geosynchronous orbit, but this was offset by the ridiculous expedient of moving Sri Lanka a few hundred kilometers south in order to make the space elevator possible in Clarke's adopted country.
From J. Kaye's Book Blog October 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"The Last Theorem" by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl was Clarke's last book; he died a few days after reviewing the final manuscript.
The title refers to Fermat's Last Theorem, which has never been adequately proven. Now what is the last theorem and why is should be proven is one of the themes well explained in the book.
Typical of Clarke's and Pohl's books, Last Theorem had really strange aliens that impact the human race, this time for good. The story also includes new human technology that is used to help improve certain country's governments. Silent Thunder is a weapon used by a secret branch in the United Nations to overthrow fanatical third world governments. A recurring idea is the space elevator which Clarke used in his 1979 book, The Fountains of Paradise.
This book is full of interesting details such as a brief history of Sri Lanka, Russian multiplication, and other math tricks. Also lava tubes in the moon where the new sport of flying takes place and solar sailing. The people in the story were, for the most part, intelligent and bright and caring.
All in all, it was a well written, pleasant and informative read. The science and math was explained enough to get the idea of it, but not bogging down in detail. It was enjoyable.
Promises, promises September 24, 2008
I have been reading Clarke for 45 years, and until this book, always enjoyed his work.
It gets off to a promising start, and then just sort of wanders around. Though while wandering, Clarke presents his idea of a Congress composed of individuals randomly selected by computer from the population, and the UN taking a hyper-aggressively proactive approach towards world peace by dropping non-lethal EMP bombs on rogue countries.
All in all, not really recommended as a good sci fi read.
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