A Conversation with Arthur C. Clarke (1999)
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
From communications satellites (the geosynchronous 'Clarke orbit' is named after him) to encrypted smartphones (described vividly in Imperial Earth), to space elevators (The Fountains of Paradise) - he introduced so many ideas that are now regarded as unremarkable. (I remember being attacked and ridiculed in high school when I brought up the preposterous subject of space elevators...)
His writing was more stylistic than Asimov's, and while not as prolific, his novels and scientific writing were equally inspiring. Clarke had a poetic, fantastical side, revealed in stories like 'The Lion of Comarre' and 'Against the Fall of Night'; relating visions of vast vistas of space and time (reminiscent of Olaf Stapledon), but also with a subtle discontent and yearning in the protagonists. I fear much of this subtlety is lost among modern readers, but it shouldn't be - so many of us suffer from that same malady!
Clarke and Asimov were great frenemies, and their exchanges were hilarious. They both had gigantic egos! And I just now realized a way to characterize their literary personalities: Asimov resided in temperate New York City, while Clarke had his home in tropical Sri Lanka. But the historic names of that place - Ceylon, Serendip and Taprobane - were even more exotic and evocative, just like the best of Clarke.
He had a talent for portraying a kind of quiet, competent person who's deeply unfashionable in modern literature because these days we think that stories are built on top of character conflict; Clarke's characters didn't get into arguments much. But there was always more to them than meets the eye. I agree with you about the subtlety.
I just wish he hadn't met Gentry Lee...
Well, that comes from a person who uses the word "juvenilia" though.
More sci-fi and less literary types will disagree.
Leading to the Clarke-Asimov pact [0], which stated that stated that Asimov was required to insist that Clarke was the best science fiction writer in the world (reserving second-best for himself), while Clarke was required to insist that Asimov was the best science writer in the world (reserving second-best for himself).
> It is also an interesting challenge combining the two genres of crime and science fiction, especially as some experts have claimed that it’s impossible. (My sole contribution here is ‘‘Trouble with Time’’; and though I hate to say so, Isaac What’s-His-Name managed it superbly in his Caves of Steel series.)
Which made me chuckle.
I didn't know this, but it's pretty funny, you're right. Casts this quote from the linked interview in a much more amusing light: "I have an asteroid named after me. Isaac Asimov's got one too. It's smaller and more eccentric."
And of course this rather sweet compliment: "I'm in good shape. I don't know if I've ever written more than 3,000 words a day. Isaac Asimov could do that in a minute and a half. And mostly on a manual typewriter, too."