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2010: Odyssey Two

(Space Odyssey #2)

Arthur C. Clarke

3.94 · Rating details · 54,520 ratings · 1,244 reviews

When 2001: A Space Odyssey first shocked, amazed, and delighted millions in the late 1960s, the novel was quickly recognized as a classic. Since then, its fame has grown steadily among the multitudes who have read the novel or seen the film based on it. Yet, along with almost universal acclaim, a host of questions has grown more insistent through the years:

Who or what tran ...more

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Paperback, 320 pages

Published February 25th 1997 by Del Rey (first published December 1982)

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Apr 06, 2021 Luís rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, adventure, fantasy, uk-and-related, science-fiction, 2021-readings

The second part produced after the first volume of a series simultaneously as one of the most beautiful films of Stanley Kubrick, it projected us in 2010, ten years after the disappearance of Discovery and the astronaut's Dave Bowman and Frank Poole.
In addition to continuing a fascinating story and extending Kubrick's remarkable film, this section allows you to deepen the notions developed in the first volume and explain a little more this famous last sequence, "beyond the stargate", has given r ...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Henry Avila rated it liked it · review of another edition

The enigma of the Spaceship Discovery lost in Jupiter's orbit ( the setting has been changed from Saturn in the original book, to match Kubrick's film). The imaginative Arthur C. Clarke's sequel to 2001, has Dr. Heywood Floyd again recruited on a joint U.S. and Soviet, woops,(written in 1982) expedition, to the giant sphere, the numerous colors yep orange too, planet, find out what happened. The crew of the Soviet ship Leonov consists of seven Russians and three Americans, with both male and fem The enigma of the Spaceship Discovery lost in Jupiter's orbit ( the setting has been changed from Saturn in the original book, to match Kubrick's film). The imaginative Arthur C. Clarke's sequel to 2001, has Dr. Heywood Floyd again recruited on a joint U.S. and Soviet, woops,(written in 1982) expedition, to the giant sphere, the numerous colors yep orange too, planet, find out what happened. The crew of the Soviet ship Leonov consists of seven Russians and three Americans, with both male and female members. Dr.Floyd, Dr. Chandra, builder of the malfunctioning computer Hal (a long repair trip) and Walter Curnow a systems specialist, are the Americans. Curnow job is to get Discovery working again before it crashes down on Io a hellish volcanic world and one of the many exotic Jovian moons. But the real reason of the trip is of course just a little more complicated people are so devious. Discovery's Captain David Bowman's disappearance and his last words"My God it's full of stars" haunts the Earth still to this very day ...what does he mean ? The mysterious black monolith that is floating in space between Jupiter and her moon , how dangerous a threat is it to Earth? The quite able Captain Tatiana Orlova is in charge and even has her husband on board makes for an interesting voyage, but no time for a honeymoon. All the crew begin to call the monolith "Big Brother", even the uncomfortable Soviets. A shocking development arises when the Chinese send the spaceship Tsien, ahead of the Leonov using all their fuel to arrive first. An unbelievable suicide mission? What is their ultimate goal steal valuable information from the Discovery and Big Brother... The puzzle continues when the Chinese land on another Jovian moon, the strange ice satellite Europa. An understandable confusion in the spaceship, indeed but meanwhile the view of Jupiter's dazzling atmosphere is not to be missed. Its constant color changes, white, red , orange, and the Great Red Spot nonetheless something strange is seen from the Leonov, a black image is spreading on the Fifth Planet.Soon it will engulf the entire sphere....What is it doing and more important for what reason maybe to cause trouble for the Soviets and Americans a chilling prospect. Exciting follow up to 2001, not as good to be honest since few book could top the original in the genre, however an agreeable space adventure. ...more

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Nov 25, 2016 Apatt rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

“Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do.”

Funny that this innocuous kiddies’ tune always reminds me of a homicidal supercomputer.

Arthur C. Clarke, in spite of being a sci-fi legend, is not known for his characterization, but HAL 9000 is one of the most memorable sci-fi characters ever, with his friend Dave Bowman not far behind.

With 2010: Odyssey Two, we are back to “the future” which is now the past. Some people will be put off from reading this book because it is set six years ago and nothing lik ...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As soon as I finished reading this I thought, man, I wish I didn't suck so badly at science, because being an astronomer would be SO FREAKING COOL.

But I do suck so badly at science, so I just get to read wonders like this and wish I was half as good a writer as Arthur C. Clarke, who gets to be really friggin' smart in TWO CAREERS, which is totally unfair.

There are several great things about this book. First, and one of the things that I love to read old sci-fi books for, is what Clarke in the 80 As soon as I finished reading this I thought, man, I wish I didn't suck so badly at science, because being an astronomer would be SO FREAKING COOL.

But I do suck so badly at science, so I just get to read wonders like this and wish I was half as good a writer as Arthur C. Clarke, who gets to be really friggin' smart in TWO CAREERS, which is totally unfair.

There are several great things about this book. First, and one of the things that I love to read old sci-fi books for, is what Clarke in the 80s thought 2010 was going to look like. Some of it is actually kind of close, which is pretty cool, and some of it is either useless and we never bothered to create it or it's still beyond us in terms of technology. Second, I read the first book about seven years ago and have completely forgotten it, so the references in this were a little lost on me. But that totally doesn't matter! This isn't a completely stand-alone book, but it's not nearly as intricately dependent on the first book as it could be. Yes, you need to know the original plot, but beyond that you're good to go. Third, HOW DOES CLARKE MANAGE TO KEEP YOU ENGAGED WITHOUT ANY SORT OF REAL VILLAIN? This is how you know you're scary good; half of the book is trying to figure out what's going on with crazy computer Hal, unless it's dealing with the strange things on Europa, or wait, there are these aliens that aren't aliens SURPRISE DAVID BOWMAN I mean what? And yet, I couldn't put it down. I really, really wanted to know what was going to happen, and I may track down the next book, because Clarke is made of scientific awesome.

Also, the descriptions of the solar system? Beautiful, man. Word paintings.

I only give it four stars because the ending felt a little flat (and by ending, I mean the last 5 or so pages, and the epilogue was...I don't know what it was, but it felt a little forced). Perhaps this will be remedied by reading book three, I don't know, but it felt a tad anticlimactic, and therefore is cheated out of its fifth star. Sorry, Zagadka. ...more

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Jan 03, 2016 B Schrodinger rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-contact, science-fiction

Space Baby's Big Day Out.

After the events in 2001 (Dave becoming a Space Baby, HAL being shut down while singing), the world is left in wonder about what happened out near Saturn..JUPITER! Sorry, Jupiter. Right? It was Jupiter all along.

Dr Floyd, the bureaucrat who ventured to the Moon to check out TMA-1 is back and now he looks like Roy Schneider (who I see died in 2008 :( ). The Russkis are headed out to check out what happened slightly quicker than what the U.S. can manage. Oh how times don't ...more

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Sep 18, 2015 RJ - Slayer of Trolls rated it really liked it

Shelves: re-read

The movie sequel is not as good as the original, but in many ways this might be Clarke's most polished effort. He actually takes the time to think out a plot and characters, and it's interesting to see what happens following the events in the first book/movie. ...more

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Jul 06, 2019 Bea rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-5-star-reads, library, mind-fucks, sci-fi, read-in-2019, classics, favourites, a-c-clarke

'...And because, in all the Galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind, they encouraged its dawning everywhere. They became farmers in the field of stars; they sowed, and sometimes they reaped. And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed.'

Guys, I think I've found my new favourite series... ever? These books are SO GOOD. The amount of work and research put into them is incredible and both the first book and this one have completely blown my mind.

Proper review to come. ...more

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Sep 18, 2021 Alexander Peterhans rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-physical, sci-fi

Better than I expected it to be, enjoyable, but it feels like it's missing much narrative drive.

I mean, they're going to see TMA-2, close to Jupiter, and reclaim Discovery, but when they get there even the crew members seem to be unsure what to do next. It's all.. reactive.

Generally it feels like a transitional novel. ...more

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Mar 18, 2020 Patrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, classics

Wow! This was a very fun read! I loved it!

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Sep 02, 2019 Jersy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, read-2019

This book was really good concerning characters and their relationships. I loved reading their interactions and some of their personal issues.
However, for some reason, the actual plot didn't get me hooked. Maybe one aspect of it was that we spent too few time on aspects I was interested in (e.g. Hal) but the things we spent time on too often just couldn't hold my attention. The last third was much more interesting to me, but I couldn't really say for sure what my problem was before that.
I would ...more

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Oct 04, 2021 Elaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: g-sci-fi, kindle, sg-aliens-or-space, kindle-unlimited, 4-stars, sg-time-teleport-mltivrs

Better than the first book, and better than its movie. 2010 was very readable and accessible, and the wrap up of the HAL storyline was much more fleshed-out than it was in the movie.

After the events of 2001, the derelict spacecraft Discovery is in a terminal orbit around the Jovian moon Io. 2010 follows a crew of Russian and American scientists who seek to retrieve its data and find out what went wrong with HAL, investigate the mysterious monolith in orbit nearby, and to send Discovery back to E ...more

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Jan 17, 2021 Simon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, britain-and-ireland, 1980s, existentialism

Both Arthur C. Clarke's novel "2010" and the film version directed by Peter Hyams are generally regarded as disappointments compared to its predecessor "2001". While I do find things to appreciate in both, I have to agree with the consensus. The book of "2010", like "2001", contains quite a bit more exposition and more subplots that were left out of the film for pacing or budgetary reasons.

The first thing I notice is that Clarke's "2010" novel retcons the Discovery mission's destination in the f Both Arthur C. Clarke's novel "2010" and the film version directed by Peter Hyams are generally regarded as disappointments compared to its predecessor "2001". While I do find things to appreciate in both, I have to agree with the consensus. The book of "2010", like "2001", contains quite a bit more exposition and more subplots that were left out of the film for pacing or budgetary reasons.

The first thing I notice is that Clarke's "2010" novel retcons the Discovery mission's destination in the first book from Saturn to Jupiter, to concur with Stanley Kubrick's film since the special effects crew could not make a convincing model of Saturn's rings. The second thing I notice is that there is way more focus on geopolitics and character-driven drama than in not just "2001" but also the film of "2010": Clarke spends a good deal of the page count getting into the heads of both the Western-affliated scientists and the crew of the Soviet spaceship Alexei Leonov they hitch a ride on in order to retrieve the Discovery. To be honest, neither characterisation nor political drama are among Clarke's strengths as a novelist if this book is any indication since he struggles to give the many different characters interesting personalities and make the geopolitics suspenseful.

Perhaps the biggest difference between book and film of "2010" is the addition of an entire subplot about a doomed Chinese expedition to Jupiter's moon Europa that culminates in the crew being attacked and killed by bizarre Europan wildlife except for one Taikonaut who manages to escape. This subplot is very effectively written, being full of eerie cosmic horror atmosphere that feels more like John Carpenter's "The Thing" or H. P. Lovecraft's "Mountains of Madness" than something at home in a "2001" sequel, I can understand why it was cut from the film but to be honest I find that more engaging than the main storyline.

The point in the plot where David Bowman as an incorporeal energy-being visits his left-behind family on Earth allows Clarke to comment on the convergence between the themes of "2001" and George Adamski-style UFO contactees' concerns, which I noticed in my own review of the former book in the series, something I did appreciate... but I still found that follow-up to Bowman's transformation into the Starchild something of an anticlimax. I feel even more so about the monolith-building aliens' endgame for humanity turning out to be... transforming Jupiter into a new sun. For all the transcendence of humanity's limitations through provoking another step up the evolutionary ladder to divinity that "2001" focused on, it feels out of character for the monolith-builders to just want to give a new sun to people who are entirely human in the current sense of the term. I get the mental imagery of Clarke beginning work on "2010" without having decided which exactly grand plan for humanity's future the monolith-builders would have in store, writing down all his ideas for that on separate notes and then picking one at random out of a hat.

The book of "2010" is not a total loss, however. The subplot about the doomed Chinese expedition to Europa would have made an amazing science-fiction horror story as the focus of an entire novel, showing quite the imagination for dreaming up alien environments from Clarke's side. Once the Leonov finally gets to Jupiter we get some impressive descriptions of the beauty of Jupiter and its moons on par with the special effects mastery in the film, as well as more in depth descriptions of what I kept expecting to see when I first watched Kubrick's "2001" film: The TMA-2 monolith being examined by a team of expert scientists from different academic fields while they ponder the philosophical questions of humanity's place in the cosmos.

Still, all the answers that Clarke puts forward here in "2010" to the questions asked in "2001" feel at best disappointing at worst downright baffling. The result is a very uneven reading experience. There is still good writing to be found in here, but nobody really needs to read "2010". ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Kevin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

A slow moving plot, the last 50 or so pages we get some results and some 'action', so to speak. However, HAL 9000 doesn't turn renegade as in 2001, as the sentient AI has been handicapped after the events of the first novel. In fact, the book is quite boring as no one ends up being killed and nothing much seems to go wrong, and in effect it just speculative Sci-Fi about Alien intellegences (this time on one of Jupiters moon - Europa). But the plant/hybrid intellegence does destroy a Chinese miss ...more

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Jun 24, 2015 Richard Knight rated it it was ok

Boooooring. Having read the first book many years ago, one thing I remember with that story was just how dazzling and daring it felt. Much like the movie, certain images will forever be ingrained in my head. That Odyssey I loved journeying on. But this one, not so much. I mostly think it's all the characters, none of whom are interesting. Their voyage doesn't really seem all that harrowing in this story, and even if it was, I was so uninterested with the characters that I probably would have app ...more

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Dec 04, 2014 Vishal rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'll suggest the reader of this review to go through plot-summary of this novel and a little familiariation with its prequel, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I'll only be expatiating here on some aspects I found fascinating.

Although, the novel contains many captivating sub-plots and a driving, gripping backdrop; I want to credit Arthur C Clarke for the most wonderful depictions of the Jovian system. Within the first half, he describes the bands of Jovian clouds, the cyclonic storms, the radiation belt an I'll suggest the reader of this review to go through plot-summary of this novel and a little familiariation with its prequel, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I'll only be expatiating here on some aspects I found fascinating.

Although, the novel contains many captivating sub-plots and a driving, gripping backdrop; I want to credit Arthur C Clarke for the most wonderful depictions of the Jovian system. Within the first half, he describes the bands of Jovian clouds, the cyclonic storms, the radiation belt and the high-energy electron beam connecting Io to Jupiter; he depicts Io, a land of fiery volcanoes, violent eruptions making umbrella clouds and molten lava lakes; and he uses all the available information about Callisto, Ganymede and Europa to paint a vivid and entrancing picture of the moonscapes using his never-exhausting arsenal of beautiful, sublime metaphors. Perhaps, Clarke's level of ingenious and prolific depiction of the real planets and satellites could only be matched by none other than the Great Carl Sagan.

I give Clarke enormous credit and due respect for not weaving mystical and unreal, speculative scenery of the worlds, but instead relying on the available information to show such a scenario that could possibly never be imagined by any of the Earth-bound fantasy writers. It is true, that the Universe is not stranger than we imagine, but it is stranger than we can imagine.

Also, it turns out that the strange, eerie, surreal and enigmatic Universe is actually much more profoundly beautiful and enchanting than we can possibly imagine.

However, Clarke does resort to speculation in the latter half when he begins to describe the non-corporeal Dave Bowman's descent into sub-surface Europa to look for indigenous life and his descent into Jovian atmosphere to look for gaseous life, metallic hydrogen and the diamond core as big as the Earth. These speculations still stand on the solid ground of research and inferential hypotheses propounded by reputable scientists. However, the climax of Jupiter condensing and initiating nuclear fusion is absolutely speculative fantasy and couldn't be given much serious consideration, even though the condensation is said to be trigerred by higher forms of technological intelligence.

I should point out that, in the prequel, Dave Bowman was converted by the invisible masters of the Galaxy into a pure-energy life-form, retaining his memory and consciousness. The invisible masters are the entities which look for developing intelligence across the Galaxy and then ensure its survival and development by setting up dark rectangular slabs which direct the life-forms and protect them. This patronizing sort of intelligence occurred to me as highly disturbing and rather unsettling one; this hypothesis regards humans as highly vulnerable to self-destruction and incapable of supporting themselves against the follies and vices they commit, threatening their prospects of survival in consequence. Which is obviously true, but I find my own ideas to be better in sync with those of Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan which hold the belief in human intelligence, our ability to overcome our weaknesses and the potential of conquering the cosmos without needing any sort of external intervention.

It also occurs to me that despite being a close friend of Carl Sagan, Clarke was highly inclined towards theistic philosophies and his idea, showing invisible masters guarding and helping the intelligences, can be said to be the manifestation serving his purpose of having deities in real world.

His description of HAL 9000, the self-conscious artificial intelligence aboard Discovery, and the treatment it is subjected to, raises many questions and concerns about our ethics of dealing with non-human, non-organic intelligence. The crew never regards HAL as a person, and they stand at a ready to dissipate it in case it disobeys them, they even abandon HAL to save themselves while running from Jovian collapse and ignition. Clarke's HAL talks and behaves distinctively like a person, it shows efforts for self-preservation and even subdued fear. But Clarke doesn't go into details about it unlike his contemporary, Isaac Asimov. It holds imperative that we review our understanding and ethics about treating other forms of consciousness, robots, computers and even animals in a better and compassionate way.

It is rather a hard-science fiction novel, relying almost exclusively on pure scientific facts and inferences, and almost negligibly on unrealistic speculations. His description of space travel, the environment aboard the ship, interactions and relationships of the crew; are satisfying.

Clarke is a master at weaving dark, haunting atmospheres which always show his cynicism and impart fear and thrill into reader's mind. He succeeds superbly at it, while describing the anxiety, fear, stress and agony of the crew whose characters are otherwise, at best, a little more than single-layered caricatures. ...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Oleksandr Zholud rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: odyssey

This novel is the direct continuation of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and in difference between the book and the movie it surprisingly follows the later. The novel was nominated for Hugo Award in 1983.

The story starts were the previous book ends – there is a unknown alien artifact on a moon of Jupiter and one human already assessed it, vanishing from our space-time. Now a new mission is sent there. The mission uses Soviet ship Leonov and a joint USSR-USA team to get to the earlier ship and to the arti ...more

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Feb 12, 2018 Kimber rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Recommended for fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey

"The Universe isn't just stranger than you ever imagined. The Universe is stranger than you CAN imagine."

This novel is a slow-build, a slowly revealed unraveling of cosmic triggers.

Clarke writes a narrative that doesn't just entertain--it informs, it elucidates and it expands the mind beyond its narrowly defined corridors. And that's the point. ...more

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Sep 02, 2020 Kai rated it really liked it

I found myself slightly more excited by this book than by its predecessor. Again there were parts, especially in the beginning, when the book really does feel like floating in space, and (just as the characters in the book are saying) space of course really is a sheer inconceivable cause for awe; yet, while its vastness will make you feel a bit lost, the story does a good job to give structure to space. In fact, when finishing it, I felt quite eager to get into the third book very soon (somethin I found myself slightly more excited by this book than by its predecessor. Again there were parts, especially in the beginning, when the book really does feel like floating in space, and (just as the characters in the book are saying) space of course really is a sheer inconceivable cause for awe; yet, while its vastness will make you feel a bit lost, the story does a good job to give structure to space. In fact, when finishing it, I felt quite eager to get into the third book very soon (something I did not expect).

In this Space Odyssey we follow a Russian ship, the Leonov, that is sent into space with an array of objects (of varying priority): (i) It is to gather information on what happened to the Discovery, the ship from the first book and that had been abandoned when David Bowman approached the mysterious monolith on Jupiter (or Saturn, as it was originally) and never came back. (ii) If possible, they are to bring the Discovery back to Earth. (iii) They are to explore Jupiter, and, if possible, (iv) find out more about the "monolith" and about what happened to Bowman. There is some back-story to the Russian and American members of the crew, though (as it is common in these kinds of stories) nothing overly interesting. Towards the end there are some things happening that actually add a bit of tension, too, something that will probably be appreciated.

Since some the events that are particularly hard to comprehend are depicted from a different perspective, things become slightly easier to accept this time around. I have to admit that I'm still not entirely sure if I really like the ending of 2001 (spoiler alert for the first book).
It's kind of cool to discover how other intelligent species have established some sort of a universe-spanning network and that they interfere in what is happening on many planets (an idea we find in Clarke's other novels as well). But bodiless substances that float through space? I know that it's a science-fiction topos by now, and I realize that we do approach this ideas of uploading consciousness, but it still feels too fantasy and I'm not sure if I want those ghosts in my fictional universe.
What I do find interesting, though, is the fact that these beings are not always successful. We get to know that they are conducting experiments (of whose nature we get to know very little and that might be incomprehensible for us) and from what we gather success isn't guaranteed. Also, the fact that, in this universe, minds can be extracted from bodies and re-enter other beings (like the computer HAL 9000) gives an interesting twist to Ryle's idea of a Ghost in the Machine (actually hinted at in the novel itself). So yes, I guess I'm finding some peace with this aspect of the story.

I was also amazed by how much this actually feels like a follow-up. Many topics of the first book - such as the characters, the events, the monoliths, HAL 9000 - reappear in a surprisingly natural way. Moreover, there are some gentle reminders to what actually happened in 2001, highly appreciated since it's been almost a year since I've read the first book (and for many readers it has been 12 years when the book first came out). ...more

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Jun 09, 2021 Charles rated it it was amazing

After getting past the inconsistencies between 2001, and this novel, I was very satisfied with the story. I might even go as far as to say that 2010:Odyssey Two was a better story. I realize that to some this would seem almost sacrilegious, but the character development and overall story flow were much improved from the first book. 2001: A Space Odyssey, read very much like a typical 1960s Sci-Fi story, minimal characters, simplified plot, with moral and social commentary, and It was great, it w ...more

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May 06, 2011 Heidi rated it liked it

This sequel to 2001 was fine, but it wasn't nearly as good as 2001. Heywood Floyd and a couple of other Americans join the Russians on a trip to rescue the stranded spaceship Discovery and learn what happened to astronaut David Bowman, who disappeared at the end of 2001. They also want to probe the mystery of the black monolith, which is hanging in space around...Jupiter?

Yes, they end up at Jupiter, even though in the book 2001, the black monolith was sitting on one of Saturn's moons. And when D This sequel to 2001 was fine, but it wasn't nearly as good as 2001. Heywood Floyd and a couple of other Americans join the Russians on a trip to rescue the stranded spaceship Discovery and learn what happened to astronaut David Bowman, who disappeared at the end of 2001. They also want to probe the mystery of the black monolith, which is hanging in space around...Jupiter?

Yes, they end up at Jupiter, even though in the book 2001, the black monolith was sitting on one of Saturn's moons. And when David Bowman disappeared, the Discovery was orbiting Saturn. And Bowman's fellow astronaut, Frank Poole, died in a much different way than was related in 2010. And several of the other significant events were changed somehow between the two books. I can only assume Arthur C. Clarke decided to follow the movie adaptation of his book when he wrote the sequel, instead of following the plot of the original book. Silly man--didn't he know the book was WAY better than the movie? It's kind of jarring to read one book right after the other and have them not line up...kind of like reading Lost World after reading Jurassic Park and having characters somehow come back to life.

And the believability factor in this book wasn't quite as good. Heywood Floyd's presence on the ship is rather inexplicable--he's basically a politician, not an astronaut and barely a scientist, he can't help with anything, and he spends most of his time staying out of everyone's way. His only job is to send messages back to Earth. The guy was likeable enough, but he didn't DO anything. And after two months around the Russians, every American on the ship can speak perfect Russian (without actually studying it) and sometimes have long conversations amongst THEMSELVES in Russian instead of English.

And the plot...I dunno. This one just didn't grab me. I like my science fiction to have some science, but 2010 didn't have much. It was nice that HAL, the psychotic computer from the first book, got to redeem himself in this one. ...more

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Mar 04, 2016 Kath ❅ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-but-dont-own, 2016-reads

3.75 stars
I liked this sequel way more than I thought I was going to. 2001 is such a staple of pop culture and most people have at least heard of the movie but I've never heard anyone talk about the sequels to the book. For me, the first book was slightly better. I liked the body of the story of the first book a bit more but I liked the last few chapters of this book and the ending more than I liked the ending of the last book.I also liked that in this book the cast of characters was bigger. Don 3.75 stars
I liked this sequel way more than I thought I was going to. 2001 is such a staple of pop culture and most people have at least heard of the movie but I've never heard anyone talk about the sequels to the book. For me, the first book was slightly better. I liked the body of the story of the first book a bit more but I liked the last few chapters of this book and the ending more than I liked the ending of the last book.I also liked that in this book the cast of characters was bigger. Don't get me wrong, I loved the characters of the first book, but I loved the way the many people who were in this book interacted.
I think the ending of the first book is known for being a little confusing and hard to understand what was going on, even in the movie, I did find that I could follow the plot of this book more easily. I thought the plot of this book was very good, much better than what I expected. I went into this book thinking that I would read this book but not read the last to book in the series but this book may have made me change my mind, which I see as being a good thing. I thought this book connected nicely to the first book with trying to explain some of the more confusing parts of the last book . There were some weird moments in this book, though. In the first couple of chapters, the book introduced another AI just like HAL 9000 called SAL 9000. I thought this other AI would play a bigger role but it never showed back up. Some plot things like that tripped me up a bit but overall I really enjoyed it. A was pleasantly surprised by this sequel.
In other news, this is the book that completes my 2016 reading challenge! This is my first year doing the challenge and I really liked doing it. I was a good way to try to get myself motivated to incorporate more time for reading into my life even when I am busy with other things like school. I definitely want to participate in more reading challenges in the coming years because this was very fun. I am excited to see how many more books I can read in 2016 ...more

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Jan 07, 2021 Baal Of rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dried-seaweed, steamed-mussels

I enjoyed this one almost as much as the first. I like the way Clarke sticks to realistic orbital mechanics, which emphasizes the vastness of space. I can understand why some people would find this boring, but I was captivated for the entire novel. I liked the interactions between the Russian and American astronauts, and the addition of the surprise Chinese mission was great. (view spoiler) ...more

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May 31, 2017 Lanko rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

Overall disappointing considering the first masterpiece.

Gone is the sense of wonder, mystery and excitement. The first half of the book was pretty dry and slow and honestly I don't remember much of it. The second half was slightly better mainly because we find HAL-9000 again and what the heck happened with him.

I think Clarke tried to put some characterization for his astronauts, but it didn't work, specially when most of it was to tell us who, why and how characters acted, thought and believed. ...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Andreas rated it liked it

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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May 27, 2015 Efka rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, knygos-paverstos-filmais

A very slow book this Odyssey is, and it does not quite live up to it's predecessor, though I have to admit, that it starts good and ends in a very climactic and dramatic fashion, maybe even beating the first Odyssey's ending. The real problem is mid-book, which sometimes is plain boring. A decent book, some familiar characters making a comeback also is a nice bonus, but the writing at moment feels a bit chaotic and stretched out too much and without necessity. Overall, read it if you liked 2001 ...more

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Sep 23, 2020 Chris Greensmith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arthur-c-clarke

"Unlike the Great Red Spot, the Great Black Spot was not a continuous structure; it was built up from myriads of tiny dots, like a half-tone print viewed through a magnifying glass. Over most of its area, the dots were so closely spaced that they were almost touching, but at the rim they became
more and more widely spaced, so that the Spot ended in a grey penumbra rather than at a sharp frontier. ...more

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Nov 16, 2014 Rusty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, prose

I read Stephen Baxter’s Proxima last week. And while it wasn’t the best book ever written, it is the perfect type of book for me. And by that I mean that, for whatever reason, those type of novels do something to me, deep inside, that really resonates. It’s why I’ll always love that type of Science Fiction way more than I ever will Fantasy. I’ve never found a Fantasy book, no matter how good, that can make me shut the book once it’s over, and go sit outside and stare at the stars.

I’m inclined t ...more

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Oct 03, 2018 Bishnu Bhatta Buttowski rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, physics, fiction

One of the best yet thought provoking lines in this book is "In all the Galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind, they encouraged its dawning everywhere. They became farmers in the fields of stars; they sowed, and sometimes they reaped. And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed. "

I enjoyed this book very much. This book tells the story about how intelligent life seem to foster the life on any planets or place, how would the civilization develop, what is the evolution trends ...more

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May 20, 2011 scrillla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, sci-fi

2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke is another beautiful journey through the solar system filled with transformation and unexpected beginnings. 2010 is the 2nd in the Space Odyssey Saga and the sequel to 2001. I mention this because it's important that you've read 2001 in order to understand 2010.

Dr. Heywood Floyd, chairman of the National Council of Aeronautics, makes a reappearance and is the protagonist or main character for 2010. He has been chosen to be a part of a recovery mission of sor 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke is another beautiful journey through the solar system filled with transformation and unexpected beginnings. 2010 is the 2nd in the Space Odyssey Saga and the sequel to 2001. I mention this because it's important that you've read 2001 in order to understand 2010.

Dr. Heywood Floyd, chairman of the National Council of Aeronautics, makes a reappearance and is the protagonist or main character for 2010. He has been chosen to be a part of a recovery mission of sorts for the U.S. ship Discovery, which was left stranded in orbit between Jupiter and Io after the ship's crew members met strange endings, and one beginning. The spaceshuttle Alex Leonov and her crew's main objective is to redezvous with Discovery and try to revive it's artificial intelligence aboard, Hal 9000 (also making a reappearance from 2001), so that Discovery can be safely led back to earth. The second objective is to study as much as possible the black monolith on Io resembling the one found on Earth's moon, known as Big Brother. There is one question that everyone aboard Leonov would love to know the answer to: Where is Dave Bowman and what happened to him? Studying Big Brother seems to be the only way to find out.

All in all, Floyd and the rest of Leonov's crew are led on a breathtaking and uncanningly dangerous mission, one that beholds things humans have never experienced in any way, shape or form.

Heywood Floyd was asked to be a part of the redezvous with Discovery, and at first is on the rocks because of his new wife Caroline who is appalled at the thought that he is even considering leaving his little son. You eventually get a snippet of his thoughts, stating that no matter what.. he knew he would've done it. He had to. This zest for space travel, to experience and discover things that no human has ever done before, is what makes me instantly fall in love with his character. His sense of humour, and wonder, are the two most prominent personality traits in Heywood Floyd and it makes him a very suitable main character in Odyssey #2.

Dave Bowman continues his transformation into something completely alien but still somewhat human. He feels the presence of a higher power, but cannot completely grasp what it's intentions or thoughts are. He learns how to maneuver his new form quickly and starts to uncover the answers to his questions while re-experiencing memories and people from his past life on Earth. He then acts as the eyes in the Jovian system for the higher power that is controlling him.

Arthur C. Clarke tops Odyssey 1 in this sequel with imagination and intrigue. The book is exactly what the title says it is, but presented in a way only Clarke could master. He answers questions left from the first book while leaving the most important ones yet to answered. Dave Bowman and Heywood Floyd are modest yet unforgettable characters, one I hope to hear more of in the following books. The series is only going up in my opinion. The Space Odyssey Saga is one that should be read by readers of all ages and preferences. It's obvious how this series quickly became a classic and totem for Sci-Fi as a genre and space exploration in general. Can't wait to read the next one.
...more

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Aug 10, 2008 Hope rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: just about anyone

I have mixed feelings about this book. Given that title, it should be a sequel to the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's not. It's more a semi-sequel to the movie of the same name. Where the novel and the book differ, 2010 follows the movie, expect where it changes things to make this novel more consistent. Since it's been a long time since I've seen the movie, I'm not aware of what those differences are.

Clark's writing continues to be quite beautiful. He has the rare combination of being bo ...more

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About Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

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Arthur Charles 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 ...more