A review by david611
2010: Odyssey Two, by Arthur C. Clarke
5.0
5-Scintillating Stars*
* Star rating is independent, and not in comparison to the first book in the series.
Being a sequel to [b:2001: A Space Odyssey|70535|2001 A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432468943s/70535.jpg|208362], I felt the story is progressed very well. It takes place nine years after the events of Book One. A Soviet-American scientific team is sent on a mission aboard the Leonov to recover information from the Discovery and investigate the TMA-2, the monolith (also called as "Big Brother", and Zagadka by the Russians) that orbits Jupiter (which was originally a moon of Saturn in the first book).
The author has decided to follow the movie, wherever differences occur between the first book and the movie.
Having not developed the characters, I felt I may have missed out on some personal touches, but I still prefer it this way, otherwise it might have become an unnecessarily stretched book.
To me, the book started off very well, but just while I had started to feel that nothing really was happening, 'things' took off. I liked the way the book was moving into a mystical direction.
I also loved the idea of how the monoliths in their relatively smaller sizes, like a von Neuman machine, devours Jupiter and transforms it into a star.
At least two thoughts to grasp from this book:
1. Any evolved life-form that may have come to be, ...will be destroyed, ...or has to be weeded out, at some point in time.
2. Not everything can be fathomed by the human mind. Some things can only be speculated. Others can just be somehow perceived/experienced, but never fully understood or in other words they have to be left out unreasoned.
Although the later two books in the series have a low rating, am much looking forward to reading them. Hopefully they should turn out good, looking at the brighter side of nearly everything. :D
* Star rating is independent, and not in comparison to the first book in the series.
Being a sequel to [b:2001: A Space Odyssey|70535|2001 A Space Odyssey (Space Odyssey, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432468943s/70535.jpg|208362], I felt the story is progressed very well. It takes place nine years after the events of Book One. A Soviet-American scientific team is sent on a mission aboard the Leonov to recover information from the Discovery and investigate the TMA-2, the monolith (also called as "Big Brother", and Zagadka by the Russians) that orbits Jupiter (which was originally a moon of Saturn in the first book).
The author has decided to follow the movie, wherever differences occur between the first book and the movie.
Having not developed the characters, I felt I may have missed out on some personal touches, but I still prefer it this way, otherwise it might have become an unnecessarily stretched book.
To me, the book started off very well, but just while I had started to feel that nothing really was happening, 'things' took off. I liked the way the book was moving into a mystical direction.
Spoiler
Loved the re-entry of David Bowman, and that he was void of his physical being. Loved all those gorgeous aerial life-forms Bowman perceives in the Jovian atmosphere, and within the ice-covered oceans of Europa !I also loved the idea of how the monoliths in their relatively smaller sizes, like a von Neuman machine, devours Jupiter and transforms it into a star.
At least two thoughts to grasp from this book:
1. Any evolved life-form that may have come to be, ...will be destroyed, ...or has to be weeded out, at some point in time.
2. Not everything can be fathomed by the human mind. Some things can only be speculated. Others can just be somehow perceived/experienced, but never fully understood or in other words they have to be left out unreasoned.
Although the later two books in the series have a low rating, am much looking forward to reading them. Hopefully they should turn out good, looking at the brighter side of nearly everything. :D