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Clark is
one of the patron saints of science fiction. He stands at the top with
Heinlein, Asimov, Herbert and any other you can think of. He produced
the bulk of his work in the 50's and 60's when the genre really came into
it's own. Clark is most known for his book 2001: A Space Odessey
( which was written at the same time the movie was made, apparantly).
You may even remember him from the TV show he had: Arthur C. Clarke's
Mysterious World.(... I think that was the one with the glass skull
- or was that Mr. Spock's show?)
Enjoying a similar background
as most SCI-FI writers of the era, Clark spent time in the military (RAF)
as a radar specialist. Afterward, he enrolled in college and recieved
a degree in mathematics and physics and went on to develop geostationary
satellites, as well as postulated the concept of the space elevator.
With a strong techinical background,
you can safely assume that his writing is a bit entrenched in technology,
whether it be made up or real. A curious feature of the 'made up' is that
it is grounded in such a knowledgeable background that it tends to foretell
the future quite eerily. On this account alone, it is worth reading his
books and stories.
Clark's work also deals with
the concept of man, technology and sprituality quite often and the connection
between them. There are some stories that have the Icarus-like feeling
while others have the Day the Earth Stood Still feel. For the most
part, if you enjoyed 2010: The Year We Make Contact the movie,
then you'll enjoy nearly his entire catalog, as they have that same feel
and don't be put off by the abundance in tech I was referring to, either.
It is sewn very well into the story, to the point you may not realize
you are reading it!
While the books are quite
good, I would suggest the numerous collections of short stories he has
written. The books, especially the series can become rather heady after
a point.
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