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arat 's review for:
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
Amazingly easy read. The first part is one of the best openings to a science fiction novel I've ever read, both in premise and execution. It, unfortunately, loses steam after the main climax, about 2/3rds through, leaving an extremely meandering narrative to follow. But those first few parts and the way they transition from one time period to the next? Amazing.
~Spoilers~
I'm debating reading the rest of the series, and I'm going to have to look into spoilers before I decide. The theme that caught my attention immediately was humanity and tool use. The first part, set in a pre-historic age of ape-men, covers the gradual ascendency of man as they learn how to... pick up a bone and use it as a club. Or... pick up a stone and throw it. The substantiality of these acts is stressed so well, and the tension you feel as they make huge mental leaps is invigorating. Having already seen the film, I was hoping this theme would continue to be emphasized with the character of HAL, the end of human tool use. HAL may have been created to help humans like any other tool, but it was so much more impressive and cognitively powerful than the sum total of humanity. I was hoping the book would have more of a focus on humans vs their tools, and which the extraterrestrials were interested in. Did they care about humanity, or just the AI humanity would eventually create?
If the sequels explore this concept more, than I'm in.
~Spoilers~
I'm debating reading the rest of the series, and I'm going to have to look into spoilers before I decide. The theme that caught my attention immediately was humanity and tool use. The first part, set in a pre-historic age of ape-men, covers the gradual ascendency of man as they learn how to... pick up a bone and use it as a club. Or... pick up a stone and throw it. The substantiality of these acts is stressed so well, and the tension you feel as they make huge mental leaps is invigorating. Having already seen the film, I was hoping this theme would continue to be emphasized with the character of HAL, the end of human tool use. HAL may have been created to help humans like any other tool, but it was so much more impressive and cognitively powerful than the sum total of humanity. I was hoping the book would have more of a focus on humans vs their tools, and which the extraterrestrials were interested in. Did they care about humanity, or just the AI humanity would eventually create?
If the sequels explore this concept more, than I'm in.