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2001: A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey #1)
A special new Introduction by the author highlights this reissue of a classic science fiction novel that changed the way people looked at the stars--and themselves.
Paperback, 297 pages
Published
September 1st 2000
by Roc
(first published June 1968)
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João Sousa
This book is very well written, so I would say it is a "page turner". Sometimes I still pick it up just to read a chapter or two.
Tobias Taylor
Without question. I couldn't exist on Earth wondering at the possibility I had turned down.
Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
I am not sure how the Movie adaptation compares to the original novel, but this story lacked substance. It begins with evolutionary theory and ends with evolutionary theory with hardly a real story in between. I have never watched the movie, and I am less inclined today than I was yesterday. The story is just not there.
From a philosophical and theological perspective, I found bits of interesting commentary. As the alien intelligence (not really a person or race) tampers with the "caveman" and ot ...more
From a philosophical and theological perspective, I found bits of interesting commentary. As the alien intelligence (not really a person or race) tampers with the "caveman" and ot ...more
This book had been on my 'to read' list for some time, and despite my love for Sci Fi, I had very mixed feelings.
At first, all I saw were people praising it as 'perfection on every page' and 'greatest book ever written'; what I found, however, felt quite different.
Firstly, as another reviewer stated, "his prose doesn't bring all the boys to the yard". Clarke is prone to over-describing things to a point of reader exhaustion. Also, expect info dumps any time a new plot point comes up. There wer ...more
At first, all I saw were people praising it as 'perfection on every page' and 'greatest book ever written'; what I found, however, felt quite different.
Firstly, as another reviewer stated, "his prose doesn't bring all the boys to the yard". Clarke is prone to over-describing things to a point of reader exhaustion. Also, expect info dumps any time a new plot point comes up. There wer ...more
umm. This book was interesting...at parts. It starts off really rather slow and I actually wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish it without being bored to death. Then it started to pick up by the middle a little bit but didn't really seem to make sense with the boring part in the beginning. After some exciting parts, pretty much the only one in the book that made much sense, Clark connects the beginning to the current situation. It felt like the entire book was just an intro to get to the
...more
Tämä on niitä kirjoja, joista olisin nii-in paljon halunnut pitää enemmän.
Alku oli nojoo, kärsimättömänä lukijana miten vähän miten evoluutio liittyy asioihin, mutta liittyhän se kaikilla tavoin. Sen jälkeen tuli ikään kuin imaisu ja luin kirjaa tosi kiinnostuneena, tuuletellen mielessäni välillä että nyt tulee viisi tähteä niin että ropisee ja suosittelen tätä kyllä kaikille! Sitten: äkkipysähdys.
Tarina lähti etenemään eri suuntaan kuin olin sen odottanut menemän ja enää ei ollutkaan kivaa. Ol ...more
Alku oli nojoo, kärsimättömänä lukijana miten vähän miten evoluutio liittyy asioihin, mutta liittyhän se kaikilla tavoin. Sen jälkeen tuli ikään kuin imaisu ja luin kirjaa tosi kiinnostuneena, tuuletellen mielessäni välillä että nyt tulee viisi tähteä niin että ropisee ja suosittelen tätä kyllä kaikille! Sitten: äkkipysähdys.
Tarina lähti etenemään eri suuntaan kuin olin sen odottanut menemän ja enää ei ollutkaan kivaa. Ol ...more
I didn't love 2001: A Space Odyssey, but space travel in general doesn't really do it for me. The original concept, taking into account when it was written and how far we've come since then, is well beyond anything conceivable and I believe that is one of the main reasons this book is so highly regarded.
Unfortunately, this book is all concept. The pacing is slow and the story drags for the majority of the book. What should have been terrifying never really effected me as it should have. The char ...more
Unfortunately, this book is all concept. The pacing is slow and the story drags for the majority of the book. What should have been terrifying never really effected me as it should have. The char ...more
At times, I feel embarrassed to tell people I like reading, considering the ridiculously large number of “classics” I haven’t read. 2001 was one such book… a book with a cult status, and adapted for the silver screen, where it enjoys a similar pedigree. As it happens, I am a movie buff who hasn’t seen that movie either. Oh well. At least one good fall out of that is that spoilers in the book remained unrevealed to me.
So, to correct some obvious wrongs, I picked up this book. Honestly, I am surpr ...more
So, to correct some obvious wrongs, I picked up this book. Honestly, I am surpr ...more
Well I listened to the audio version and though I may have skipped on a few parts of the story due to the fact that the narrator's soothing voice was inviting me to ponder on other thoughts, I did manage to get the gist of it and this is what I thought:
Apart from the lovely narrating voice that made the experience of the book much more pleasurable and dynamic, I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of life on a space ship and of just about everything else; however they were a bit too detailed and a ...more
Apart from the lovely narrating voice that made the experience of the book much more pleasurable and dynamic, I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of life on a space ship and of just about everything else; however they were a bit too detailed and a ...more
I did not enjoy reading 2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. I like reading lots of different books but this was not one of them. My gut reaction was, “why did i just waste my time reading this book.” It is not an action story, which I am a big fan of, and most of it was just boring flying in a spaceship to Saturn. I could not get into it, no developed characters, not a very good plot, and it had a terrible ending.
The only part I liked in the story was the very beginning in the first chapte ...more
I have recently read the book 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke, and I personally can not say I was too fond of it. I will admit that there were interesting parts in the book, but overall it was pretty boring in my opinion. I had a lot of trouble not getting distracted during the process of this book and I would have much rather spent my time doing something more exciting. But like I said, there were parts that made this book alright. For example, something I enjoyed reading was the very
...more
Jul 16, 2013
Angie
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2013,
sci-fi-reads
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I finally read this story, having seen the movie many years ago, and a few times since. I was surprised by many things and generally disappointed. It isn't just about the old-fashioned view of space travel, as much from this movie proved prophetic. It wasn't the perceived 50's mentality somehow extending itself into the space age. Rather it was the wholly confused sense of plot flow that staggered me. I'd grown accustomed to thinking of Arthur C. Clark as an author greatly admired for his sci-fi
...more
I really wanted to like this book. I loved Childhood's End and because of that, my brother got me this as a birthday gift. (It only took me about four months to get to:/) He said he really enjoyed it and that he thought I would too. But sadly, I didn't.
The foreword and the very beginning of the book were AWESOME. I was completely hooked. But then after the chapters about the Dawn of Man, things got kind of boring. And v e r y technical. I'm not really a fan of a lot of technical spacecraft jarg ...more
The foreword and the very beginning of the book were AWESOME. I was completely hooked. But then after the chapters about the Dawn of Man, things got kind of boring. And v e r y technical. I'm not really a fan of a lot of technical spacecraft jarg ...more
Nov 27, 2014
Aleta
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like to be bored
Well. Everyone apparently loves this book. Why will always be a mystery to me. It's full of not very well described descriptions and a messy plot that ends ridiculously and without any proper explanations. Basically, it felt like Mr. Clarke himself didn't really know what he wanted to do with the story.
Part 1-2 of the book felt real though and thus redeems the book from a one-star rating to a two-star.
On a sidenote, there is a major spoiler for Moby-Dick in it, which was rather surprising and no ...more
Part 1-2 of the book felt real though and thus redeems the book from a one-star rating to a two-star.
On a sidenote, there is a major spoiler for Moby-Dick in it, which was rather surprising and no ...more
I love love love the movie, but the book was pretty underwhelming. The style wasn't very good, first of all. It had what I call Da Vinci Code chapter endings--lines that are just tacked on to make you turn the page but don't actually belong there, clumsy attempts to create tension. Then one of the best things about the movie (ambiguity, vastness, and opennness to interpretation) was almost completely missing, though I suppose that stuff is inherently easier to achieve in a visual medium than a w
...more
Yet again, I respected it while not particularly enjoying it. I think it's pretty revealing that the movie and the book were developed more or less simultaneously, since the book has the tendency to dissolve into overly descriptive visual sequences (see: let's do the Time Warp again) that don't really bring anything to the story. I also found the pacing to be pretty uneven, prone to treading water for AGES only to then slip in (view spoiler) so q
...more
I'm giving it 2.5 stars not because I didn't liked or enjoyed it but because for a simple reader as me - this books was too complex. I mean, it was interesting and everything but it lacked dialogue in the beggining and some plot development points were hard to understand. Nevertheless, i'd recommend this book for people who like sci-fi genre but for those who like easy-to-read book this book would be pretty much a torture.
The main character is an astronaut - that's pretty much all we learn about him, so it was impossible to care one iota what happened to him. There were lots of vivid descriptions of space and technology, which is obviously Clarke's strength. Although there was some moments of intrigue and drama, the pace and plot was something of a struggle.
Just like the movie, I found it slow, and very boring. While it explains more than the movie ever did, that is little consolation.
DNF
Starts really good, but dwells into boredom and scientific explanations and procedures.
Starts really good, but dwells into boredom and scientific explanations and procedures.
I love sci-fi, yet this book didn't work for me :/
Interesting beginning, made me curious and invested. Nauseating middle. The end was surprising, but not worth it.
"Space pods were not the most elegant means of transport devised by man, but they were absolutely essential for construction and maintenance work in vacuum. They were usually christened with feminine names, perhaps in recognition of the fact that their personalities were slightly unpredictable. Discovery's trio were Anna, Betty, and Clara." - page 156
Because mocking women for being so "emotional" is hilarious, while men murder women for not wanting to date them. (Remember Elliot Rodgers?) I don' ...more
Because mocking women for being so "emotional" is hilarious, while men murder women for not wanting to date them. (Remember Elliot Rodgers?) I don' ...more
2001: A Space Odyssey is about progress, evolution, and man-apes leaping off the planet and turning into cosmic babies who spread peace and blow up nuclear bombs. Now, if that last sentence confused or made you feel like you skipped something, then reading 2001: A Space Odyssey will have the same effect. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great book, if you can keep up with its confusing pace, but I found it very difficult to read, which is never a good quality in a book.
First, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is ...more
First, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is ...more
See the full review on my blog
On my copy of this book, there wasn’t actually a synopsis, so I went into this book not knowing an awful lot about what it was about and what kind of things to expect – a blank canvas per se. The synopsis above makes it sound like an amazing adventure but I do not think that that reflects anything and if anything it exaggerates what really happens.
First of all, this book was written before any space travel of any value had actually been accomplished – at the time th ...more
On my copy of this book, there wasn’t actually a synopsis, so I went into this book not knowing an awful lot about what it was about and what kind of things to expect – a blank canvas per se. The synopsis above makes it sound like an amazing adventure but I do not think that that reflects anything and if anything it exaggerates what really happens.
First of all, this book was written before any space travel of any value had actually been accomplished – at the time th ...more
Um... okay... This book was... a little strange. I'm all for sci-fi, but I guess I like to read about things that are a little more realistic, and actually COULD happen... Hunger Games, Divergent, The Giver, Maze Runner, Earth Abides, and even Ender's Game was good until the alien species came on the scene. I wanted to read this book because it is a classic, and I like reading books that are a part of "modern" culture. So let's break it down. (SPOILER ALERT) There are four major segments to the
...more
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke, was a novel that did not appeal to me as a reader. The novel was hard fiction and it was too hard for my liking. Technologically and scientifically it was sound but it never really appealed to me as a reader. The subliminal evolution messages really do not appeal to me as a reader. Arthur C. Clarke really pushed hard in the beginning and made the novel interesting but it slowly started to decline on the interest level as the novel progressed. At the tim
...more
I think Clarke had been looking for an excuse to write a fictional space documentary and found that excuse in the byproduct of a metaphysical screenplay. I've never seen the movie 2001. Somehow seeing the movie first must make a difference because I don't understand how this could be so highly regarded otherwise. This doesn't read like a novel. It's very disjointed. The brief but interesting SF parts appear out of nowhere and come across like short stories interrupting an erratic flow of essays
...more
I think it makes sense that this novel was a hit when it was written, about 50 years ago. But for me, it doesn't really stand the test of time. Out of all the science fiction books I've read, I liked this one the least.
I think part of the problem is, we know so much more about our solar system now than we did when this book was written, so his descriptions of the planets beyond earth felt more like being in middle school science class than exciting science fiction. He described everything in so ...more
I think part of the problem is, we know so much more about our solar system now than we did when this book was written, so his descriptions of the planets beyond earth felt more like being in middle school science class than exciting science fiction. He described everything in so ...more
In morning I finished The Great Gatsby, was still mesmerized with its greatness and in the evening I started 2001:A Space Odyssey by Arthur Clarke.
Till morning I was reading a fascinating English Literature, and at night I was into something like layman English. Fast and easy read, but I didn’t like that transition.
Another thing - I completed The Brief History of Time by Stephan Hawking before starting The Great Gatsby. That one is typical science book which was still orbiting around my mind an ...more
Till morning I was reading a fascinating English Literature, and at night I was into something like layman English. Fast and easy read, but I didn’t like that transition.
Another thing - I completed The Brief History of Time by Stephan Hawking before starting The Great Gatsby. That one is typical science book which was still orbiting around my mind an ...more
Well, I was really excited about reading this book. My dad is a HUGE fan of the movie and this book/ series is based off of the popular movie. The beginning is a little slow.... okay it's really slow. Around the 140-150 mark is when things start to get interesting.
I was suprised to find that Hal, the super computer, played such a small role in the context of the book. I feel like he wasn't there for that much of the action. But from what I can tell he plays a bigger role in the movie, which, I ...more
I was suprised to find that Hal, the super computer, played such a small role in the context of the book. I feel like he wasn't there for that much of the action. But from what I can tell he plays a bigger role in the movie, which, I ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fantasy Book ...: 2001: A Space Odyssey | 4 | 12 | Mar 13, 2017 02:47PM | |
| Book Review Website | 1 | 5 | Mar 05, 2017 04:16PM | |
| Where to go from here? | 5 | 27 | Jan 27, 2017 08:24AM | |
| Arters AP Literat...: Sam Review | 3 | 6 | Jan 06, 2017 06:47AM | |
| Clube de Leitura ...: * [Discussão] 2001: Uma Odisseia no Espaço (Arthur C. Clarke) | 3 | 13 | Oct 30, 2016 08:08PM | |
| Science Fiction A...: * July 2016-First Contact-2001:A space odyssey | 14 | 33 | Jul 27, 2016 10:48AM |
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
More about Arthur C. Clarke...
Clarke was a graduate of King's Co ...more
Other Books in the Series
Space Odyssey
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“Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living. Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the planet Earth.
Now this is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in our local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in this Universe there shines a star.
But every one of those stars is a sun, often far more brilliant and glorious than the small, nearby star we call the Sun. And many--perhaps most--of those alien suns have planets circling them. So almost certainly there is enough land in the sky to give every member of the human species, back to the first ape-man, his own private, world-sized heaven--or hell.
How many of those potential heavens and hells are now inhabited, and by what manner of creatures, we have no way of guessing; the very nearest is a million times farther away than Mars or Venus, those still remote goals of the next generation. But the barriers of distance are crumbling; one day we shall meet our equals, or our masters, among the stars.
Men have been slow to face this prospect; some still hope that it may never become reality. Increasing numbers, however are asking; 'Why have such meetings not occurred already, since we ourselves are about to venture into space?'
Why not, indeed? Here is one possible answer to that very reasonable question. But please remember: this is only a work of fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger.”
—
198 likes
Now this is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in our local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in this Universe there shines a star.
But every one of those stars is a sun, often far more brilliant and glorious than the small, nearby star we call the Sun. And many--perhaps most--of those alien suns have planets circling them. So almost certainly there is enough land in the sky to give every member of the human species, back to the first ape-man, his own private, world-sized heaven--or hell.
How many of those potential heavens and hells are now inhabited, and by what manner of creatures, we have no way of guessing; the very nearest is a million times farther away than Mars or Venus, those still remote goals of the next generation. But the barriers of distance are crumbling; one day we shall meet our equals, or our masters, among the stars.
Men have been slow to face this prospect; some still hope that it may never become reality. Increasing numbers, however are asking; 'Why have such meetings not occurred already, since we ourselves are about to venture into space?'
Why not, indeed? Here is one possible answer to that very reasonable question. But please remember: this is only a work of fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger.”
“The more wonderful the means of communication, the more trivial, tawdry, or depressing its contents seemed to be.”
—
97 likes
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