A review by essinink
2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke

4.0

It's hard to explain why I like this book as much as I do.

The specter of David Bowman and the iconic HAL don't make a direct appearance until nearly the end of the book, but their shadow--and those of previous events--weigh heavily on Heywood Floyd's mind.

Speaking of good old Heywood, whose character I have reluctantly come to not-dislike, his grandson is also in this book. He also goes by "Floyd." And, when I'm reading in the later hours of the evening, it's occasionally a tad confusing.

That's on me, though. Clarke gives plenty of cues.

But I do like it; I like it a great deal, even. It's a very smooth read, with some of Clarke's best descriptive writing, and--despite the slow pace and lack of forward plot movement for the series as a whole--is leaps and bounds ahead of [b:2010: Odyssey Two|117841|2010 Odyssey Two (Space Odyssey #2)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337455371s/117841.jpg|615175].

The sly humor he sneaks in--turns out Spaceship insurance is risky business--only added to my enjoyment.

And that ending, where everything finally came together. It took the post-reading notes I'd planned on writing and tossed them out the window.

As an interquel, it's just about perfect, setting the stage for what I expect will be an amazing finish in [b:3001: The Final Odyssey|63432|3001 The Final Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #4)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388271918s/63432.jpg|2118902].