Last Lines

Arthur C. Clarke had his faults as a writer, but I have to say that, in his short stories, he had a knack for great last lines. Think of the ending of "The Nine Billion Names of God", or "The Star". (Admittedly, those two seem to be regarded as his best short stories; one made it into the first volume of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and the other would have if not for the one-story-per-author restriction.)

Today, something reminded me of his "Death and the Senator"; I found it online and skimmed it, picking up good bits but mainly aiming for the ending:

"He was still marveling at the narrowness of his escape when his time ran out and death fell softly from the summer sky."

It's a quiet line, not as stunning as TNBNoG's ending or as anguished as that of "The Star", but it's *right*. It's somber, but it's a happy ending in context, and I think it's wonderful.