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What can you say....
The world has lost a great writer...
He had one hell of a run....
RIP Mr. Clarke, you've more then earned it.
Ford A. Thaxton
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Posted: |
Mar 18, 2008 - 6:51 PM
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By: |
Greg Bryant
(Member)
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Wow, what an incredible loss.
In another thread, the comments have been about how come we feel loss for someone that we don't know.
Well, I do know Mr. Clarke. If anyone can be known by their writings, then you CAN know them. I've read more Clarke books and stories than probably any other author. I think I started out with Islands in the Sky, a book about a young man who wins a trip to a space station. Later, obviously 2001, Against the Fall of Night, A Fall of Moondust, Childhood's End, Rendevous With Rama.
In later years, I did feel that the quality of his output weakened. But then he would strengthen it by being co-author with someone else, like Stephen Baxter and Gentry Lee (for the Rama sequel series).
Many of his short stories ranked up there among the greats, especially those that had his famous twist endings. I still remember the short story that purported to explain the strange behavior of lemmings; great fun that one.
Though he's gone, I'm glad that I have so many of his books and stories to read again and again.
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Now the real Space Odyssey begins...be sure to look Stanley up!
RIP, Sir Arthur.
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Posted: |
Mar 18, 2008 - 8:01 PM
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By: |
dogplant
(Member)
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In another thread, the comments have been about how come we feel loss for someone that we don't know...
I agree, Greg. I've always felt that the reader/listener/viewer, when one connects to an author or composer, is entering into a dialogue, vicariously absorbing thoughts and feelings and, certainly in Sir Arthur's case, ideas. Clarke was one of the great visionaries in his field, an engaging writer and a fine storyteller. I read a lot of his books in my early years, less of his later collaborations with other novelists, but to this day I can't think of an author/filmmaker double act that has ever come close:
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Posted: |
Mar 18, 2008 - 8:48 PM
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By: |
dogplant
(Member)
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Let's see if I've got this right: Kubrick and Clarke collaborated on the screenplay for 2001, which was loosely inspired by Clarke's 'Sentinel,' then Clarke went on the write 2001, the novel, based on the screenplay written by Kubrick and Clarke?
Right: the deal was, they cooked the story up together, based as you say on Clarke's existing short story about an obelisk discovered on the moon. Arthur then wrote "2001" first as a novel and got top billing there, then the credits were reversed with Stanley on the screenplay. The definitive account of their creative journey is published in what is perhaps my most frequently thumbed book of Sir Arthur's, "The Lost Worlds of 2001'" -- an amazing peek inside the brains of these two fellows.
I was just recalling my favorite Arthur C. Clarke books:
• Childhood's End
• The Deep Range
• A Fall of Moondust
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Rendezvous With Rama
• Imperial Earth
• The Fountains of Paradise
Also, I recall that Peter Hyams' published diary about the making of "2010" (long out of print) was a surprisingly heartfelt and candid account about a very different collaboration, mostly electronic in the early days of Internet. But here's a link to Clarke's book about his Kubrick collaboration:
The Lost Worlds of 2001
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Worlds-2001-Arthur-Clarke/dp/0451125363
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A shame, as with any person. I hadn't read much of his stuff - 2001, 2010 and 2061 were good reads, also some of his short stories.
It's interesting that what is in SF stories often becomes a possibility if not a reality in later years - SF writers have 'predicted' all kinds of things but I suspect that what they write is what spurs scientists on to 'invent' what they ready years ago in stories. Have their been any writers who have 'predicted' things in nature that have later been discovered, as opposed to being man made?
What I didn't like about him is that he had a predilection for the - uh, intimate company of young boys in Sri Lanka.
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...but to this day I can't think of an author/filmmaker double act that has ever come close:
Something not quite understood in a lot of the reporting on Clarke's sad passing...if I've got this right: Kubrick and Clarke collaborated on the screenplay for 2001, which was loosely inspired by Clarke's 'Sentinel,' then Clarke went on to write 2001, the novel, based on the screenplay written by Kubrick and Clarke?
2001 is kind of a mash-up of both THE SENTINEL
and CHILDHOOD'S END (which iirc deals with man's ultimate evolution).
btw - was he "out"?
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Posted: |
Mar 20, 2008 - 2:22 PM
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By: |
Tom Barnaby
(Member)
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What I didn't like about him is that he had a predilection for the - uh, intimate company of young boys in Sri Lanka.
That was a whack bogus claim, and I'm surprised that you bring it up. 
Hopefully, this will end that claim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke
On 26 May 2000 he was made a Knight Bachelor "for services to literature" at a ceremony in Colombo.[31] The award of a knighthood had been announced in the 1998 New Year Honours,[32] but investiture of the award had been delayed, at Clarke's request, because of an accusation, by the British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, of paedophilia, which was, however, found to be baseless by Sri Lankan police and retracted by the paper soon after.[33][34][35][36][37][38]
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Someone please put the "Clarke as pedophile" bizarro rumors to rest and accept the wonderful legacy of science fiction that this visionary put in front of us.
It's a typical accusation lobbed at gay men and lesbians, by homophobic whack-jobs. Very sad.
I picked up the blu-ray disc of "2001" a few weeks ago, and he's all over the disc's special features. The guy was a giant. Positively a TITAN, I tell you.
I really enjoyed his books, and his collaborations with my favorite current SF writer, Stephen Baxter, are a total treat.
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