SF - Sir Arthur C. Clarke (16 December 1917 - 19 March 2008)
Science Fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke has departed Earth in the last shuttle. One of the most well known British Science Fiction writers, he was renowned for his scientifically plausible science fiction and predictions.
After working on radar during the war, he joined the British Interplanetary Society where he befriended astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. Charles Chilton, the writer behind 50's SF serial Journey into Space was also a member of this society, which was dedicated to promoting space travel and exploration. It was while with the BIS he circulated a paper on the potential use of Satellites for communication and was rewarded with the recognition of a geostationary orbit being known as a 'Clarke' orbit.
His introduction to science fiction came from pulp American SF magazines and he had a love of astronomy as a child. His early work was published in fanzines during the war years, but his first professional work was published after the war, beginning with short stories and and a failed attempt to win a BBC short story competition with 'Sentinel'. It was during the 50's, 60's and 70's that he published the majority of his well known novels. But it would be a film that grew from the rejected Sentinel that would bring him a new level of fame and recognition.
2001: A Space Odyssey was the tale of how mankind is upgraded by a mysterious alien artifact. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film is a milestone in science fiction cinema, beautifully shot, enigmatic (or frustratingly vague depending on your viewpoint) and showing a more believable view of mankind's first steps into space, it gained something most SF movies lack, respectability. Clarke's latter half of his career would be dominated by unnecessary sequels to 2001 and 'co-written' novels that traded on the Clarke name. Though the short stories that inspired the film (including Sentinel) retain their power and he leaves a more than respectable legacy of classic SF novels.
For myself, much as I enjoyed reading his novels when I was growing up, I'll remember him for 2001: A Space Odyssey which represents a disproportionately large anomaly on the psycho-magnetic map of our culture. But perhaps most as the genteel and intelligent host of Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, which showed our own world to be as exciting and mysterious as the most distant and alien of worlds.
After working on radar during the war, he joined the British Interplanetary Society where he befriended astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. Charles Chilton, the writer behind 50's SF serial Journey into Space was also a member of this society, which was dedicated to promoting space travel and exploration. It was while with the BIS he circulated a paper on the potential use of Satellites for communication and was rewarded with the recognition of a geostationary orbit being known as a 'Clarke' orbit.
His introduction to science fiction came from pulp American SF magazines and he had a love of astronomy as a child. His early work was published in fanzines during the war years, but his first professional work was published after the war, beginning with short stories and and a failed attempt to win a BBC short story competition with 'Sentinel'. It was during the 50's, 60's and 70's that he published the majority of his well known novels. But it would be a film that grew from the rejected Sentinel that would bring him a new level of fame and recognition.
2001: A Space Odyssey was the tale of how mankind is upgraded by a mysterious alien artifact. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film is a milestone in science fiction cinema, beautifully shot, enigmatic (or frustratingly vague depending on your viewpoint) and showing a more believable view of mankind's first steps into space, it gained something most SF movies lack, respectability. Clarke's latter half of his career would be dominated by unnecessary sequels to 2001 and 'co-written' novels that traded on the Clarke name. Though the short stories that inspired the film (including Sentinel) retain their power and he leaves a more than respectable legacy of classic SF novels.
For myself, much as I enjoyed reading his novels when I was growing up, I'll remember him for 2001: A Space Odyssey which represents a disproportionately large anomaly on the psycho-magnetic map of our culture. But perhaps most as the genteel and intelligent host of Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, which showed our own world to be as exciting and mysterious as the most distant and alien of worlds.
posted by paulvonscott at 8:48 AM
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