Andrew Porter and Bjo Trimble send word that Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died. “He was a lovely man,” wrote Bjo. “He will be sorely missed even by those who never visited Sri Lanka to dive with him.”

The SFWA News site’s report reminded that Clarke was the final living member of “The Big Three” of science fiction. Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov formed the rest of a trio of writers known for their unexcelled imaginations and groundbreaking stories.

Michael Capobianco, SFWA President, observed, “[Clarke] was looking very frail during the videocast he sent out for his 90th birthday, considerably worse than during the Cassini flyby of the enigmatic moon Iapetus just a few months earlier, so I suppose it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But somehow his longevity seemed part of his image, mixing the real and the science fictional, and his death seems strange and inappropriate.”

The Associated Press report added: 

“Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered,” Clarke said recently. “I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these, I would like to be remembered as a writer.”

Clarke’s office announced he had recently reviewed the final manuscript of his latest novel. The Last Theorem, co-written with Frederik Pohl, which will be published later this year.

Clarke was 1956 Worldcon (NyCon II) Guest of Honor. His other honors include multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Heinlein Award, having an asteroid named after him, induction in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Knight Bachelor, and Sri Lanka’s highest civilian award. Several awards are named in his honor.