Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
While I think this serves as an excellent resource for those who were left frustrated and confused with the Kubrick film, I do not consider that as a slight against it. It is a more detailed picture of what the film version was presenting, and in that it is different, but it still represents many of the fascinating ideas the film presented. To me they are nearly inseparable, they are both incredible feats in their respective fields of art. Arthur C. Clarke was a world class author and Stanley Kubrick was a world class director.
I was blown away by the kinetic energy of the prose, from the beginning of mankind to the end of it, all shown with precision and confidence, no broad strokes needed. I loved it. It may be one of my favorite novels ever.
I was blown away by the kinetic energy of the prose, from the beginning of mankind to the end of it, all shown with precision and confidence, no broad strokes needed. I loved it. It may be one of my favorite novels ever.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Prescient, ambitious, and a little bit boring.
2001 is iconic, both as a book and a movie (and an actual year since Spy Kids released within it), however I do think I prefer the film. I had a problem with Clarke overexplaining to the reader directly in Childhood's End, but there it was more of a nitpick. Here it's a full-on negative. There is a reason for it though; the tech he describes is impressively accurate to what we have today. However, it's just that reason that makes the first two thirds of the novel disappointingly dull (excluding the creepy monolith sections). Fortunately the last sequence is awesome, and explores aspects that the film couldn't pull off visually very well at the time. A bit of the ambiguity is lost here understandably, but for the final third it's at least a decent trade off.
Perhaps that's why I enjoy the book less. The film trusts the audience more, and lets them make up their own mind about the ending. And the classical soundtrack helps secure the timeless feeling that just isn't there in the pages, where everything is told to the reader and the characters fall flat.
So it's a hard book to judge. It's one that I'm rating more for what it was at the time rather than my actual enjoyment, because of how important it was and is.
2001 is iconic, both as a book and a movie (and an actual year since Spy Kids released within it), however I do think I prefer the film. I had a problem with Clarke overexplaining to the reader directly in Childhood's End, but there it was more of a nitpick. Here it's a full-on negative. There is a reason for it though; the tech he describes is impressively accurate to what we have today. However, it's just that reason that makes the first two thirds of the novel disappointingly dull (excluding the creepy monolith sections). Fortunately the last sequence is awesome, and explores aspects that the film couldn't pull off visually very well at the time. A bit of the ambiguity is lost here understandably, but for the final third it's at least a decent trade off.
Perhaps that's why I enjoy the book less. The film trusts the audience more, and lets them make up their own mind about the ending. And the classical soundtrack helps secure the timeless feeling that just isn't there in the pages, where everything is told to the reader and the characters fall flat.
So it's a hard book to judge. It's one that I'm rating more for what it was at the time rather than my actual enjoyment, because of how important it was and is.
“Open the pod bay doors, HAL.”
I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
2001: A Space Odyssey manages to explore many themes in what some would consider a relatively light read. An astute reader could find themselves finishing the book in mere days. You may have already watched the classic Stanley Kubrick movie by the same name, but did you know that the movie and book were developed concurrently? Kubrick and Clark worked together to produce both works. Sadly, the movie was unable to explore many of the themes and feelings found in the novel, but when viewed as a whole, the movie not only makes more sense, but becomes a more enjoyable cinematic adventure due to the viewer knowing more of the story.
Admittedly, the story starts off at a crawl, but it is integral to everything that comes after.
We’re introduced to a tribe of Ape-men from around 3 million BC. They’re starving, as are all the Ape-men. Humankind is teetering dangerously close to extinction, and we haven’t even discovered fire yet. An ancient, and unseen, Alien race is not so keen on allowing this to happen, however. A mysterious and impossibly black monolith appears one morning and let’s just say that things start looking up for our small tribe of starving hominids in the wake of its appearance.
Fast forward to year 1999 and Dr. Heywood Floyd. Floyd has been called to an emergency meeting on the Moon. You see, in Clark’s version of the “future,” mankind has already started to colonize the moon for research purposes. Something has occurred at the research facility and Floyd must make his journey up there. The excursion to the Moon is not what you’d expect; space travel has advanced quite a bit and Floyd’s trip is closer to what you’d expect from a luxury airliner. Beds, a stewardess, in-flight meals, the whole 9 yards. Upon his arrival, Floyd is caught up to speed on current events and, in time, is part of a startling discovery.
Next we find ourselves on board the Discovery One’s mission to Saturn. We’re introduced to astronauts David Bowman and Francis Poole, and the supercomputer HAL-9000, who Bowman and Poole refer to as “Hal.” Things are pretty uneventful on the ship, with both explorers going through the motions performing daily tasks and the like. It isn’t until Hal notices something wrong with one of Discovery One’s communication satellites that things start to develop, and the mission’s true purpose is brought to light.
The rest of the story will be for you to discover!
Keep reading below for themes and personal opinions about the book. Please note that the following paragraphs will contain spoilers. Most will be relatively minor, but major spoilers will be hidden with a Spoiler Tag. Please read below at your own discretion.
2001: A Space Odyssey explored a couple different themes and ideas that will get the mind racing. Space exploration (obviously), extraterrestrial life, the advantages and possibly huge disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence, and the concept of God.
The characters in the book are honestly a bit bland, but I’m left wondering if that wasn’t somewhat on purpose. By providing cookie-cutter characters, readers are left to wonder on a grander scale, and not worry so much about what emotions drive Floyd or Bowman to do what they do.
Seriously, there are spoilers below.
If we go with this logic, and if Clarke has done this on purpose, it makes the end of the book even more satisfying.
Clarke hit the proverbial nail on the head when exploring the idea of supercomputers and artificial intelligence with Hal. At what point is it too much? While there are many arguments for and against the advancement of artificial intelligence, it’s hard to argue that the fear of it becoming too much is definitely there. If our computers can think and develop reason, and we rely on them, what happens when they (the AI) decide we are wrong and take their own course of action? If we become dependent on them, there could be some extremely disastrous results.
There’s a MAJOR spoiler below, so if you haven’t read the book or watched the movie, I would recommend stopping with this review now. Like, right now.
My God – it’s full of stars!
I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
2001: A Space Odyssey manages to explore many themes in what some would consider a relatively light read. An astute reader could find themselves finishing the book in mere days. You may have already watched the classic Stanley Kubrick movie by the same name, but did you know that the movie and book were developed concurrently? Kubrick and Clark worked together to produce both works. Sadly, the movie was unable to explore many of the themes and feelings found in the novel, but when viewed as a whole, the movie not only makes more sense, but becomes a more enjoyable cinematic adventure due to the viewer knowing more of the story.
Admittedly, the story starts off at a crawl, but it is integral to everything that comes after.
We’re introduced to a tribe of Ape-men from around 3 million BC. They’re starving, as are all the Ape-men. Humankind is teetering dangerously close to extinction, and we haven’t even discovered fire yet. An ancient, and unseen, Alien race is not so keen on allowing this to happen, however. A mysterious and impossibly black monolith appears one morning and let’s just say that things start looking up for our small tribe of starving hominids in the wake of its appearance.
Fast forward to year 1999 and Dr. Heywood Floyd. Floyd has been called to an emergency meeting on the Moon. You see, in Clark’s version of the “future,” mankind has already started to colonize the moon for research purposes. Something has occurred at the research facility and Floyd must make his journey up there. The excursion to the Moon is not what you’d expect; space travel has advanced quite a bit and Floyd’s trip is closer to what you’d expect from a luxury airliner. Beds, a stewardess, in-flight meals, the whole 9 yards. Upon his arrival, Floyd is caught up to speed on current events and, in time, is part of a startling discovery.
Next we find ourselves on board the Discovery One’s mission to Saturn. We’re introduced to astronauts David Bowman and Francis Poole, and the supercomputer HAL-9000, who Bowman and Poole refer to as “Hal.” Things are pretty uneventful on the ship, with both explorers going through the motions performing daily tasks and the like. It isn’t until Hal notices something wrong with one of Discovery One’s communication satellites that things start to develop, and the mission’s true purpose is brought to light.
The rest of the story will be for you to discover!
Keep reading below for themes and personal opinions about the book. Please note that the following paragraphs will contain spoilers. Most will be relatively minor, but major spoilers will be hidden with a Spoiler Tag. Please read below at your own discretion.
2001: A Space Odyssey explored a couple different themes and ideas that will get the mind racing. Space exploration (obviously), extraterrestrial life, the advantages and possibly huge disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence, and the concept of God.
The characters in the book are honestly a bit bland, but I’m left wondering if that wasn’t somewhat on purpose. By providing cookie-cutter characters, readers are left to wonder on a grander scale, and not worry so much about what emotions drive Floyd or Bowman to do what they do.
Seriously, there are spoilers below.
If we go with this logic, and if Clarke has done this on purpose, it makes the end of the book even more satisfying.
Spoiler
It’s almost if Clarke is saying, “Bowman, the man, simply existed. He, and the rest of mankind, are simply a stepping stone in evolution, and much like the hominids from the beginning of the book, the human race as we know it will eventually be a small splash in a grand ocean. Why concern ourselves too much with their petty thoughts and human emotions?”Clarke hit the proverbial nail on the head when exploring the idea of supercomputers and artificial intelligence with Hal. At what point is it too much? While there are many arguments for and against the advancement of artificial intelligence, it’s hard to argue that the fear of it becoming too much is definitely there. If our computers can think and develop reason, and we rely on them, what happens when they (the AI) decide we are wrong and take their own course of action? If we become dependent on them, there could be some extremely disastrous results.
There’s a MAJOR spoiler below, so if you haven’t read the book or watched the movie, I would recommend stopping with this review now. Like, right now.
Spoiler
Bowman’s transformation into a Star Child is by far one of the most intriguing aspects of the novel and will leave readers wondering about their own personal existence, as well as the concept of God. It’s masterfully done and gives hope and comfort to those of us who desire more out of our existence. Not money, not war, not sex, but enlightenment and understanding of our past, present, and future. We are but children in this endless universe of ours and we (as we are now) simply can’t comprehend everything this incomprehensible universe has waiting for us to discover.My God – it’s full of stars!
adventurous
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
characters - .5⭐️
plot - ⭐️
engaging to read - ⭐️
would recommend - ⭐️
would read again - ⭐️
i didn’t actually listen to the audiobook, but my best friend read it to me so i listed the audiobook edition lol :)
if we could have read it in one sitting, i bet we would have. every chapter just made us want to read the next. i look forward to rereading it.
i didn’t actually listen to the audiobook, but my best friend read it to me so i listed the audiobook edition lol :)
if we could have read it in one sitting, i bet we would have. every chapter just made us want to read the next. i look forward to rereading it.
First line fever: The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended
Uno ve por que es un clasico de la ciencia ficcion, y de la literatura moderna, pues narra una aventura "tan grande como la vida misma", casi literalmente: el viaje de un hombre hacia adentro de si mismo, buscando su esencia, caminando hacia las fronteras del universo para hacerse parte de Dios sin perder su individualidad. En lo pequeno uno encuentra lo absoluto.