Arthur C. Clarke Links and Video

Posted on March 19, 2008 by John DeNardo in Books // 6 Comments

There is often a compulsion to seek out the written works of recently departed authors, as if reading their work can hopefully, in some small way, keep them with us a little bit longer. To that end, I’ve rounded up a few links to some online stories of Sir Arthur C. Clarke. If you don’t own any of his work, you should. See why through these links…

FREE WRITTEN FICTION

FREE AUDIO FICTION

“A Walk In The Dark“
“Summertime On Icarus“
“The Haunted Spacesuit“
“The Nine Billion Names Of God“
“The Sentinel” (basis for 2001: A Space Odyssey)
“The Star“

IN HIS OWN WORDS

Finally, here is the man himself, reflecting on his life on his 90th birthday in December 2007:

“I am sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I’ve had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science popularizer. Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer – one who entertained readers and, hopefully, stretched their imaginations as well.”

“Overhead…the stars are going out”

[Links via

Best Science Fiction Stories, Free Speculative Fiction Online, Living the Limnal, Free SF Reader, and Laughing Squid]

Fergie Meek // March 19, 2008 at 6:18 am //

I am a long time reader of this blog but it is my first comment – thanks for a very interesting and informative site, I regularly find fascinating stories and links here.

Arthur C. Clarke was the closest thing to a ‘hero’ I ever had. One of the first books I was given as a child was ‘Of Time And Stars’ – and I still own it. I have read (and bought) everything of A.C.C’s that I can get my hands on and he remains a huge influence on me.

I am much more upset about his news than I would have thought possible, it feels like I have lost a friend and mentor even though I never met the man.

Goodbye Arthur and thank you for showing me how great a man can be.

Fergie

tinkoo // March 19, 2008 at 6:52 am //

Thanks for links, John. Added them to appropriate entries of my posts – with due credits.

Rusty // March 19, 2008 at 9:14 am //

Thanks for the nice list.

Also, a free (and legal) written version of “The Star” can be found at Lucis.net. This is a great little classic story, and one of the first science fiction short stories I ever read.

John // March 19, 2008 at 9:22 am //

Thanks, Rusty. Link added.

Carl V. // March 19, 2008 at 1:23 pm //

Another legend lost and one that I have regretfully only just recently read. I read my first Clarke a few weeks back, the short story “The Rescue Party”, and loved it. I picked up Rendezvous with Rama at the used bookstore recently, hoping to have gotten to it by now. Looks like Clarke is yet another author whose work I will truly be discovering after their death.