R.I.P Arthur C. Clarke
Mar 18, 2008 by Vic Holtreman
What can I say about the passing away of Arthur C. Clarke? He was only one of the most influential science fiction writers of all time.
He died today in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
He is best known as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which at the time was a groundbreaking science fiction film; the first film to break away from pointy sheetmetal clad spaceships and flying saucers. I refer to the movie/book simultaneously because the movie was actually written before the book in collaboration with legendary director Stanley Kubrick.
Really I don’t know what to say about such an influential and inspirational man… if you would like to leave a comment about how he has affected or influenced you, please do.
For more about him visit the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation website.
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RIP Arthur. You were a visionary much like Gene Roddenberry and will be missed.
Farewell, Arthur! I enjoyed your novels (and humour) a lot!
(Oh, and Hollywood, here’s another bunch of GOOD novels and stories that BEG to be turned into GOOD movies! Tolkien-quality if you catch my drift. *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*)
ZAR.
Definitely someone I’m going to miss. Along with Isaac Asimov’s, his work was one of the biggest influences in my decision to start writing. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be a writer of his caliber, or that I’ll ever have the body of work he has, but his is the standard I’d like to live up to.
Thanks for all your stories, Mr. Clarke.
I see that Childhood’s End seems to be his popular non-movie-related book.
My favorite was Rendezvous with Rama. Second only to Ringworld in the “found space artifact” subgenre. I still have images in my head, 33 years after reading it.
I hope ACC made peace with God. It must be grand to see the stars from the stars’ point of view.
Holy crap, this came as a major shock.
Arthur C. Clarke has always been one of my favourite sci-fi writers, he was a true visionary and many of his ideas and concepts were far, FAR ahead of their time.
RIP Mr. Clarke, you will be sorely missed.
Its funny when 2001 a Space Oddessy came out it was considered a bomb.
Kubrick and Clarke wrote the film. Only years later did it start to gain attention as a masterpiece and even then most people didn’t understand the film.
Just Fyi the
Obolisk was a probe. We see it in the begining discovered by cavemen on Earth then later humans make it to the next Probe location the Moon. And finally at the end the Obolisk is found out in space. The Obolisk was leading mankind out into space and finnaly to the home planet of the creators of the Obolisk.
As seen in 2010 that location was (Titan) a small moon located in orbit near Jupiter.
Arthur allways said “mankind is controlled by the stars, yet one day mankind will control the stars”
2001 and 2010 was a message to the human race that mankinds future lies in the space.
Let’s hope we make it……?
Heinlien, Asimov, and now Clarke…..all gone. I remember my dad brought me to see 2001 when it first opened. I was 8 or 9 at the time and of course didn’t have the first clue what was giong on. But it left its’ mark on me, and a very few years later I read the novel. It introduced me to the many worlds of SF, it got me interested in space and the future, and so determined the direction of my life. A.C.C. changed my life, as I am sure he did many others…how often have you heard an astronaut or a NASA engineer say that his work was what first steered them into technology or flying or science. How many filmmakers have said that it was 2001 that made them first pick up a camera? One of the last century’s colloussus has fallen, and we will never see his like again. RIP, and thank you.