I'm really saddened by this. He was one of my favorite authors of all time.
Childhood's end was the first book I read of his and became a fan immediately. My fondest memories of his writing are the numerous short stories he published. He had a wonderful skill of presenting plausible science in a fictional setting. The first RAMA book is my favourite though. I hope they make it a movie some day.
I hope to see a space elevator in my life time. God speed Mr. Clarke.
