Arthur C Clarke dead.

[Big Dave]

He appeared to have some issues in real life - but his fiction filled me with hope.

[Virago]

Sad news.

He was a true visionary.

[sidecar bob]

He appeared to have some issues in real life - but his fiction filled me with hope.

Fiction tends to do that.

[Big Dave]

Fiction tends to do that.

Hmmmm - You reckon?

CSI Sunday and Heinlein sure don't.

[ManDownUnder]

Hmmmm - You reckon?

CSI Sunday and Heinlein sure don't.

Hell yes - you never read the Viagra spam? I should be about 48" long, three feet thick and pumping out 3 or 4 litres of cum each round!

Shame about Arthur though. I like big thinkers. He was certainly one of them

[pzkpfw]

Yeah, what was that really famous quote of his?

"Screwing boys of a technologically inferior culture is real magic".

[Blackbird]

+1. Read all of his works. Childhoods End and the first Rama book raised hairs on my neck. Brilliant writer, brilliant scientist.

[Usarka]

mysterious world......

[bane]

Yeah, what was that really famous quote of his?

"Screwing boys of a technologically inferior culture is real magic".


Be interesting to see what surfaces now he's dead.

The Mirror (which published the original claims of pedaphilia), eventually retracted the article, and Sri Lankan police found no evidence to charge him.
Obviously he always fervently denied the allegations.

[Steam]

Oh wow, Dead! He was a legend.

He was the first guy to come up with the idea of the Geosynchronous satellite, and if he had patented the idea he'd now be a multi-billionaire. But he didn't think of patenting it, it just didn't occur to him.

His fiction was awesome, but a bit old-school now.

[Big Dave]

but a bit old-school now.

Not so. The Hollywood interpretations have dated - not so the written word.

He founded the School.


<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cWnmCu3U09w&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cWnmCu3U09w&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

[mstriumph]

"The Nine Billion Names of God" - practically my intro to the genre ...... the fluidity of the writing still lives with me

[Big Dave]

My fave is 'The City and The Stars'.

[Steam]

Not so. The Hollywood interpretations have dated - not so the written word.

He founded the School.


Yes, but... his style was quite plain prose, quite unexciting stylistically. If we compare his writing to today's top sci-fi authors, they are far more skilled writers and stylists. Sure he had the mind-blowing ideas, but he couldn't keep up these days.
And there's a depth of world-building in some of the top sci-fi today that Clarke never reached.

[James Deuce]

My fave is 'The City and The Stars'.

Which still reads damn well IMO. I find Asimov old school, but somehow Clarke avoided that. I think his characterisations had a bit more depth than a lot of his peers.

The Rama books were great because they were about people. The Sci-Fi was the sound stage so to speak.

[Big Dave]

Yes, but... his style was quite plain prose, quite unexciting stylistically. If we compare his writing to today's top sci-fi authors, they are far more skilled writers and stylists. Sure he had the mind-blowing ideas, but he couldn't keep up these days.
And there's a depth of world-building in some of the top sci-fi today that Clarke never reached.

Simply preposterous.

The man is the Shakespeare, Picasso or Beethoven of his art.

I'll add more to this in between jobs.

[xwhatsit]

Yes, but... his style was quite plain prose, quite unexciting stylistically.

I dunno, I like that about him -- not too much fancy shit, but loads of ideas and stories.

Very fond of his writing, especially his short story collections and Rama series.