After Gary Gygax, I have lost another major source of inspiration. Arthur C. Clarke, the man who co-wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey with Stanley Kubrick, definitely one of the greatest science-fiction motion picture of all times, passed away last week in Sri Lanka.
I really appreciate Arthur C. Clarke not only because his stories are REALLY science-fiction and not science fantasy. Meaning that they are more rooted in science than, say, Frank Herbert -- although Herbert's Dune remains one of the few well thought-out universe populated with interesting cultures -- and his philosophical attitude denotes a true attachments to science.
I guess the one book that really did it for me was The Songs Of Distant Earth, a novel cast in the distant future (about 2,000 years) and tells the story of the end of Humanity and its simultaneous rebirth on other planets, and the difficulty entailing the colonization of other planets. I really appreciated his attention to Human emotions and his descriptions of a space elevator.
Well, you will be sorely missed, Mr. Clarke.
Posted by phonono at mars 24, 2008 09:25 PM