eBranch Blog

March 25, 2008

Author Arthur C. Clarke Has Died

Science Fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke died early on March 19 in his adopted home of Colombo, Sri Lanka, from a cardio-respiratory attack. He was 90 years old.

Clarke is known for his visionary science fiction writing and his collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick on the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has written many fiction and nonfiction books as well as over 100 short stories. His technological predictions included global broadcasts via satellite, space stations and the Internet.

Many of Clarke's novels can be found in our collection, including the ones below.

2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is the classic science fiction novel that changed the way we looked at the stars and ourselves. 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired what is perhaps the greatest science fiction film ever made--brilliantly imagined by the late Stanley Kubrick.... 2001 is finally here.

2010: Odyssey Two
Nine years after the disastrous Discovery mission to Jupiter in 2001, a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition sets out to rendezvous with the derelict spacecraft to search the memory banks of the mutinous computer HAL 9000 for clues to what went wrong . . . and what became of Commander Dave Bowman. Without warning, a Chinese expedition targets the same objective, turning the recovery mission into a frenzied race for the precious information Discovery may hold about the enigmatic monolith that orbits Jupiter. Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman--the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith--streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . .

The Hammer of God
In the year 2110 technology has cured most of our worries. But even as humankind enters a new golden age, an amateur astronomer points his telescope at just the right corner of the night sky and sees disaster hurtling toward Earth: a chunk of rock that could annihilate civilization. While a few fanatics welcome the apocalyptic destruction as a sign from God, the greatest scientific minds of Earth desperately search for a way to avoid the inevitable. On board the starship Goliath, Captain Robert Singh and his crew must race against time to redirect the meteor form its deadly collision course. Suddenly they find themselves on the most important mission in human history--a mission whose success may require the ultimate sacrifice.

The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre, " through classics like "The Star, " "Earthlight, " "The Nine Billion Names of God, " and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel, and movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey"), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God, " this immense volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

Childhood's End
Giant silver ships appear above every major city in the world. The Overlords have arrived. They eliminate ignorance, disease, poverty, and fear. After fifty years they also start eliminating humans.