It was my first foray into the ‘Adult’ book section at the British Council Library, a neat white building with a red tiled roof. I walked past the A’s, B’s and stopped at the C’s. There, displayed in a separate group of books was a short story collection titled "The Nine Billion Names of God and other short stories by Arthur C. Clarke". I was about 12 years old, tall enough to pass for an adult, but not one yet. While I would like to say that this started a lifelong love affair with science fiction, as with all fads it had an end which came a few years later. I proceeded to read every book of Mr.Clarke’s that I could lay my hands on : A Fall of Moondust, The Sands of Mars, Childhood’s End, 2001: A Space Odyssey (the mysterious movie based on which I am reminded of, from the Also Sprach Zarathustra theme of Strauss, now overused beyond repair), the first three books of the Rama series, before they started getting so weird and hard to follow that I lost patience with them.
In recent years, out of a desire to reread some of my favorite authors of my youth, I picked up a collaborative effort of Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter called ‘Time’s Eye: A Time Odyssey‘, followed by ‘Sunstorm‘, and was in some way transported briefly back to the days of initial enthusiasm, followed by fading interest. The trilogy started off promisingly, but the plot petered out into sequel hooks at the end, losing my interest. Not another strange Rama-esque journey, I hoped. The final book in the series, ‘Firstborn’ came out sometime last year, and was exactly as I feared. I couldn’t get past page 25. Maybe I will pick it up and attempt to read it again, out of respect for the memory of an author whose earlier and shorter works blazed an incandescent trail in my mind. Then again, I might be better served by revisiting my old favorites, rather than struggling with the newer ‘collaborative’ works that I didn’t like.
The Star remains to this day the most powerful piece of writing by Arthur C. Clarke for me. I never fail to think of the single frisson-inducing last line when I (rarely enough these days) have the chance to gaze upon a clear star-studded sky.
Thank you, Mr.Clarke, for all those early years of wonder. Journey on with the stars that you always loved.
Accidental Blogger 
4 responses to “Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), Journey in Peace (Sujatha)”
Sujatha:
Thanks for coming through with a lovely tribute to Arthur C. Clarke on such short notice.
I no longer read much science fiction. I have always been curious about “Childhood’s End” which is frequently mentioned by Clarke fans. Now you say that “The Star” is his most powerful piece. I haven’t read either. Which one should I try? Unless, you recommend that I read both.
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The news startled me, and I’m saddened by this loss. I remember enjoying Childhood’s End quite a bit, but I can’t recall why. It seems to me, too, that 2001 was written in tandem with the production of the movie, an atypical circumstance. Here is a case, though, where one might prefer the filmed version. Nevertheless, I am an inveterate despiser of cinema, yet I hold Kubrick and Clarke’s collaboration in the highest regard.
I shared Sujatha’s “initial enthusiasm” for SF, and now her nostalgic yearning to re-enjoy works like Clarke’s. I bet I would get a kick out of a second pass through Childhood’s End. Clarke’s expatriation to Sri Lanka was also a source of fascination.
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I don’t know why, but The Star (linked to directly in the post) probably hit me at a vulnerable age, when I was just about beginning to question concepts about God as all-powerful and totally benign, and while not explicitly related to the Hindu framework which I grew up with, I was familiar with the star of Bethlehem just from the Christian teachings I was exposed to in my convent school.
I found the movie version of 2001 all color and spectacle, grand music, but couldn’t really fish out a totally coherent thread of events from it. I recognized the elements of the short story The Sentinel, which I had read by then, but little else. The one abiding image from it, more than the psychedelic colors illuminating the astronaut’s suit at the end, remains the strange simians waving clubs at the huge monolith of the Sentinel to more of the Strauss.
Childhood’s End remains my favorite among the novels and still has a pride of place in my book cupboard, along with a 2000 edition of ‘The Collected Works of Arthur C.Clarke’ which contains almost all of his short stories and novellas, including some obscure ones that I haven’t read yet.
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Ruchira,
I would recommend reading both. The Star is very short and won’t take up more than 5 minutes of your time, while Childhood’s End might take up at the most a couple hours or so.
Dean,
I remember The Fountains of Paradise rather faintly, being especially enthused by the concept of ‘Space Elevator’ of sorts, since used as plot devices by a zillion other SF writers.
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