SF Signal: 2004: A Space Onion

2004: A Space Onion

The Onion A.V. Club has an interview with Arthur C. Clarke. In it, Clarke talks about a variety of subjects from his long and distinguished career.

Is it just me, or does Clarke always seem to come across as trying to come up with some new and cool, catchy phrase? The article shows he's still riding the "indistinguishable from magic" quote. Oh, sorry...that would be "magick". Also, he's seen quoting some professional or other every other sentence yet cannot remember a "collaboration" with Stephen Baxter (Time's Eye). I say "collaboration" because a coworker swears that anything written in collaboration with Clarke is written by the other guy and Clarke just gets a paycheck for having his name on the cover.

Sorry John, you're wrong. Kevin doesn't swear...

Posted by jp on Thursday February 26, 2004 at 9:01 AM

But if you get Clarke's name on the cover, your paycheck is also a heck of a lot bigger, because you sold more books!

Works out well for folks like Gentry Lee. I would never have read anything by Gentry Lee is it weren't for Clarke's name on the cover. And what I read was so poor (and I knew Clarke wasn't heavily involved) that I've never read any of Lee's few solo effots!

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Thursday February 26, 2004 at 6:26 PM