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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
This book was amazing and is easily one of the best science fiction books out there. Extremely ground-breaking, and thought-provoking. I’m a huge fan of the movie, and was very interested in Arthur C. Clarke’s original take on the story. I highly recommend reading this, especially if the movie confused you, since Clarke wrote the book at the same time as the script for the film. To actually understand what the movie is explaining, this book is plainly necessary. That being said, the novel is much slower, and it does drag a bit in the middle. But very enjoyable, and a great staple of science fiction. Highly recommend.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Perhaps I'm biased because I love the film so much - but much as I enjoyed this I can't shake the feeling this story is just so much better suited to the cinema. In novel form it's too detailed, too precise, too easy to understand. The sense of mystery and majesty and scale and alienness is diminished. BUT ☝️ we still have hal and he's the funniest bitch alive
While the movie is quite impressive visually considering when it was made, I was restless and bored through the first thirty minutes, and left a little bewildered at the ending. This impression left me with little enthusiasm to read the book, and I mostly picked it up as a means to help interpret the meaning.
I didn't realize, until reading the afterword, that the book and the movie were written together. Clarke and Kubrick more or less collaborated on many of the ideas. While Kubrick made a few changes to better suit the format and constraints of the film, the two work well together and tell much the same story.
From the start, the book does a better job explaining what is happening in the first part, though Kubrick's efforts to show this without the use of words is commendable. I would say the trade-off is that HAL 9000 doesn't quite come off as chilling as he does in the movie, but the sense and scope of isolation for the protagonist is retained.
Overall, I think both the book and movie work well together, and separately. The ideas as told in the book seem more fully baked than in the movie, which is again understandable considering the differences between the two mediums. I'm interested in reading more of this series despite the fact that Clarke claims he never intended to write any sequels for this work.
I didn't realize, until reading the afterword, that the book and the movie were written together. Clarke and Kubrick more or less collaborated on many of the ideas. While Kubrick made a few changes to better suit the format and constraints of the film, the two work well together and tell much the same story.
From the start, the book does a better job explaining what is happening in the first part, though Kubrick's efforts to show this without the use of words is commendable. I would say the trade-off is that HAL 9000 doesn't quite come off as chilling as he does in the movie, but the sense and scope of isolation for the protagonist is retained.
Overall, I think both the book and movie work well together, and separately. The ideas as told in the book seem more fully baked than in the movie, which is again understandable considering the differences between the two mediums. I'm interested in reading more of this series despite the fact that Clarke claims he never intended to write any sequels for this work.
I just love this book, in all its oscillating between minute practicalities of human space flight to grandiose visions of humanity’s origins and destinies. So many lines and images imprinted in my nerdling heart: the little Moon-born girl disgusted by the idea of visiting Earth where it hurts to fall down, the tragedy of conflicted consciousness in an AI, dispassionate weeding, uplifting man apes, the monolith, being full of stars … I could go on and on. Nowadays I think new readers may experience the John Carter effect, in that it may feel derivative when so, so much of science fiction has been directly or in-directly influenced by this book and/or its companion movie. One star should be deducted for the sad shabbiness of the period typical treatment of women characters (there really aren’t any) and other signs of age that act as a time capsule of pre-Moon landing gumption. But I can trace so much of my perception of the world to seeing 2001 at 10 years old, lying on the cough high on cough syrup - so a bonus point for making me a nerd.
The book was written in 1968. Favorite quote:
Not missing that era.
They were usually christened with feminine names, perhaps in recognition of the fact that their personalities were sometimes slightly unpredictable.
Not missing that era.
You can tell that the book is dated - the various technologies have a vintage feel, and there are references to the Soviet Union (as if it would still exist in the far future) - but that doesn't detract from the genius of this book. It was light-years ahead of its time, and Clarke knows his stuff - you can tell he's pretty competent when it comes to scientific knowledge. It's a great companion to the movie, which was equally a masterpiece in its own right, but it is able to stand on its own. It provides may more detail than the movie, which alludes to many of the themes found in the book. The themes - man and its place in the universe, the origins of man, the terrifying dangers of a rogue AI, the existential crisis that comes with the knowledge of extraterrestrial life - are classic and flow beautifully from Clarke's mind. I liked it way better than other classic SciFi novels like Asimov's Foundation. Highly recommended. I can see why it was so influential.
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I really enjoyed reading this book. While I have not seen the film, I knew the really basic premise- but ultimately it was a pretty great story.
I really enjoy books that leave more to the reader's imagination, so I think I would have four or five starred the book without his alien experience at the end. I wish it been left to my imagination to know what happened. The Moon-Watcher story also was not my favorite.
I did really like the story of Floyd and the trip to Saturn. It many ways this book felt timeless- but at the same time would periodically give away it's age (ie. when he refers to the office looking like a typical CEO with a $5ok salary).
I'd recommend this book to others.
I really enjoy books that leave more to the reader's imagination, so I think I would have four or five starred the book without his alien experience at the end. I wish it been left to my imagination to know what happened. The Moon-Watcher story also was not my favorite.
I did really like the story of Floyd and the trip to Saturn. It many ways this book felt timeless- but at the same time would periodically give away it's age (ie. when he refers to the office looking like a typical CEO with a $5ok salary).
I'd recommend this book to others.
3.5 Stars. Sheds some light on the more head scratching elements of the amazing film upon which the book is based (and the movie is based on the book - look the creation of this book and the film is as confusing as either the book or the movie). Still, I was left wondering what it all meant. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I will likely ponder this for awhile and I’ll definitely be revisiting the film multiple times.