Had to happen eventually, though he looked set to last forever, Clarke is no more.
I first discovered the writing of Arthur C. Clarke (or as Viz once memorably renamed him, “The Arthur of Space-1999, Author See Clarke”) in the early 1990s at the local library. I started with 2010 (2001 was on loan), thoroughly enjoyed it and skipped back to 2001 (making sense of 2010 in the process) as soon as it was available.
Then though the Rama series, various collaborations and short stories. He is one author I can come back to any time. I always end up reading one of his books on a flight. Shame about 3001 though, that really was no fitting end to the odyssey series.
Not really a writer’s writer, more an engineer with a gift for story telling. Sadly missed.