I think he's dated way less badly than Asimov has. Even early Clarke is still quite readable; _The City and the Stars_ and _Rendezvous with Rama_ are still quit

I think he's dated way less badly than Asimov has. Even early Clarke is still quite readable; _The City and the Stars_ and _Rendezvous with Rama_ are still quite wonderful, but I've always had a soft spot for his juvenilia --- _Dolphin Island_ is half a semiautographical memoir of snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, and half a quiet coming-of-age story. He had a talent for portraying a kind of quiet, competent person who's deeply unfashionable in modern literature because these days we think that stories are built on top of character conflict; Clarke's characters didn't get into arguments much. But there was always more to them than meets the eye. I agree with you about the subtlety. I just wish he hadn't met Gentry Lee...