Arthur C. Clarke
The creative odyssey of the man who foresaw the futureand the present
Already renowned for his science fiction and scientific nonfiction, Arthur C. Clarke became the worlds most famous science fiction writer after the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He then produced novels like Rendezvous with Rama and The Fountains of Paradise that many regard as his finest works.
Gary Westfahl closely examines Clarke's remarkable career, ranging from his forgotten juvenilia to the passages he completed for a final novel, The Last Theorem. As Westfahl explains, Clarkes science fiction offered original perspectives on subjects like new inventions, space travel, humanitys destiny, alien encounters, the undersea world, and religion. While not inclined to mysticism, Clarke necessarily employed mystical language to describe the fantastic achievements of advanced aliens and future humans. Westfahl also contradicts the common perception that Clarkes characters were bland and underdeveloped, arguing that these reticent, solitary individuals, who avoid conventional relationships, represent his most significant prediction of the future, as they embody the increasingly common lifestyle of people in the twenty-first century.
A well-considered reevaluation of Arthur C. Clarkes legacy. . . . His analysis is most valuable in its scope, ranging beyond Clarkes major works and considering his myriad stories, his less successful novels, his nonfiction, and even his juvenilia.--Booklist
"The legacy of Sir Arthur has finally been given justice, and therefore this guide is to be wholeheartedly recommended."--SFFWorld
"Westfahl successfully relocates the context of Clarke's work, which in turn allows him to bring a fresh perspective even to oft-analyzed texts." --InterGalactic Medicine Show
"Gary Westfahl's compact critical biography closely yet succinctly examines everything from Clarke's British childhood through his last years on the island of Sri Lanka, his juvenilia through the numerous 'collaborations' that fill the last pages of his bibliography." --Shepherd Express
"Gary Westfahl's Arthur C. Clarke (2018) fills the gap by offering a much-needed survey of Clarke's entire oeuvre, from his juvenilia to his many collaborations. This book will provide a useful starting place for future conversations about Clarke." --Science Fiction Studies
"This is the most insightful analysis of Clarke I have seen. It has many gems, such as this irresistible pearl: 'Clarke's characters anticipate the way that more and more people now live their lives. Clarke's characters, then, may someday be regarded as his most significant prediction of the future, making him seem more like a twenty-first century writer than a twentieth-century writerperhaps the greatest compliment one can imagine for a science fiction writer.' His scaffold leading to this is of the highest quality."--Gregory Benford
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