One of the giants is dead.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote an awful lot of books and short stories, many of which I’ve read. I always felt he was great on science; less good on characterization. His imagination was spot-on, however. He’s the man who envisioned telcomm satellites above the earth in 1945, ten years before the first spacecraft orbited.
I’ve always thought one of his best short stories was The Nine Billion Names of God. You can read all three pages of it at that link. It has one of the most famous last sentences in all of science fiction.
If you like irony, you might try The Star, too.
Update: Patrick has a wonderful eulogy at Making Light.