2061: Odyssey Three 
asked by onthemic on November 2, 2006 6:14 AM
Arthur C. Clark, creator of one of the world's best-loved science fiction tales, revisits the most famous future ever imagined in this NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, as two expeditions into space become inextricably tangled. Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monloiths, must again confront Dave Bowman, HAL, and an alien race that has decided that Mankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether it wishes to or not.
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If there are authors for whom I have the utmost respect, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is surely one of them. Every book of his I read in the past never disappointed me and most are among my very favorite fiction works. "2001: A Space Odyssey" was particularly fascinating and "2010: Odyssey Two" is a very worthy sequel which successfully extends the mythology of its predecessor.
"2061: Odyssey Three", however, leaves something to be desired and definitely cannot be regarded in the same light as the previous two books. Clarke's undeniable wit and especially his gift for writing prose are still very much present, but I find "2061" to be lacking a bit too much in the plot department. Forget the drama, tension and mysticism of "2001" and "2010", because unfortunately you won't find that here. More importantly, we are not let in on much more regarding the Dave Bowman mysterious existence - or lack thereof - and the few we get about that and Europa's secret is scarce at best and confusing at worst. And it's frustrating that every situation that could possibly lend itself to something interesting and dramatic ends up resolving itself in a banal fashion.
Even the under-achievements of Clarke are not bad books. And it's certainly hard for me to classify "2061" as a bad work. The problem is, the standard had been set so high that "2061" just doesn't live up to it. Perhaps the final odyssey, "3001", sets the record straight? No matter. "2010" and especially "2001" more than make up for everything else, even if they leave a lot of questions hanging in the air - or should I say, in the void of deep space?
"2061: Odyssey Three", however, leaves something to be desired and definitely cannot be regarded in the same light as the previous two books. Clarke's undeniable wit and especially his gift for writing prose are still very much present, but I find "2061" to be lacking a bit too much in the plot department. Forget the drama, tension and mysticism of "2001" and "2010", because unfortunately you won't find that here. More importantly, we are not let in on much more regarding the Dave Bowman mysterious existence - or lack thereof - and the few we get about that and Europa's secret is scarce at best and confusing at worst. And it's frustrating that every situation that could possibly lend itself to something interesting and dramatic ends up resolving itself in a banal fashion.
Even the under-achievements of Clarke are not bad books. And it's certainly hard for me to classify "2061" as a bad work. The problem is, the standard had been set so high that "2061" just doesn't live up to it. Perhaps the final odyssey, "3001", sets the record straight? No matter. "2010" and especially "2001" more than make up for everything else, even if they leave a lot of questions hanging in the air - or should I say, in the void of deep space?
reviewed by scanner on November 12, 2006 8:04 AM
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I love the series of stories about the monolith, and I began the story with excitement, but in the end I felt unfulfilled. At the beginning, I thought, "How cool, landing on Halley's Comet. How cool seeing some of the steps to figure out what Mt. Zeus is."
(Beware: Spoiler here...) This is a story that is ultimately about a rescue mission to Europa, but at the end of the book, he doesn't even talk about the actual rescue! He skips to Ganymede base, after the crew of Galaxy is rescued. Clarke was a great writer, and you can see it in the prose, but he lets you down at the end.
His discussion in the final chapter about the place of Europa and the monolith is clarifying.
(Beware: Spoiler here...) This is a story that is ultimately about a rescue mission to Europa, but at the end of the book, he doesn't even talk about the actual rescue! He skips to Ganymede base, after the crew of Galaxy is rescued. Clarke was a great writer, and you can see it in the prose, but he lets you down at the end.
His discussion in the final chapter about the place of Europa and the monolith is clarifying.
reviewed by vicky123 on November 28, 2006 1:48 AM