United Kingdom

Arthur C. Clarke: A Walk in the Dark

Arthur C. Clarke: A Walk in the Dark

“A Walk in the Dark” is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in August 1950 in Thrilling Wonder Stories and later included in the anthology Reach for Tomorrow (1956). The story follows Robert Armstrong, a space technician who, after his vehicle breaks down, must walk several kilometers across a remote and inhospitable planet. The path, shrouded in absolute darkness, turns into a harrowing experience when the memory of a local legend about a creature lurking in the night begins to creep into his thoughts, causing logic to give way to suggestion.

Arthur C. Clarke: The Forgotten Enemy

Arthur C. Clarke: The Forgotten Enemy

“The Forgotten Enemy” is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, published in December 1948 in King’s College Review. In a post-apocalyptic world covered in snow and ice, Professor Millward lives in isolation in a deserted London, surrounded by the books he has preserved for years. One night, a mysterious sound coming from the north interrupts the stillness and awakens in him the hope that there might be other human beings returning. Millward ventures into the abandoned city and tries to discover the origin of the noises, while confronting his solitude and the dangers of a hostile environment.

Mary Shelley: The Brother and Sister

Mary Shelley: The Brother and Sister

“The Brother and Sister: An Italian Story” is a short story by Mary Shelley, first published in 1832 in The Keepsake and later included in the collection “Tales and Stories” (1891). Set in medieval Siena, it tells the story of Lorenzo and Flora Mancini, two young siblings marked by exile, family ruin, and the enmity between rival clans. Orphaned and impoverished, they decide to return to their native city to restore their fortune and reclaim their lost honor. There, Lorenzo must face the young Count Fabian Tolomei; however, a twist of fate leads to a new misfortune, forcing him to entrust the care of his beloved sister to the hands of their enemies.

H. G. Wells: The Country of the Blind. Summary and analysis

H. G. Wells: The Country of the Blind. Summary and analysis

Nunez, a mountaineer from the regions near Quito, accidentally falls into an isolated valley in the Andes, inhabited by a community that has been blind for generations. Convinced that his vision will give him an advantage, and under the motto “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king,” he tries to impose himself on the rest, but the inhabitants do not understand the notion of “seeing” and consider him sick. When his plan to become a leader fails, he falls in love with a young woman from the valley and wants to marry her, but the elders make the marriage conditional on his undergoing an operation to remove his eyes. Although he initially agrees out of love, when he sees the beauty of the visible world for the last time, he changes his mind and flees to the mountains.