One of my favorite authors passed this week. Arthur C. Clarke died in his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka this past Tuesday. I really enjoyed reading his stories when I was a teenager. Even on my last business trip, I read another one of his books.

Clarke was the first author I obsessed over. On advice from my high school Russian teacher, I started with Childhood’s End when I was about 15. I then read Rendezvous with Rama, Imperial Earth, A Fall of Moondust, and almost all of Clarke’s short stories.

Mr. Clarke wasn’t good at character development. Only a few of his books had a page-turning plot, but he could weave a masterful tale of science fiction.

One of his short stories has especially stuck with me over the years. The Nine Billion Names of God. It tells the story from the point of view of a salesman and programmer who install a huge IBM-like mainframe at a Buddhist monastery. Seems the monks there have been attempting to discover the true name of God. With the help of a computer, they can accomplish the task they started hundreds of years ago in only a few months.

No, I won’t spoil it for you. But the story emphasizes Clarke’s craft for weaving highly technical information into a readable and enjoyable story.

I’m just thankful that Clarke’s talent is on paper and will exist forever for many to read. Even my son is enjoying reading those very same books that I read when I was his age.

I bid you farewell, Mr. Clarke, as your body returns to the stuff stars are made of.