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2061: Odyssey Three (Space Odyssey #3)

3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 · rating details · 9,660 ratings · 196 reviews

Arthur C. Clark, creator of one of the world's best-loved science fiction tales, revisits the most famous future ever imagined in this NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, as two expeditions into space become inextricably tangled. Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths, must again confront Dave Bowman, HAL, and an alien race that has decided...more

Paperback, 302 pages

Published November 1997 by Voyager (first published 1985)

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Feb 10, 2013 Henry Avila rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dr.Heywood Floyd, is back for the third installment of the 2001 series,still vigorous at the ripe old age of 103.Apparently the good Dr. requires excitement to live.His next mission is to land on Halley's Comet, in the year 2061.When the most famous comet there is, comes back,past the orbit of Earth, which it has done for 20,000 years.AS A CELEBRITY,HE GETS A FREE RIDE ON THE Spaceship Universe, a luxury liner,Heywood has been in a lot worse crafts in his trips.The best feature in the space line...more Dr.Heywood Floyd, is back for the third installment of the 2001 series,still vigorous at the ripe old age of 103.Apparently the good Dr. requires excitement to live.His next mission is to land on Halley's Comet, in the year 2061.When the most famous comet there is, comes back,past the orbit of Earth, which it has done for 20,000 years.AS A CELEBRITY,HE GETS A FREE RIDE ON THE Spaceship Universe, a luxury liner,Heywood has been in a lot worse crafts in his trips.The best feature in the space liner is a swimming pool!Yes,you read right... Because of the continuous thrust of the rocket, there is gravity on board.The passengers, a mixed group ,a movie star,science commentator ,musician ,astronaut, the first to land on Mercury and even a lowly writer.The five celebrities, are ironically not as well known as the sixth Floyd,who doesn't consider himself one anymore.Dr.Floyd calls Universe a "Ship of Fools".Captain Smith has his hands full trying to control these egomaniacs. Oh,and some men of science are around too.The touchdown on Halley's is surprisingly dull,just the way the captain likes it.This dirty snowball, has a few interesting things to see.Geysers,that shoot out water,which quickly turns to vapor and ice and goes out into endless space , never to return.Natural structures that look unnatural.Caves are found and the scientists, of course, need to explore them.The real reason for this voyage, knowledge, the naive men believe.A strange light at the end of a cavern is spotted but a message has been received, an emergency.They have to leave this colorless but novel place immediately. Their sister spaceship,Galaxy, crashed landed on cloud covered Europa, a former moon of Jupiter,which aliens have turned into a second Sun,Lucifer. A Forbidden World, that no one for fifty years,has had the courage to visit.With weird Mount Zeus towering miles high above the surface of the satellite.And also an ocean, formed there, with giant sea creatures,below,the Galaxy floating on top. Nearby enormous Jupiter/Lucifer,warms the sphere, as strange a place, as exists in the whole Solar System.Something doesn't make sense about the accident.The rescue ship Universe, will demand a thorough investigation. But how will the aliens react? By the way, Dr.Floyd's estranged grandson, is on board the Galaxy.(less)

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Sep 25, 2008 holy_fire rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes SciFi with a big emphasis on the Sci-part

Shelves: 1987, clarke-arthur-c, science-fiction

third book in Clarke's Odyssey-Saga...

short plot description: set (obviously) 51 years after the events in "2010: Odyssey Two" we meet again Dr. Heywood Floyd, now 103 years old. Mankind has build bases on the moon and Ganymede (where a scientist makes an astonishing discovery about Europa) and advances in science have made interplanetary space travel economical feasible, which paved the way for private enterprises. One of them is Tsung Spacelines where Chris Floyd, grandson of Heywood Floyd, wo...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Bobby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Continuing the Spacey Odyssey series, this third installment may seem repetitive of the previous two, especially the mysteries of space, the appearance of ghosts, and the fantastic functions of the monolith. The pace, as the previous two, is slow at first, then escalates quickly and ends abruptly.
Clarke's hard science fiction is absolutely believable and it is clear that he has put in a great amount of research to extrapolate action from real theory. Because of this, the mysticism is not far-fe...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Mutlu rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jüpiter'in yabancı zekalar tarafından minik bir yıldıza dönüşmesi, eski Jüpiter'in uydularının artık terraform için uygun koşullara gelmesinin 2 önemli sonucu vardır. İnsanlar evrende yalnız olmadıklarını anladıkları için eski kan davalarını unutup birleşmeye başlarlar, Dünya Devleti kurulur. Bu organizasyona katılmayan çok az sayıda ülke vardır. İkincisi ise Yıllardır insanların dikkatini cezbetmiş olan buz dünyası Europa uyanmıştır. Lucifer ( eski Jüpiter ) 'in ısısıyla buzları erir ve yaşama...more Jüpiter'in yabancı zekalar tarafından minik bir yıldıza dönüşmesi, eski Jüpiter'in uydularının artık terraform için uygun koşullara gelmesinin 2 önemli sonucu vardır. İnsanlar evrende yalnız olmadıklarını anladıkları için eski kan davalarını unutup birleşmeye başlarlar, Dünya Devleti kurulur. Bu organizasyona katılmayan çok az sayıda ülke vardır. İkincisi ise Yıllardır insanların dikkatini cezbetmiş olan buz dünyası Europa uyanmıştır. Lucifer ( eski Jüpiter ) 'in ısısıyla buzları erir ve yaşama uygun hale gelir. Ancak Jüpiter'i çökerten zeka İnsan ırkına net bir mesaj vermiştir : Tüm uydular sizin, Europa'ya inmeyi denemeyin. Gezegenlerarası bir komlonun kurbanı olan Galaxy adlı gözlem gemisi kaçırılır ve Europa'ya zorunlu iniş yapar. Mürettebatı arasında Heywood Floyd'un torunu Chris'de vardır. Bu esnada Heywood, uzayda geçirdiği yıllar sayesinde 65 yaşında birinin sağlığına sahiptir takvim yaprakları aksini söylese de. Universe'in asil konuklar listesinde bulunan Floyd Halley kuyruklu yıldızına inecek şanslı azınlıktan biridir. Ancak "Galaxy"'den yardım sinyali aldıkları zaman yolculuğun doğası ve aciliyeti değişir...

Nispeten silahsız bir gelecek kurgulayan yazar, ilginç göndermelerle süslemiş eserini. Darwin, Freud, Star Wars, Beatles ve kendi kitabına "Cennetin çeşmeleri" ne göndermeler yapan yazar, İnsan ırkının gözüne yasak bir meyve sallamış : Europa. Tsien felaketinden bu yana Europa'ya temas etmekten kaçınan insan ırkı, açgözlülüğünün ve merakının kurbanı oluyor gene. İnsanın gördüğü en büyük gizemi çözmeye yönelik bir komplonun içinde yer alan karakterlerin birbirleriyle bağlantılarını ustaca kuran yazar, denizcilik terimleri ve kendi kişisel geçmişinden paylaşımlarla daha samimi ve inandırıcı bir atmosfer yaratmış. Merak öğesi diğer kitaplarındaki kadar yoğun değilse de hayal gücünün sınırlarındaki yorumları ve cesur manevraları hayranlık duyulacak ölçüde rahat bir tonda aktarmış. Tasvirler son derece yerinde ve benzetmelerle güçlü bir şekilde desteklenmiş.

Tamamen yabancı bir ortam mahsur kalan kazazedelerin psikolojisini unutmayan yazar, kuru ve sönük diyaloglardan genelde kaçınmış. Diğer kitaplarında kullandığı teknoloji ve gelişmelere dair kavramları ekte güncelleyen yazar, bilimselliğin dışına çıkmamış. (less)

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Dec 26, 2012 Michael Duarte rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Having read the first two books in Arthur C. Clarke's Odyssey series I decided that I might as well read the series in its entirety. The reviews I read before hand warned that not much happened in the third installment, and others even suggested that it wasn't necessary to read at all. Still, I felt like I should read all the books, so I bought it.

There was a far less realistic/believable feel to the story, however, that was to be expected with the conclusion of 2001: A Space Odyssey. What had d...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Byron Miller rated it 3 of 5 stars

I must admit, I didn't enjoy this as much as the first two books. Sure, I love scifi and I love the intrigue of the monoliths and what they're up to, but this book seemed more haphazard than strong story. It was enjoyable and an easy read but it felt more like the script of a made for tv movie than a connection to the previous books.

I wish there was a better reason why things were the way they were, everything was miraculous in concept but mundane in execution. It just seemed like oh darn, we'r...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Ivan Stoikov - Allan Bard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Usually, only one book of a sequel is considered good enough. And usually, it is the first one, probably because it includes the denouement itself and the next books couldn’t surpass that, no matter how much suspense, scientific and other important facts, etc they describe.
Actually, after reading the 3rd Space Odyssey, I think every one of the sequel have their good qualities and they complement one another. So, they could be classified as an exception from the rule and I could not say which on...more Usually, only one book of a sequel is considered good enough. And usually, it is the first one, probably because it includes the denouement itself and the next books couldn’t surpass that, no matter how much suspense, scientific and other important facts, etc they describe.
Actually, after reading the 3rd Space Odyssey, I think every one of the sequel have their good qualities and they complement one another. So, they could be classified as an exception from the rule and I could not say which one of them is the best. There are amazing moments and wise predictions of the future in anyone of them (probably some more in the third though). There are some wise speculations about “gods” and the origin of life and intelligence; however they don’t give all the answers which everyone expects. Yet, it doesn’t mean all the religious fanatics mustn’t read and learn some things from them… I guess if they realize the wisdom in these stories, there shouldn’t be so much suffering, murders, madness, etc in the name of any religion.
The amazing adventures in the Third Odyssey don’t include so many details about the so called creators, but a reader could read a lot of interesting facts about space, our solar system, the incredible wonders stars could create, etc. There are some of the author’s wise predictions of the future, which we don’t fulfill even today, though the book was written in 1987, I guess owing to people’s stupidity, greediness and strive for power and lack of wisdom…
The 3rd Odyssey was not such a great source for inspiration for me as the first and the second (reading them, a lot of good ideas came to my mind), but it was really useful with some scientific facts, which could not only help me for some of my future stories, but I guess could be interesting even for those who don’t like sci-fi ;).
Finally, I must point out that all the three books of the sequel are a wonderful combination of fantasy, sci-fi, philosophy and reality. It was interesting that after finishing the third Odyssey, the author was wondering whether he wrote science fiction or just a story about the scientific achievements of the modern world of his time. As some of his “predictions” became reality when his book was published. Yet, this wouldn’t be an obstacle for any fan of the good science fiction to enjoy this wonderful story! (less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Ben rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Haywood Floyd is back, and this time he is part of a celebrity cruise to visit Haley’s comet. The celebrities are poorly written and this reader couldn’t care less about them. If the reader thinks that the monoliths have anything to do with Haley’s comet, which would be a reasonable assumption based on the first two books, they will be disappointed as the Haley’s comet story goes nowhere.

About a hundred pages in we get to the point of the story: Haywood Floyd’s grandson has crashed on Europa, wh...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Andreas rated it 3 of 5 stars

This series started as a one-off book released in conjunction with the Stanley Kubrick movie of the same name. The series consists of:

* 2001: A Space Odyssey
* 2010: Odyssey Two. (Also made into a film)
* 2061 Odyssey Three
* 3001: The Final Odyssey

The first and second books are enthralling. 2061 is more of the same, and thus decent but somewhat pointless as part of the arc. 3001 is an attempt at closing up all the loose threads, and does so in a satisfying way.

For a long time, these books frus...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Cura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some might look at this book as a bore fest riddled with not only redundant inquiries but anticlimactic events. I, on the other hand, look at Odyssey three as an installment of subtle, yet wondrous adventure. True, we weren't given the plot twists the previous two books possessed, and if there were any, they were about as hidden as the dust in the air. Odyssey three however presents more of a siphon from Odyssey two to the final installment of this incredible space story. So then, why compose a...more Some might look at this book as a bore fest riddled with not only redundant inquiries but anticlimactic events. I, on the other hand, look at Odyssey three as an installment of subtle, yet wondrous adventure. True, we weren't given the plot twists the previous two books possessed, and if there were any, they were about as hidden as the dust in the air. Odyssey three however presents more of a siphon from Odyssey two to the final installment of this incredible space story. So then, why compose a 280 page segway to the next chapter of Odyssey? I feel like the length that was introduced here was necessary to express what was finally coming. We were given snippets of micro adventures here and there for the reader to feed upon, while Clarke also graveled in the necessary street for Odyssey two to progress to Odyssey four. We're thrown around from Floyd, at the age of 103, journeying off to Halley's comet, to Floyd's grandson discovering a hidden society on Europa centered about the thought to be gone tma-2 monolith. The ship Floyd's aboard on, Universe, is the capsule to what Floyd now considers one of his last adventures, and the last chapter of his life. After losing not only his wife, but a portion of his son to the 2010 mission, Floyd spent most of his days centered around a space shuttle near Earth, due to gravity's affects on his now anti-gravity adapted body. Floyd, now though, has vowed to take on one last trip, a trip to Halley's comet where he would once again be able to feast his eyes upon the marvelous sight of space's caverns. And we're taken off, slowly yes, but excitingly on an adventure centering around many people. This was something I felt Odyssey three possessed, and so powerfully! It incorporated many different views on what was occurring from many different eyes.

I won't get into too much else, however, I strongly suggest you don't read this book for what you read the previous two installments for. Like how Clarke noted in the beginning of the book in his author's note, each of the Odyssey's entail a different approach to the story. None of them are to be looked upon as just "sequels", but as alternate pursuits to what Clarke's been trying to express all this time.(less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Jason Golomb rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-contact, fiction, science-fiction

This is not a great book. It's really more of an extended novella or perhaps part one of Arthur C. Clarke's Odyssey finale, "3001". This story has none of the depth, nuance or scale of Clarke's classic original, "2001" nor its solid follow up "2010".

Clarke creates two focal points 60 years after modern man first comes across The Monolith buried deeply beneath the surface of the moon. One story thread follows Dr. Heywood Floyd, a centenarian whose medical condition forces him to live full time o...more

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Oct 04, 2011 William Perry rated it 5 of 5 stars

My family and I are very close. We eat dinner together and spend our weekends doing activities we can all partake in. We truly care about one another, and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Just like my family, in 2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke, Dr. Floyd cares about the ones he loves. Heywood Floyd, while exploring the surface of Halley’s Comet, receives word that his estranged grandson, Christopher Floyd, has made a crash landing on the planet Europa, where super intelligent ex...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars

This series is very rapidly taking a nose-dive. 2061 continues the story of Heywood Floyd as he returns to Earth in the wake of the Leonov mission and tries to find some meaning in his life in his elder years. The first half of 2061 reads like a novel of exploration. Floyd is tapped to be part of an all-star manned mission to Halley's Comet and as you'd come to expect, there's plenty of the accompanying scientific explication - Clarke never misses a teachable moment. Greater technological advanc...more This series is very rapidly taking a nose-dive. 2061 continues the story of Heywood Floyd as he returns to Earth in the wake of the Leonov mission and tries to find some meaning in his life in his elder years. The first half of 2061 reads like a novel of exploration. Floyd is tapped to be part of an all-star manned mission to Halley's Comet and as you'd come to expect, there's plenty of the accompanying scientific explication - Clarke never misses a teachable moment. Greater technological advances by 2061 greatly diminish the sense of foreboding and the heavy atmosphere that accompanied the claustrophobic 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: Odyssey Two and this time around, Clarke has to rely on the wonders of the cometscape (and they are, indeed, very, very wondrous) to rivet the reader. Sure, there's some danger alluded to, but unlike in the previous works, they never materialize.

After this marvelous scientific excursion, things begin to break down. Floyd's vacation is interrupted by a distress call from Europa. "Great!," you say, "time for some answers! What did that ominous message at the end of 2010: Odyssey Two mean? Maybe we'll get to see the Europans!" Nope, nope and nope sucker. Upon arrival in the narrative in the vicinity of that great planet of Clarkian mystery we are treated to the first in a long succession of passages stolen line-by-line from the previous books in the series. In particular, Floyd has a flashback to the last transmission of Tsein from book 2. Unlike its predecessors, there's no omnipresent sense of danger lurking just beyond the hull of the ship and one doesn't get the impression that the crew members of the Galaxy stranded on Europa are in any danger at all - let alone any inconvenience at all! As for why the ship was stranded in the first place, Clarke plays some not-so-imaginative geopolitics that aren't particularly interesting so much as ironic.

To top off the disappointment, the tale ends rather abruptly and more suggestively than the previous novels. There's very little progression of the monolith arc and we learn absolutely nothing new of value from Floyd's chats with the superentity named Halman. Like 2010, the story of 2061 feels like it doesn't even begin until the last third of the book. The first two-thirds are not necessarily wasted, but irrelevant diversions into scientifically imagined flights of fancy and re-hashes of the story to this point.

A waste of time. Read the first two books then move on with your life.(less)

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Aug 10, 2009 Guillermo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much things have changed in the last 50 years since the new sun was created, one that leaves you wondering if evolution can take place that quickly.

Unlike with the previous parts, Arthur C. Clarke seemed to have lost his edge. Before I was glued to my seat, turning page after page of the novel. It was only through the sheer fact that I promised myself that I'd read all parts to the Space Odyssey series that I continued onward (I have 3001 sitting on my desk as we speak, looking straight up at me...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Nuno Magalhães rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ficção-científica, own

Este é terceiro e penúltimo livro da séria iniciada com "2001: Uma Odisseia no Espaço" e continuada com "2010: Segunda Odisseia" e que revisita novamente a interferência do monólito, que foi deixado por uma civilização extraterrestre no sistema solar, na evolução da espécie humana . Não sendo uma continuação directa dos livros anteriores, é mesmo assim uma narrativa da continuação da história dos protagonistas dos livros anteriores, em particular do astronauta Heywood Floyd, sobrevivente da viag...more Este é terceiro e penúltimo livro da séria iniciada com "2001: Uma Odisseia no Espaço" e continuada com "2010: Segunda Odisseia" e que revisita novamente a interferência do monólito, que foi deixado por uma civilização extraterrestre no sistema solar, na evolução da espécie humana . Não sendo uma continuação directa dos livros anteriores, é mesmo assim uma narrativa da continuação da história dos protagonistas dos livros anteriores, em particular do astronauta Heywood Floyd, sobrevivente da viagem épica a Júpiter em 2010. Neste livro o grande mestre da FC imagina uma visita e aterragem no cometa Halley e proporciona-nos uma narrativa deliciosa sobre as características dos cometas. Em paralelo, o autor transporta-nos para uma realidade do desenvolvimento tecnológico da espécie humana que permitiu que o ser humano tivesse já em 2061 colonizado o satélite Ganimedes, uma das 4 luas de Júpiter, entretanto transformado numa nova estrela do sistema solar pelo monólito em 2010, e que permitiu criar condições habitáveis nos 4 planetas: IO, Calisto, Ganimedes e Europa. Esta colónia humana estabelecida em Ganimedes tinha por objectivo a observação dos restantes 3 novos planetas, em particular Europa, na qual a aterragem de seres humanos tinha sido proibida no final do segundo livro através de uma mensagem transmitida pelo astronauta Dave Bowman que desapareceu ao explorar o monólito que transformou Júpiter numa estrela. A descoberta de um novo monólito em Europa e de uma montanha constituída por um material absolutamente improvável conduz a uma aterragem desautorizada em Europa e virá a revelar duas descobertas com implicações importantíssimas para a evolução da espécie humana no sistema solar. A imaginação e rigor científico com que Arthur C. Clarke constrói as suas histórias fazem com que a leitura deste livro se torne numa experiência muito interessante e absorvente. Altamente recomendado para todos os aficionados da Ficção Científica!(less)

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Sep 19, 2010 T rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

And I thought 2010 was underwhelming... Odyssey Three feels like a book that was written simply because it was expected to be written. Once again, Heywood Floyd (now over a hundred years old?) is dragged into the "mystery" of the black monoliths, following up on the events of Odyssey Two. And, like Odyssey Two, almost nothing happens across its almost 300 pages. Any intelligent person should be able to call the ending before they're even a quarter through the book, because it is extremely obviou...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not quite sure what the point of this book was except as an obvious transition between 2010 and 3001 (at least I hope that's obvious, as I haven't yet read 3001.

Yay! They landed on Halley's comet. Boo! They left. Yay! They found a diamond the size of a mountain! Boo! It sank. Boo! The ship was hijacked and landed on Europa, where it's not supposed to be! Ya! It was rescued.

There's also a sighting of the monolith, and HAL and Dr. Floyd Heywood who is either dead, nor not, or both. But I didn'...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Christopher Harris rated it 4 of 5 stars

What can you really say about this book? It's Arthur C Clarke so the storytelling is compelling and has brilliant expansions on accepted theories of science into the fictional future. However the book whilst interesting does not really seem to go anywhere, and there is no real sense of danger but there is a wonderful sense of discovery. However the book poses more questions than it answers in the Odyssey storyline. It is almost as if Clarke was unhappy that he answered too many of the questions...more

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Jul 03, 2010 Bryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2061 starts off okay, but...: I love the series of stories about the monolith, and I began the story with excitement, but in the end I felt unfulfilled. At the beginning, I thought, "How cool, landing on Halley's Comet. How cool seeing some of the steps to figure out what Mt. Zeus is."

(Beware: Spoiler here...) This is a story that is ultimately about a rescue mission to Europa, but at the end of the book, he doesn't even talk about the actual rescue! He skips to Ganymede base, after the crew of...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Randal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

I didn't particularly like 2010: Odyssey Two, but got a lot out of this one. Clarke is one of those scifi authors (see William Gibson) who can make you go hmmmm, and this is one of the books that did it for me. I think he's off by a century or three in the date of when we get to Europa, but it's a worthwhile read. A tidbit: I particularly liked his critique of his own, earlier, speculation about building a space elevator, and the resources it would require.
I would classify it as "hard science" o...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Ali Ünal rated it 3 of 5 stars

İlk iki kitapla birlikte Clarke'ın teknik dozu gitgide artmaya başlamıştı. İlk kitap, hem karbon hem de silikon bazlı canlıların psikolojisine çok iyi eğilmiş harika bir kitapken, ikinci kitaptan itibaren durum biraz daha teknik bilgiye ve biyoloji ya da astrofizik kitabı okuyormuş hissine bıraktı. Hâlâ üst düzeyde bir bilimkurgu olsa da heves ve heyecan eğrisi gitgide düşüyor. Dördüncü kitabın adının 3001 olması bu kitabı biraz daha istekle bitirmeme sebep oldu desem yalan söylemiş olmam. Sırad...more

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Oct 10, 2012 MisterFweem rated it 3 of 5 stars

You know, I really like Clarke's old stuff. Old, relatively speaking, of course. But 2061, well, not so much. I felt like he was writing to a bad sci-fi checklist:

()mutliethnic character pallette
()golly-bob-howdy sneaky thing on the ship (swimming in the fuel tanks)
()obligatory sexy time, albeit really vaudevilleian
()metaphysics
()technobabble
()more metaphysics
()multitudinous reminders that he knows a lot more sciency stuff than we do
()Flash Gordon music
()even more metaphysics

And so on.

And what u...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

2061 was a better written novel than Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two. Here Clarke went back to his un-alloyed storytelling, incorporating familiar heros/characters. I especially appreciated the 'family reunion' theme that healed a distant relationship between Grandfather and Grandson. Clarke's assertion that family and social problems will continue to occur despite all our technological advances reminded me of Ray Bradbury's works. But I feel that it is true. Give us interplanetary travel, cryogenic...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Gregory Koprowski rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

It seems that with every step this series is becoming more and more bland. The sense of mystery and the struggle of just a few people stranded out in deep space were the things that first drew me to this series. But this book in particular felt almost like a really long travel brochure for a space vacation of the future. The sense of mystery is almost completely absent. The struggle of the characters lacks any sort of edge so that the whole plot feels superficial. Only a precious few moments wer...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Holmes rated it 3 of 5 stars

This third installment of Clarke's Odyssey series pales in comparison to the earlier two. Nothing much happens in this book except for the revelation that a mountain-sized diamond crashed into Europa (and even that is not really an impressive plot). Floyd's excursion to Halley's Comet does not seem to serve any critical purpose. Galaxy's being hijacked and subsequent crash landing are also quite awkward.

Overall, this whole book just feels a bit unnecessary. I guess at the age of 70, when Clarke...more

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Dec 04, 2009 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Solar system and astronomy buffs

Another solid book from Arthur C. Clarke. Despite some repetition of whole chapters from previous books (which is understandable, given the 30-odd year span of publication dates), this book is a good addition to the series. Clarke distills the scientific wonders of our solar system into a cracking good yarn about the first landing on Halley's comet (set to return in 2061)and the hijacking of a spacecraft and the first landing on Ganymede after the Star Child's mysterious warning to stay away......more

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Feb 10, 2010 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting book although I don't think it was as exciting as 2001. It's nice to see a familiar main character again, Dr. Haywood Floyd, who always reminds me of Roy Schider from too movie.

This is the first book I've read that had chapters which were less than a page long. Kind of strange reading.

This book did leave an interesting ending so I'll be looking to read 3001. I wonder if Dr. Haywood Floyd will be in this; nothing is impossible in science-fiction. Still, this book did introduce hi...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Carlos Rioja rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love the depictions of other worlds, but I think that, as a novel, this book is not very well built. It is like it was done with patches… something that also happened on 2001 and 2010, but here it is more appreciable. Anyway, the story is interesting enough to keep on reading, and if you liked the previous two installments, you'll surely enjoy this.

Me gustan las representaciones de otros mundos, pero este libro no termina de funcionar como novela. Es como si estuviera escrito a base de retales...more

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May 13, 2013 Darren Worrow rated it 3 of 5 stars

After reading 2001 and 2010 i thought this was the last in the series. After a bit of research i found that Clarke wrote another 3001. Other reasoning behind reading this was that it was the first with a date actually in the future now. It was a good read, slow and gentle sci-fi; no laser beams gun fights and alein invasions. I figured after the monolith said to the humans not to go messing about on Europa and they did, accidently, the human race may feel the wrath of a higher race and we might...more

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Aug 17, 2008 Hope rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was hesitant about this novel when I started reading it. It begins with the slightly contrived circumstance allowing Dr. Heywood Floyd to still be an active participant at the age of 103. But that's a small pill to swallow to get to the rest of the book.

As in 2010, there are no ordinary people, so the characters are all engaging, believable, and fascinating.

The over-arching plot is a bit contrived, which I can entirely forgive, especially since it's not very noticeable while read it. The st...more

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About Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the most important and influential figures in 20th century science fiction. He spent the first half of his life in England, where he served in World War Two as a radar operator, before emigrating to Ceylon in 1956. He is best known for the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-created with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke was a graduate of King's Co...more

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2001: A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #1)

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Trivia About 2061: Odyssee III

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Quotes from 2061: Odyssey Three

“It is a good principle in science not to believe any 'fact'---however well attested---until it fits into some accepted frame of reference. Occasionally, of course, an observation can shatter the frame and force the construction of a new one, but that is extremely rare. Galileos and Einsteins seldom appear more than once per century, which is just as well for the equanimity of mankind.” — 10 people liked it

“He found it both sad and fascinating that only through an artificial universe of video images could she establish contact with the real world.” — 9 people liked it

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2061: Odyssey Three (Space Odyssey #3)

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