Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Arthur C Clarke, R. I. P.

When I was a kid, Clarke's work knocked me out: Childhood's End, The City and the Stars, "The Star," "The Nine Billion Names of God."

Science fiction author Arthur C Clarke dies aged 90 - Times Online: "Science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died aged 90 in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, it was confirmed tonight.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30am after suffering breathing problems, his personal secretary Rohan De Silva said.

“Sir Arthur passed away a short while ago at the Apollo Hospital [in Colombo]. He had a cardio-respiratory attack,” he said."

3 comments:

Ed Gorman said...

God those Richard Powers Ballantine covers from the Mid-Fifties. I remember going to a newstand where several of them were on display and just staring at them mesmerized. My favorite Clarke was Against the Fall of Night. I never felt close to most of his work because it was cold and intellectual. Asimov was fun and Heinlein packed his work with wit and action. I'll have to give Childhood's End a try again. The last member of holy trinity of our youth offically left the building tonight.

Unknown said...

I've re-read the novels of Heinlein and Asimov, but for some reason not Clarke. The short stories, though, I've read again and again.

Anonymous said...

Childhood's End was always a favorite, though I haven't read it in 30 years.

Jeff M.