Happy 90th Birthday Arthur and thanks for many, many hours spent lost in one of your books. My faves are "Childhoods End", "The City and the Stars" and "Rendezvous with Rama".

I hope the old guy parties hard!

If I make 90 I sure shall be.

...suggesting using geostationary satellites for global telecommunications. I think that was somewhere around 1948, in Wireless World.

Happy birthday to the man that predicted telecommunications satellites, (almost predicted that every phone call, local and international would be free by 2000), and has and continues to enthrall me with visionary works such as the aforementioned Space Odyssey series, Rendezvous With Rama series, The City and the Stars, and many more.

Add Earthlight to the list of fav stories.

Many happy returns and all my thanks for imagining the possibilities.

Arthur C Clarke stands out as an oasis of rational calm in our violent, irrational world. His visions of the future are unfailingly positive and optimistic. Not for him nightmares of global destruction or dystopias like those of Soylent Green or Blade Runner. For Clarke, there are no really convincing reasons why mankind should not use science to go on bettering itself more or less indefinitely. We should honour and appreciate him for this, even more than for his brilliant science fiction. And let's not forget that he invented the communications satellite, too!

City and the Stars for me. That story has stayed with me since reading it in my early teens in the late 70's.

Thanks ACC.

James

So I won't.

Happy Birthday Mr Clarke.

Arthur C. Clarke was the first SF author I read, closely followed by the kings of the Golden Age, but it was Clarke who made me realise that the future was coming, and it wouldn't always be the High Frontier of Americans in spacesuits. He wrote of the arrival of aliens both on Earth and in space (still waiting), the space elevator (closer than he imagined 25 years ago) and created the foundations for the world of the future that still often remains just around the corner. He has seen 2001 pass with no hotel in space, and no human beings outside of Earth orbit: I hope he lives long enough to see one or the other happen. Happy birthday Sir Arthur, may there be many more.

Almost right. Read "Childhoods End" and "Quarantine".

"Earth's flaming debris still filled half the sky..."

My first memories of science fiction was when my father read "Islands in the Sky" to me and my brother as a bedtime story. Oh, happy days.

Thanks Mr Clarke (and Dad).

for me the above plus Dolphin Island and Sands of Mars

Sir Arthur was born in Minehead, Somerset and his brother Fred stil lives near there, commenting this week in the local press that ACC is well, if wheelchair bound, and still has a great affection for his home town. I remember sitting in the freezing cold Regal fleapit there about 20 years ago, mesmerised by this real gent's reminiscences, predictions and impromptu lecture from the dusty stage as he introduced "Space Odyssey", which I watched with new eyes.

The Mayor of Minehead said "nobody has suggested doing anything" and the scandal ridden West Somerset Council said "We have no plans" regarding commemorating their most famous resident's achievements or birthday. Makes you proud, no?

I loved the space oddesy series, and the Rama series, although my favourite is A Fall Of Moondust.

As for a favourite quote:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic"

which has been adapted in so many ways, I may have misquoted it. Apologies!

@Happy Birthday ACC

It's not actually his quote, but it seems to be one of his favourites

@My Fave...

+1 for City and the Stars... though I love them all

Happy Birthday Sir Arthur,

You embody the spirit of wonder

Adding to the chorus, my thanks and happy birthday to Sir Clark. Hope I live enough to see his 100th birthday... :-)

Happy Birthday Sir Clarke. May all your dreams, past present and future come true.

To an unparalleled writer and thinker. +1 more for "City and the Stars"

May I add my good wishes to the others, and thanks again for the entire Rama series. All your books, really - I grew up reading them. Fantastic!

Happy Birthday old chap

along with Tolkien: since not many of his books were translated to my native Finnish at the time, my fascination with science fiction and fantasy stories forced me to try read them in English.

But his style did leave me with a tendency to overuse elipsis...

All these heartfelt mails and not a cynical comment in site. Kind of restores ones faith etc. (He has done some amazing stuff, and appears so modest too).

Happy Christmas all

All the contributers before me have said what I wanted to say!

I grew up on a diet of ACC and Isaac Asimov. To my mind they are the two finest Sci-Fi writers of the 20th Century, between them(and HG Wells)

they predicted almost every 'wonder' that we have today.

Happy Birthday!!

Bradbury, Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein... then Silverberg, LeGuin, Robinson, Gibson and countless others. Mr. Clarke, thanks for all the fine hours learning to think while enjoying a good tale! Many happy returns of the day from somewhere near Toronto, Canada.

If it wasn't his quote, who originally said it?

I'd always thought it was one of his as it's usually referred to as "Clarke's Third Law"

The alien, because it's the closest I can manage to contacting ET...

A wonderful 90th birthday Mr Clarke! Your stories have given me so much pleasure and sense of wonder ... thank you!

With love

Maike