Clarke’s genius lives on

  Science fiction great Arthur C. Clarke is no longer with us, but his work lives on. Clarke’s final novel, “Firstborn,” in the “Time Odyssey”  trilogy, which is co-authored by Stephen Baxter, was published a few months before Clarke’s death in March. The concept that alien motives will be difficult for mankind to comprehend pervades the series. The authors touch on another favorite Clarke theme — that mankind will reach another plane of existence — in the final pages of “Firstborn.”
  In this series, the mysterious Firstborn aliens are not benevolent. They create an alternate Earth with slices of cultures from various eras, such as Genghis Khan’s Mongols, Alexander the Great’s diverse army and the British of the late 19th century, contending for supremacy in ancient Babylon. The aliens try to destroy the original Earth with a solar flare, and later with a powerful Q bomb. Clarke and Baxter create strong women characters to deal with the crisis. The most compelling character is a British officer who served with a United Nations peacekeeping force in the 21st century.
   The third book finally gives readers some answers about the aliens and their spooky spheres, which appear to be spying on humanity. Clarke fans should like the collaboration with Baxter, a noted scientist and first-rate science fiction author in his own right (my favorite Baxter book is “Evolution”). However, readers are left in a dark universe at the end of the third book with issues unresolved. Perhaps Baxter will honor Clarke’s memory by continuing “Time Odyssey.”
   Clarke’s final novel, “The Last Theorem” co-authored with Frederik Pohl, is due out later this year, the BBC News Channel Web site reported.