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I think in some ways Clarke is somewhat overated in the same way Shakespeare is. Like Shakespeare, Clarke wrote some bad stuff. I reread Earthlight. Its kind of slow. The plot is poorly conceived and lacks pace. The Deep Range was weaker than I recall. Imperial Earth is...well, I couldn't get into it. A Fall of Moondust is better, but not deep. But it doesn't matter, because he wrote The City and the Stars and Childhoods End, both of which left an impression on so many readers and continue to do so. They are timeless, like Shakespeare..Clarke excelled at the short story, but he wrote two masterful novels. Clarke was particularly good at invoking humanity's courage and impotency in the face of eternity. He was also a.great optimist.
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