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A review by mpod
2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke
2.0
After enjoying 2001 and 2010 quite a lot, this installment was a letdown.
The story felt rushed and incomplete. Many characters with great potential were introduced, then ultimately underdeveloped. Several huge/interesting plot points occurred "off-screen" or were dismissed entirely. The book felt like a prologue to a richer, more interesting story.
Also, the aspects that tie 2061 to the previous books were barely represented and, because of this, lacked the feeling that it was really part of the same series.
[And one final, nitpicking complaint: I don't know how Clarke could believe that someone born in 1985 would have never heard of the Beatles. This is a minor point, but it does come up a few times. Clarke published this book in '87, he had to realize that the Beatles were still very well-known. In another section of the book, he has two characters discussing Star Wars and that was released in 1977. Characters in 2061 are familiar with Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind. How could that still be general knowledge, but the Beatles forgotten?]
The story felt rushed and incomplete. Many characters with great potential were introduced, then ultimately underdeveloped. Several huge/interesting plot points occurred "off-screen" or were dismissed entirely. The book felt like a prologue to a richer, more interesting story.
Also, the aspects that tie 2061 to the previous books were barely represented and, because of this, lacked the feeling that it was really part of the same series.
[And one final, nitpicking complaint: I don't know how Clarke could believe that someone born in 1985 would have never heard of the Beatles. This is a minor point, but it does come up a few times. Clarke published this book in '87, he had to realize that the Beatles were still very well-known. In another section of the book, he has two characters discussing Star Wars and that was released in 1977. Characters in 2061 are familiar with Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind. How could that still be general knowledge, but the Beatles forgotten?]