Sir Arthur C. Clarke, one of the great science-fiction writers and visionaries, died yesterday at his home in his adopted Sri Lanka. He was 90. Over the course of his 60-year career, Clarke's massive body of work has served as a cornerstone of modern SF, although he's most famous for co-writing 2001: A Space Odyssey with director Stanley Kubrick–based on Clarke's 1948 short story "The Sentinel." In addition, Clarke has had everything from an asteroid to a satellite to a dinosaur named after him, not to mention the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award (for excellence in British SF) and the Sir Arthur Clarke Award (in recognition of notable contributions to space exploration). His most recent novel is last year's Firstborn, the third installment of his A Time Odyssey series with Stephen Baxter.
As a futurist, Clarke was as cautionary as he was full of wonder: He was quoted as saying, "We science-fiction writers never attempt to predict. In fact, it's the exact opposite. As my friend Ray Bradbury said, 'We do this not to predict the future but to prevent it.'" He also famously postulated, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
To read Tasha Robinson's A.V. Club interview with Clarke, click here. To read Keith Phipps' The Box Of Paperback Books Club entry on Clarke's Tales From The White Hart, click here.