Visionary and science fiction giant Arthur C. Clarke has died at age 90.
The British-born Clarke, who lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for decades, died early today after experiencing breathing problems, an aide, Rohan De Silva, told the Associated Press.
Clarke, a former farm boy who was knighted for his contributions to literature, wrote more than 80 fiction and nonfiction books (some in collaboration) and more than 100 short stories — as well as hundreds of articles and essays.
Among his best-known science-fiction novels are “Childhood’s End,” “Rendezvous With Rama,” “Imperial Earth” and, most famously, “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Clarke was one of my favorite writers when I was a kid. I loved the Nine Billion Names of God collection and many other books he wrote. A very interesting man, sad to see him go.
Against the Fall of Night, Childhoods End, and Tales from the White Hart were among my faves as a munchkin, he brought a lot to my youthful enjoyment of space, science fact and science fiction.
With geosynchronous satellites and space elevators as part of his legacy he will affect our lives for a long time to come. Besides those lucky youngsters whose imagination he sparks.
A brilliant man.
The world’s loss.
R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke
The world is a sadder place.
The fiction of Arthur C. Clarke shaped my world as I was growing up, and all those ideas remain with me still. He has given us a great legacy of imagination that will live on.
All the true greatness in this world is slowly slipping away from us. Will there ever be such people to walk the earth, and make us long for the stars again? Maybe, we should all go outside and look to the stars tonight. Perhaps we will see a new born child, smiling down on us, tonight.
The best storytellers create falsehoods cloaked in truth. The greatest storytellers show us the possibilities of what can be, and inspire us to dream.
Science fiction uses the future to comment about today. Great SF precedes the future, whether it is the multiethnic cooperation of Star Trek, or the World Wide Web suggested in “Dial F for Frankenstein”.
Inspiration is what happens when we share our dreams with others. Innovation occurs when those dreams become reality, and inspire more. And thus we stand on the shoulders of giants, and reach for the stars.