I agree with Chris re the infodump and ideas -- the science always takes precedence over characterisation. If it's of help, here are some comments I've made when reading Clarke's stuff over the last few years:
Rendezvous with Rama I have rather mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I can appreciate the world-building – or, rather, the Rama-building – though I couldn't understand any of the science stuff, and I liked the clean, spare prose. However, the two-dimensional characters, the lack of character/internal conflict and the crappy dialogue were all less than enthralling. Overall, I was irresistibly reminded of Verne's A Journey to the Centre of the Earth I read a while back. There's the same detailed travelling, the same investigation of a strange land, even the same sea-journey, and the same rather "Is that it?" feeling at the end. There's no real resolution and little character development – it's all about the journey, not the destination.
Childhood's End This was a re-read from my teenage years. I recalled three of the big set-piece scenes, which shows how much it impacted on me, but I can't now remember my emotions on reading it. I hope I was horrified by the 1950s mindset that had no women in any position of authority, or, indeed, anything other than a girlfriend/wife/mother. The removal of autonomy from the human race by the Overlords also troubled me greatly this time around if it didn't originally, and despite Clarke's relentless pushing that the future for the children of Earth was a great one, I found the message terribly depressing.
A Fall of Moondust This was the literary equivalent of a disaster movie – a "boat" falls several metres into the superfine dust of the moon and we switch back and forth between the captive passengers and the attempts to rescue them before Clarke's many fiendish plot twists can kill everyone. Science takes priority over characterisation, women – as is depressingly familiar – are most definitely sidelined, and although it's a slim book, it would be a hell of a lot slimmer if it weren't for some wilful padding (and info-dumping) when it comes to the passengers and their wholly irrelevant personal histories. Nonetheless, an interesting book, well thought out, and some exciting moments.
3001 The Final Odyssey This has the usual problems I associate with the old SFers, namely character is always subordinate to plot, and plot itself takes second place to the unnecessary and terribly jarring info-dumps of scientific tidbits and asides about whatever social issues the writer feels the need to get off his chest, including here FGM, circumcision, meat-eating and religion. It's by no means a lengthy novel, barely 250 pages if we exclude the lengthy addendum where Clarke discusses the science of his world-building, but the actual relevant bits of plot and character-building would probably only amount to a third of that. Enjoyable enough, and Clarke's intelligence and love of science and technology burns through it, but I'm astounded it was published as late as 1997, when it's such a 1960s book – I can't help thinking that if it had been submitted by Arthur C Nobody it would only have been accepted once heavily pruned and presented as a short story.
The Ghost from the Grand Banks concerns various individuals/companies/organisations involved in trying to raise the two halves of the Titanic in time for the centenary of its death. I have no doubt the science and technology details are accurate, but those details are just dumped on the page alongside a hopeless mess of poor characterisation, wholly irrelevant scenes, and soul-crushing dialogue. I was thoroughly unhappy by the end of the present-day story – not least due to the sheer shocking irrelevance of most of the material to the actual plot, what there was of it, coupled with a rather distasteful sexual mores digression – and utterly underwhelmed by the tagged-on epilogue set thousands of years in the future. Really not one to recommend.
The Fountains of Paradise After getting stuck for a while on page one, this grew on me the further I got into it, with the technology of the space elevator smuggled into the story in easy dollops which I could skim-read without effort (and without understanding, it has to be admitted) and there was a serious attempt at characterisation and well-rounded characters, though – as ever with old time SF writers – this far-future world will apparently have a chronic shortage of women judging by the number which appeared.
The City and the Stars I thoroughly enjoyed even though the omniscient voice grated and the denouement was weak and rushed. Full of ideas, not least about man and his place in the universe, with characters who, for the most part anyway, were intelligent and well-drawn.
I feel a bit guilty that I can't enjoy his books more, but they are very much of their time. But with your science background you might well understand the technology stuff that I can't, and therefore you may well appreciate the novels more.
