tl;dr: Arthur C. Clarke is amazing.

A month or two ago I read ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. I’ve never seen the film and, until then, I had never read any Arthur C. Clarke. The film has been recommended to me so many times that I feel kind of bad that I haven’t actually sat down to watch it – not to mention that I think space is amazing and Stanley Kubrick is… Well, he’s Stanley Kubrick… What more can really be said? 

Regardless, I read the book. 

And now I know. 

I have always been, and still am, of the belief that Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ is the pinnacle of science fiction. It captures a vast political narrative that has roots further back than the book bothers to explore and merely urges the reader to buckle in and enjoy the show. Everyone has agendas and everyone’s agendas have been grown from historical relationships that the reader only gets glimpses of. It’s a masterpiece of subtlety. And, because I saw it as the pinnacle of science fiction I was always kind of surprised at how widely discussed the book is, but how rarely referenced it seems to be. Maybe I’m overlooking a lot of subtle references throughout cinema and literature, or perhaps my memory of the book has faded enough that I wouldn’t pick up on less obvious references simply because I’ve forgotten them. But, still. It seems like such an epic thing to reference. 

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ is kind of different. It’s sweeping and grandiose on a more human scale. Rather than grappling with entirely foreign concepts, Clarke gives the reader a place that for him was the very near future – and for us… well most of it is quite possible with the technology that currently exists. Herbert starts big and builds in detail, while Clarke’s novel is more like a proof-of-concept. 

It’s only now, having finally read it, that I can see just how much Clarke’s work is referenced. Almost anything that deals with space and the notion of exploration pays homage to ‘Space Odyssey’. Only now can I see why ‘Interstellar’ has that terrible third act – because the whole film is this grand tribute to Clarke’s vision. 

Seeing how all the pieces fit together is exciting. It’s one of those things that you only really get to enjoy once because you can only ever experience something for the first time once. The novel has highlighted that the very essence of science fiction, as seen through the consumer eyes of Hollywood productions and television shows, was inexorably changed by Clarke’s work. 

I saw that an ‘event series’ (which I haven’t watched as yet, and I’m not entirely sure I want to) had been made of ‘Childhood’s End’, another of Clarke’s novels (one which I had just been gifted). Everything that involves the arrival of a superior, seemingly benevolent, alien species and humanity’s reaction to that event, is probably a reference to Clarke’s novel. Independence Day, and V are the obvious two, and I am baffled to realise that these things which I had taken to be cool ideas when I first heard of them, are actually grounded in fiction from fifty and sixty years ago. 

It’s amazing and daunting. As someone who likes science fiction and who is trying to produce something that is not a checklist of references to others, I’m concerned that I won’t be able to make anything great. Not, overly concerned because I write because I like to, not because I want to be remembered as the author of such-and-such. 

I suppose, I just find it amazing that there are so many amazing ideas out there and that there are some many great people who have tried to shape them and give them meaning. The whole history of fiction is mesmerizing. 

I still think ‘Dune’ is the best, but now I recognise that Clarke is pretty damn great for a whole bunch of different reasons.

Don’t eat too much tomorrow.