Imperial Earth

Imperial Earth (subtitled A Fantasy of Love and Discord; ISBN 0151442339) is a novel written by Arthur C. Clarke, and published in time for the U.S. bicentennial in 1976 by Ballantine Books. It follows the protagonist (Duncan Makenzie) on a trip to Earth from his home on Titan, ostensibly for a diplomatic visit to the U.S. for its 500th birthday, but really in order to have a clone of himself produced.

Related Topics:
Novel - Arthur C. Clarke - Bicentennial - 1976 - Ballantine Books - Earth - Titan

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The puzzle game Pentominos features in a prominent subplot of the novel.

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A number of other sub-plots suggest some sort of greater mystery, but remain unexplored. The book ends with him returning home with his new "child" (who is a clone of a brilliant but erratic former best friend), leaving the other plot threads dangling.

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It is common in science fiction to offer perspectives of social issues. Clarke addresses issues of racism, the spectre of cloning (which was a very new topic in the early 1970s), and the economics of energy production and control.

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He describes in great detail a personal communications device combining mobile video phone and PDA with global data connectivity.

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