Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey
2001 A Space Odyssey
Author: Arthur C. Clarke
It has been forty years since the publication of this classic science fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other. — This allegory about hu...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780451118646
ISBN-10: 0451118642
Publication Date: 11/2/1982
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 29

3.8 stars, based on 29 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Putnam~mass
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 52 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reading this book was like reading a 300-page short story. It was a wonderful story with impressive insight into the future (I kept having to remind myself this was written in the 60's), but at the same time ideas were only lightly touched upon and plot elements came and went with very little development. Overall a quick and easy read with interesting ideas that I quite enjoyed. I look forward to reading the sequels.
althea avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Id read this book before, but not since I was a kid, so I didnt remember it all that clearly. This anniversary edition of it also included an introduction by Clarke that was rather interesting, talking about the writing of the book and the making of the movie. However, Clarke mentioned in this introduction that he drew idea for the book from no fewer than four previously existing short stories of his and, reading the story with that in mind, perhaps I was predisposed to consider problems of cohesiveness but I really didnt feel, this time around, that the different parts of the story meshed well enough the ideas and themes are quite different. First, is a story of an alien artifact which gives a boost to our primitive ancestors, enabling our evolutionary development. (possibly my favorite part of the book, and interesting in the moral ambiguity that progress is intertwined with the potential for violence.) Second, we have a very realistic look at what might happen, politically, in a near-future scenario when humanity is faced with the potentially significant discovery of an alien artifact. The third part (with HAL) is focused on individual human psychology and the potential for problems inherent in mans use of his own technology. Finally, the end of the book is an unusual and interesting first contact story (although, in my opinion, one that suffers from a both overblown and indeterminate ending.)
Sure, all of these issues reflect on each other and interconnect to some degree, creating a big-picture view of intelligence, evolution, and our possible place in the universe mixed in with lots of (amazingly, not-too-outdated) speculations on space travel and our solar system. But I still found myself wishing for a more cohesive narrative
Read All 15 Book Reviews of "2001 A Space Odyssey"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

oakenshea avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 7 more book reviews
A must read sci-fi clasic.
Emunah avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 4 more book reviews
I watched the movie not long before reading the book and I really enjoyed it. Yet, now that I've read the book a lot is explained more fully - as a result I appreciate the movie much more so. They kind of go together hand-in-hand.
Though I don't much care for the evolutionary theories in it, I reveled in the scientific aspects. HAL 9000 is just as creepily human yet cold as he is in the movie - perhaps even more so. Very well written, and I can't wait to explore space some more in the continuing odysseys.
reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 3 more book reviews
Excellent book. A quick read. Now I want to go back and see the movie.
oakenshea avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 7 more book reviews
A must read sci-fi clasic.
oakenshea avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 7 more book reviews
A must read sci-fi clasic.
oakenshea avatar reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 7 more book reviews
A must read sci-fi clasic.
reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 19 more book reviews
Fantastic.

I am an avid sci-fi reader, and 2001 really brought it to the table in the sense that new ideas were being offered. Without giving away plot-points I'll just say that the usual sci-fi problems that one might see in Aldous Huxley or Isaac Asimov just scratch the surface in this novel. The cosmic exploration will blow your mind.
reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey on + 63 more book reviews
This book and the movie that grew out of it, turned the movie-going public on its ear. The climax of the book and movie is certainly open to several interpretations. Have a good time...see what was interesting and confounding movie goers several decades ago. Clarke is a master story teller.


Genres: