Tuesday, March 3, 1970

Author - Clarke, Arthur C.

Birth: December 16, 1917.

Death: March 19, 2008.

Comments: Arthur C. Clarke was, along with Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, regarded as one of the "Big Three" authors of science fiction. Clarke was also a prolific science author, writing numerous nonfiction books about science and technology. During World War II Clarke worked for the RAF as a radar technician, which led to the semi-autobiographical book Glide Path. Clarke also proposed the idea of communications satellites in geostationary orbit, paving the way for our modern communications system.

Clarke's books are generally the least character-driven of the "Big Three", and the most prone to revolve around some sort of Big Dumb Object (classic examples of which are the Monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels and the Raman spacecraft from Rendezvous with Rama and its sequels). Of the "Big Three" Clarke probably had the most varied ideas in his fiction, although prominent recurring themes in his books include the betterment of human welfare via technology and the diminishing role of religion in society - themes that crop up in the majority of his stories. Originally from the United Kingdom, Clarke moved to Sri Lanka in 1956 and lived there until his death in 2008.

 

My reviews of Arthur C. Clarke's books:
Profiles of the Future
The Nine Billion Names of God

Other books by Arthur C. Clarke that I have read but not reviewed:
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: Odyssey Two
2061: Odyssey Three
3001: The Final Odyssey
Childhood's End
The City and the Stars
The Deep Range
Dolphin Island
Earthlight
Expedition to Earth
The Exploration of Space
A Fall of Moondust
The Fountains of Paradise
The Garden of Rama (with Gentry Lee)
The Ghost from the Grand Banks
Glide Path
The Hammer of God
Imperial Earth
Islands in the Sky
The Light of Other Days (with Stephen Baxter)
The Lion of Comarre & Against the Fall of Night
The Other Side of the Sky
Prelude to Space
Rama II (with Gentry Lee)
Rama Revealed (with Gentry Lee)
Reach for Tomorrow
Rendezvous with Rama
The Sands of Mars
The Sentinel
The Songs of Distant Earth
Tales of Ten Worlds
The Wind from the Sun

Short fiction by Arthur C. Clarke appearing in works that I have reviewed:
Before Eden found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Call of the Stars found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Curse found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Death and the Senator found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Encounter at Dawn found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Hide and Seek found in The Nine Billion Names of God
I Remember Babylon found in The Nine Billion Names of God
'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth . . .' found in The Nine Billion Names of God
No Morning After found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Out of the Sun found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Patent Pending found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Possessed found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Reluctant Orchid found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Rescue Party found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Sentinel found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Summertime on Icarus found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Superiority found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Transience found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Trouble With Time found in The Nine Billion Names of God
A Walk in the Dark found in The Nine Billion Names of God
The Wall of Darkness found in The Nine Billion Names of God
Who's There? found in The Nine Billion Names of God

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