Earthlight

A decent read, though it does show its age in some ways. Clarke is very good in imagining in realistic fashion what life on a moon colony would be like and his intellectual curiosity and interest in science imbues the setting of an observatory on the moon with real tangibility. The plot unfolds in a stately fashion and the main character - a secret agent posing as an accountant sent to the observatory to uncover a spy is much more in the Smiley or even Father Brown mould than the James Bond one that is ubiquitous in contemporary science fiction. A 50s Oxford Don atmosphere hangs heavy over the whole thing and as is often the case there is nary a female character to be found (except as a minor presence off-page).