Arthur C. Clarke

Actually, I think AC Clarke should stand equally on a pedestal with Isaac Asimov; their greatest achievements are just about equal in quality. If forced to choose I would go for ACC because of one book: Childhood’s End (1953). The opening of the more recent film Independence Day (with huge spaceships hovering ominously over major cities) is remarkably similar to that of the book, but (thankfully) there the resemblance ends; the book is a tour de force. I haven’t re-read it for years, but I can’t think of any ideas in it that have exceeded their use-by date, so to speak. And then there’s his other major works: 2001: A Space Odyssey (the book version is much clearer than the often-obscure film), Earthlight, The Fountains of Paradise, Rendezvous with Rama, Against the Fall of Night (or its revised version, The City and the Stars… I haven’t been as keen on his more recent work (I found The Ghost from the Grand Banks to border on the dreary), but what the hell, even Beethoven had off-days (the piece Wellingtons Sieg = Wellington’s Victory, in case you’re wondering. Never heard of it? That’s because old Ludwig should have filed it under “Rubbish.” He probably needed the money…)

Unfortunately, I’ve only read Odysseys 2001, 2010, and 3001, Rendezvous with Rama, and Childhood’s End, and nothing by Asimov. I shall have to remedy that…

i like his books alot. i keep coming across books of his that i havent read. some of his best are 2001:a space odyssey and the songs of distant earth. im searching for the rama series (i like hardcover and older versions so it kind of hard to track down copies).