2010: Odyssey Two

By Arthur C. Clarke

The celebrated author continues his Space Odyssey with this Hugo Award winner: “A daring romp through the solar system and a worthy successor to 2001” (Carl Sagan).
 
In 1968, Arthur C. Clarke’s bestselling 2001: A Space Odyssey captivated the world and was adapted into the classic film by Stanley Kubrick. Fourteen years later, fans and critics were thrilled by the release of 2010: Odyssey Two.
 
Nine years after the ill-fated Discovery One mission to Jupiter, a joint Soviet-American crew travels to the planet to investigate the mysterious monolith orbiting the planet, the cause of the earlier mission’s failure—and what became of astronaut David Bowman. The crew includes project expert Heywood Floyd, and Dr. Chandra, the creator of HAL 9000.
 
What they discover is an unsettling alien conspiracy tampering with the evolution of life on Jupiter’s moons as well as that of humanity itself. Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman—the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith—streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . .
 
“Clarke deftly blends discovery, philosophy, and a newly acquired sense of play.” —Time
 
“2010 is easily Clarke’s best book in over a decade.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9780795324826

Arthur C. Clarke

Born in Somerset in 1917, Arthur C. Clarke has written over sixty books, among which are the science fiction classics ‘2001, A Space Odyssey’, ‘Childhood’s End’, ‘The City and the Stars’ and ‘Rendezvous With Rama’. He has won all the most prestigious science fiction trophies, and shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for the screenplay of the film of 2001. He was knighted in 1998. He passed away in March 2008.

Book preview

1. MEETING AT THE FOCUS

Even in this metric age, it was still the thousand-foot telescope, not the three-hundred-meter one. The great saucer set among the mountains was already half full of shadow, as the tropical sun dropped swiftly to rest, but the triangular raft of the antenna complex suspended high above its center still blazed with light. From the ground far below, it would have taken keen eyes to notice the two human figures in the aerial maze of girders, support cables, and wave-guides.

The time has come, said Dr. Dimitri Moisevitch to his old friend Heywood Floyd, to talk of many things. Of shoes and spaceships and sealing wax, but mostly of monoliths and malfunctioning computers.

"So that’s why you got me away from the conference. Not that I really mind—I’ve heard Carl give that SETI speech so many times that I can recite it myself. And the view certainly is fantastic—you know, all the times I’ve been to Arecibo, I’ve never made it up here to the antenna feed."

Shame on you. I’ve been here three times. Imagine—we’re listening to the whole universe—but no one can overhear us. So let’s talk about your problem.

What problem?

To start with, why you had to resign as Chairman of the National Council on Astronautics.

I didn’t resign. The University of Hawaii pays a lot better.

Okay—you didn’t resign—you were one jump ahead of them. After all these years, Woody, you can’t fool me, and you should give up trying. If they offered the NCA back to you right now, would you hesitate?

All right, you old Cossack. What do you want to know?

First of all, there are lots of loose ends in the report you finally issued after so much prodding. We’ll overlook the ridiculous and frankly illegal secrecy with which your people dug up the Tycho monolith—

"That wasn’t my idea."

Glad to hear it: I even believe you. And we appreciate the fact that you’re now letting everyone examine the thing—which of course is what you should have done in the first place. Not that it’s done much good…

There was a gloomy silence while the two men contemplated the black enigma up there on the Moon, still contemptuously defying all the weapons that human ingenuity could bring to bear upon it. Then the Russian scientist continued.

Anyway, whatever the Tycho monolith may be, there’s something more important out at Jupiter. That’s where it sent its signal, after all. And that’s where your people ran into trouble. Sorry about that, by the way—though Frank Poole was the only one I knew personally. Met him at the ’98 IAF Congress—he seemed a good man.

"Thank you; they were all good men. I wish we knew what happened to them."

Whatever it was, surely you’ll admit that it now concerns the whole human race—not merely the United States. You can no longer try to use your knowledge for purely national advantage.

Dimitri—you know perfectly well that your side would have done exactly the same thing. And you’d have helped.

You’re absolutely right. But that’s ancient history—like the just-departed administration of yours that was responsible for the whole mess. With a new President, perhaps wiser counsels will prevail.

Possibly. Do you have any suggestions, and are they official or just personal hopes?

Entirely unofficial at the moment. What the bloody politicians call exploratory talks. Which I shall flatly deny ever occurred.

Fair enough. Go on.

"Okay—here’s the situation. You’re assembling Discovery II in parking orbit as quickly as you can, but you can’t hope to have it ready in less than three years, which means you’ll miss the next launch window—"

I neither confirm nor deny. Remember I’m merely a humble university chancellor, the other side of the world from the Astronautics Council.

"And your last trip to Washington was just a holiday to see old friends, I suppose. To continue: our own Alexei Leonov—"

"I thought you were calling it Gherman Titov."

"Wrong, Chancellor. The dear old CIA’s let you down again. Leonov it is, as of last January. And don’t let anyone know I told you it will reach Jupiter at least a year ahead of Discovery."

"Don’t let anyone know I told you we were afraid of that. But do go on."

"Because my bosses are just as stupid and shortsighted as yours, they want to go it alone. Which means that whatever went wrong with you may happen to us, and we’ll all be back to square one—or worse."

"What do you think went wrong? We’re just as baffled as you are. And don’t tell me you haven’t got all of Dave Bowman’s transmissions."

Of course we have. Right up to that last ‘My God, it’s full of stars!’ We’ve even done a stress analysis on his voice patterns. We don’t think he was hallucinating; he was trying to describe what he actually saw.

And what do you make of his Doppler shift?

Completely impossible, of course. When we lost his signal, he was receding at a tenth of the speed of light. And he’d reached that in less than two minutes. A quarter of a million gravities!

So he must have been killed instantly.

Don’t pretend to be naive, Woody. Your space-pod radios aren’t built to withstand even a hundredth of that acceleration. If they could survive, so could Bowman—at least, until we lost contact.

"Just doing an independent check on your deductions. From there on, we’re as much in the dark as you are. If you are."

Merely playing with lots of crazy guesses I’d be ashamed to tell you. Yet none of them, I suspect, will be half as crazy as the truth.

In small crimson explosions the navigation warning lights winked on all around them, and the three slim towers supporting the antenna complex began to blaze like beacons against the darkling sky. The last red sliver of the sun vanished below the surrounding hills; Heywood Floyd waited for the Green Flash, which he had never seen. Once again, he was disappointed.

So, Dimitri, he said, let’s get to the point. Just what are you driving at?

"There must be a vast amount of priceless information stored in Discovery’s data banks; presumably it’s still being gathered, even though the ship’s stopped transmitting. We’d like to have that."

"Fair enough. But when you get out there, and Leonov makes a rendezvous, what’s to prevent you from boarding Discovery and copying everything you want?"

"I never thought I’d have to remind you that Discovery is United States territory, and an unauthorized entry would be piracy."

Except in the event of a life-or-death emergency, which wouldn’t be difficult to arrange. After all, it would be hard for us to check what your boys were up to, from a billion kilometers away.

Thanks for the most interesting suggestion; I’ll pass it on. But even if we went aboard, it would take us weeks to learn all your systems, and read out all your memory banks. What I propose is cooperation. I’m convinced that’s the best idea—but we may both have a job selling it to our respective bosses.

"You want one of our astronauts to fly with Leonov?"

"Yes—preferably an engineer who’s specialized in Discovery’s systems. Like the ones you’re training at Houston to bring the ship home."

"How did you know that?"

"For heaven’s sake, Woody—it was on Aviation Week’s videotext at least a month ago."

"I am out of touch; nobody tells me what’s been declassified."

All the more reason to spend time in Washington. Will you back me up?

Absolutely. I agree with you one hundred percent. But—

But what?

We both have to deal with dinosaurs with brains in their tails. Some of mine will argue: Let the Russians risk their necks, hurrying out to Jupiter. We’ll be there anyway a couple of years later—and what’s the hurry?

For a moment there was silence on the antenna raft, except for a faint creak from the immense supporting cables that held it suspended a hundred meters in the sky. Then Moisevitch continued, so quietly that Floyd had to strain to hear him: "Has anyone checked Discovery’s orbit lately?"

I really don’t know—but I suppose so. Anyway, why bother? It’s a perfectly stable one.

Indeed. Let me tactlessly remind you of an embarrassing incident from the old NASA days. Your first space station—Skylab. It was supposed to stay up at least a decade, but you didn’t do your calculations right. The air drag in the ionosphere was badly underestimated, and it came down years ahead of schedule. I’m sure you remember that little cliff-hanger, even though you were a boy at the time.

"It was the year I graduated, and you know it. But Discovery doesn’t go anywhere near Jupiter. Even at perigee—er, perijove—it’s much too high to be affected by atmospheric drag."

"I’ve already said enough to get me exiled to my dacha again—and you might not be allowed to visit me next time. So just ask your tracking people to do their job more carefully, will you? And remind them that Jupiter has the biggest magnetosphere in the Solar System."

I understand what you’re driving at—many thanks. Anything else before we go down? I’m starting to freeze.

Don’t worry, old friend. As soon as you let all this filter through to Washington—wait a week or so until I’m clear—things are going to get very, very hot.

2. THE HOUSE OF THE DOLPHINS

The dolphins swam into the dining room every evening, just before sunset. Only once since Floyd had occupied the Chancellor’s residence had they broken their routine. That was the day of the ’05 tsunami—which, fortunately, had lost most of its power before it reached Hilo. The next time his friends failed to turn up on schedule, Floyd would throw the family into the car and head for high ground, in the general direction of Mauna Kea.

Charming though they were, he had to admit that their playfulness was sometimes a nuisance. The wealthy marine geologist who had designed the house had never minded getting wet because he usually wore bathing trunks—or less. But there had been one unforgettable occasion when the entire Board of Regents, in full evening attire, had been sipping cocktails around the pool while awaiting the arrival of a distinguished guest from the mainland. The dolphins had deduced, correctly, that they would get second billing. So the visitor was quite surprised to be greeted by a bedraggled reception committee in ill-fitting bathrobes—and the buffet had been very salty.

Floyd often wondered what Marion would have thought of his strange and beautiful home on the edge of the Pacific. She had never liked the sea, but the sea had won in the end. Though the image was slowly fading, he could still recall the flashing screen on which he had first read the words: DR. FLOYD—URGENT AND PERSONAL. And then the scrolling lines of fluorescent print that had swiftly burned their message into his mind: REGRET TO INFORM YOU LONDON—WASHINGTON FLIGHT 452 REPORTED DOWN OFF NEWFOUNDLAND. RESCUE CRAFT PROCEEDING TO LOCATION BUT FEAR NO SURVIVORS.

Apart from an accident of fate, he would have been on that flight. For a few days, he had almost regretted the European Space Administration business that had delayed him in Paris; that haggle over the Solaris payload had saved his life.

And now, he had a new job, a new home—and a new wife. Fate had also played an ironic role here. The recriminations and inquiries over the Jupiter mission had destroyed his Washington career, but a man of his ability was never unemployed for long. The more leisurely tempo of university life had always appealed to him, and when combined with one of the world’s most beautiful locations it had proved irresistible. He had met the woman who was to be his second wife only a month after he had been appointed, while watching the fire fountains of Kilauea with a crowd of tourists.

With Caroline he had found the contentment that is just as important as happiness, and longer lasting. She had been a good stepmother to Marion’s two daughters, and had given him Christopher. Despite the twenty-year age difference between them, she understood his moods and could wean him out of his occasional depressions. Thanks to her, he could now contemplate the memory of Marion without grief, though not without a wistful sadness that would remain with him for the rest of his life.

Caroline was throwing fish to the largest dolphin—the big male they called Scarback—when a gentle tickling on Floyd’s wrist announced an incoming call. He tapped the slim metal band to quench the silent alarm and forestall the audible one, then walked to the nearest of the comsets scattered around the room.

Chancellor here. Who’s calling?

Heywood? This is Victor. How are you?

In a fraction of a second, a whole kaleidoscope of emotions flashed through Floyd’s mind. First there was annoyance: his successor—and, he was sure, principal contriver of his down-fall—had never once attempted to contact him since his departure from Washington. Then came curiosity: what did they have to talk about? Next was a stubborn determination to be as unhelpful as possible, then shame at his own childishness, and, finally, a surge of excitement. Victor Millson could be calling for only one reason.

In as neutral a voice as he could muster, Floyd answered: I can’t complain, Victor. What’s the problem?

Is this a secure circuit?

No, thank God. I don’t need them anymore.

Um. Well, I’ll put it this way. You recall the last project you administered?

I’m not likely to forget, especially as the Subcommittee on Astronautics called me back to give more evidence only a month ago.

Of course, of course. I really must get around to reading your statement, when I have a moment. But I’ve been so busy with the follow-up, and that’s the problem.

I thought that everything was right on schedule.

"It is—unfortunately. There’s nothing we can do to advance it; even the highest priority would make only a few weeks’ difference. And that means we’ll be too late."

I don’t understand, said Floyd innocently. Though we don’t want to waste time, of course, there’s no real deadline.

Now there is—are. Two of them.

You amaze me.

If Victor noticed any irony, he ignored it. "Yes, there are two deadlines—one man-made, one not. It now turns out that we won’t be the first to get back to the—er, scene of the action. Our old rivals will beat us by at least a year."

Too bad.

That’s not the worst. Even if there were no competition, we’d be too late. There wouldn’t be anything there when we arrive.

That’s ridiculous. I’m sure I’d have heard if Congress had repealed the law of gravitation.

I’m serious. The situation isn’t stable—I can’t give details now. Will you be in for the rest of the evening?

Yes, Floyd answered, realizing with some pleasure that it must now be well after midnight in Washington.

Good. You’ll have a package delivered within the hour. Call me back as soon as you’ve had the time to study it.

Won’t it be rather late by then?

Yes, it will be. But we’ve wasted too much time already. I don’t want to lose any more.

Millson was true to his word. Exactly an hour later a large sealed envelope was delivered by an Air Force colonel, no less, who sat patiently chatting with Caroline while Floyd read its contents. I’m afraid I’ll have to take it away when you’ve finished, the high-ranking messenger boy said apologetically.

I’m glad to hear it, Floyd answered, as he settled down in his favorite reading hammock.

There were two documents, the first very short. It was stamped TOP SECRET, though the TOP had been crossed out and the modification endorsed by three signatures, all completely illegible. Obviously an extract from some much longer report, it had been heavily censored and was full of blanks, which made it most annoying to read. Fortunately, its conclusions could be summed up in one sentence: The Russians would reach Discovery long before its rightful owners could do so. As Floyd already knew this, he turned quickly to the second document—though not before noticing with satisfaction that this time they’d managed to get the name right. As usual, Dimitri had been perfectly accurate. The next manned expedition to Jupiter would travel aboard spacecraft Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.

The second document was much longer and was merely confidential; indeed, it was in the form of a draft letter to Science, awaiting final approval before publication. Its snappy title was "Space Vehicle Discovery: Anomalous Orbital Behavior."

Then followed a dozen pages of mathematics and astronomical tables. Floyd skimmed through these, picking out the words from the music, and trying to detect any note of apology or even embarrassment. When he had finished, he was compelled to give a smile of wry admiration. No one could possibly guess that the tracking stations and ephemeris calculators had been caught by surprise, and that a frantic cover-up was in progress. Heads would doubtless roll, and he knew that Victor Millson would enjoy rolling them—if his was not one of the first to go. Though to do him justice, Victor had complained when Congress had cut funds for the tracking network. Maybe that would get him off the hook.

Thank you, Colonel, said Floyd when he had finished skimming the papers. "Quite like old times, having classified documents. That’s one thing I don’t miss."

The colonel placed the envelope carefully back in his briefcase, and activated the locks.

Dr. Millson would like you to return his call as soon as possible.

I know. But I don’t have a secure circuit, I’ve some important visitors coming shortly, and I’m damned if I’m driving down to your office in Hilo just to say I’ve read two documents. Tell him that I’ve studied them carefully and await any further communication with interest.

For a moment it looked as if the colonel was going to argue. Then he thought better of it, made a stiff farewell, and departed morosely into the night.

"Now, what was all that about? asked Caroline. We’re not expecting any visitors tonight, important or otherwise."

I hate being pushed around, particularly by Victor Millson.

Bet he calls you back as soon as the colonel reports.

"Then we must switch off video and make some party noises. But to be perfectly truthful, at this stage I really don’t have anything to say."

"About what, if I’m allowed to ask."

"Sorry, dear. It seems that Discovery is playing tricks on us. We thought the ship was in a stable orbit, but it may be about to crash."

Into Jupiter?

"Oh no—that’s quite impossible. Bowman left it parked at the inner Lagrange point, on the line between Jupiter and Io. It should have stayed there, more or less, though the perturbations of the outer moons would have made it wander back and forth.

"But what’s happening now is something very odd, and we don’t know the full explanation. Discovery’s drifting more and more rapidly toward Io—though sometimes it accelerates, and sometimes even moves backward. If it keeps this up, it will impact within two or three years."

I thought this couldn’t happen in astronomy. Isn’t celestial mechanics supposed to be an exact science? So we poor backward biologists were always being told.

"It is an exact science, when everything is taken into account. But some very strange things go on around Io. Apart from its volcanoes, there are tremendous electrical discharges—and Jupiter’s magnetic field is spinning round every ten hours. So gravitation isn’t the only force acting on Discovery; we should have thought of this sooner—much sooner."

Well, it’s not your problem anymore. You should be thankful for that.

Your problem—the very expression that Dimitri had used. And Dimitri—cunning old fox!—had known him much longer than Caroline.

It might not be his problem, but it was still his responsibility. Though many others had been involved, in the final analysis he had approved the plans for the Jupiter Mission, and supervised their execution.

Even at the time, he had had qualms; his views as a scientist had conflicted with his duties as a bureaucrat. He could have spoken out, and opposed the old administration’s shortsighted policies—though to what extent those had actually contributed to the disaster was still uncertain.

Perhaps it was best if he closed this chapter of his life, and focused all his thoughts and energies upon his new career. But in his heart he knew that was impossible; even if Dimitri had not revived old guilts, they would have surfaced of their own accord.

Four men had died, and one had disappeared, out there among the moons of Jupiter. There was blood on his hands, and he did not know how to wash them clean.

3. SAL 9000

Dr. Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana, also had an abiding sense of guilt, but one very different from Heywood Floyd’s. Those of his students and colleagues who often wondered if the little scientist was quite human would not have been surprised to learn that he never thought of the dead astronauts. Dr. Chandra grieved only for his lost child, HAL 9000.

Even after all these years, and his endless reviews of the data radioed back from Discovery, he was not sure what had gone wrong. He could only formulate theories; the facts he needed were frozen in Hal’s circuits, out there between Jupiter and Io.

The sequence of events had been clearly established, up to the moment of the tragedy; thereafter, Commander Bowman had filled in a few more details on the brief occasions when he had reestablished contact. But knowing what happened did not explain why.

The first hint of trouble had been late in the mission, when Hal had reported the imminent failure of the unit that kept Discovery’s main antenna aligned on Earth. If the half-billion-kilometer-long radio beam wandered off target, the ship would be blind, deaf, and dumb.

Bowman himself had gone out to retrieve the suspect unit, but when it was tested it appeared, to everyone’s surprise, to be in perfectly good order. The automatic checking circuits could find nothing wrong with it. Nor could Hal’s twin, SAL 9000, back on Earth, when the information was transmitted to Urbana.

But Hal had insisted on the accuracy of his diagnosis, making pointed remarks about human error. He had suggested that the control unit be put back in the antenna until it finally failed, so that the fault could be precisely located. No one could think of any objection, for the unit could be replaced in minutes, even if it did break down.

Bowman and Poole, however, had not been happy; they both felt that something was wrong, though neither could pinpoint it. For months they had accepted Hal as the third member of their tiny world, and knew his every mood. Then the atmosphere aboard the ship had subtly altered; there was a sense of strain in the air.

Feeling rather like traitors—as a distraught Bowman had later reported to Mission Control—the

Reviews for 2010

[sf_addict · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fine sequel!

[elviomedeiros_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Worth reading!

[empress8411 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this more than the 2001: A Space Odyssey. I felt it had more action and more dialogue. I liked how the action was the tension among the crew, the danger of space and not the alien-explosion-OMG-WE-GONNA-DIE type that so often gets dumped into books. Clarke's work is a subtle, slower variety. He explores human interactions with each other and the environment, the heart and mind and universe. All in all, it's a story that sticks with you.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

sadly, I think this account of the Russian expedition to discover what happened to the first of the monolith seeking ships, is flat and badly written for a book by Arthur Clarke. One persists in the series out of gratitude for the first book

[pussreboots · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Disappointed that he aligned his sequels with the films, rather than keeping the plot centered on Saturn.

[myopicbookworm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As one might expect, some great ideas in the realm of science; but the cosmic scenario is familiar to readers of Olaf Stapledon (or even H. G Wells), and the narrative is essentially driven by the scientific and technological plot. This gives a sense that the characterization (I wouldn't grace it with the term "character development") has been bolted on afterwards and (apart from openly acknowledging a bisexual character) hasn't moved on much from the 1960s.MB 12-vi-2013

[jgolomb_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"2010 - Odyssey Two" is a strong sequel to Arthur C. Clarke's renowned "2001 - A Space Odyssey". The story is well-crafted and the plot moves briskly, which makes for an enjoyable read. It's not deep on character development, and the action is infrequent, but delivered smartly and purposefully to provide the fuel for an interesting plot, expansive exposition of space, and exploration of key themes. Like the first novel, Clarke crafts his story and writing very deliberately to create a heavy and epic atmosphere. His primary theme revolves around evolution, and builds upon the mythology he created in "2001" by expanding on the role played by the unseen aliens in planting and encouraging life throughout the universe, including Earth and elsewhere within our own solar system.He spends just enough time on backstory to refresh readers on the salient points from the first book, but more importantly, provides a legend (within one of two foreword's/author's notes in this specific edition) to where the author followed storylines from his original novel, or from the famous movie which contained slight modifications.And yes, Clarke provides satisfying answers to many of the questions left without conclusion in the first book and movie.Clarke returns Dr. Heywood Floyd in this space-traveling saga, but this time in the lead role. He and two other Americans join a Russian crew aboard a starship headed to Jupiter to connect with the presumably abandoned and derelict 'Discovery', obtain information about the Monolith and find out what happened to lost crewman Dave Bowman. Dr. Floyd is a strong lead and the most three-dimensional of all characters in the story. His motivation for leaving his family on the very long journey: "Four men had died, and one had disappeared, out there among the moons of Jupiter. There was blood on his hands, and he did not know how to wash them clean."The trademark of great storytelling is the ability to convey ideas and themes through demonstration rather than outright telling. As a reader, I'd rather come to understand a characters' nature and motivations through the demonstration of certain behaviors and backstory, rather than be spoon-fed and literally told of one's characteristics. Clarke does a nice job of layering on the flesh of Dr. Floyd early in the story, and continuing to build as the plot progresses. None of the other characters on board the Russian craft are more than two dimensional, which increases the focus of the novel on Floyd, Star-Child/Post-Human Dave Bowman, and perhaps the story's central character: Jupiter and its moons.Among the Americans is Dr. Chandra, the parent/inventor of HAL9000, the 'Discovery's' near-sentient ship-computer that killed its original crew, which led Bowman to decommission its' cognizance. Chandra plays a key role as he works to restart HAL with the hope that he can help guide the ship back to earth, but also to shed light on why it developed the compu-psychoses that led to its' violent behavior. Chandra is drawn as the lovingly patient and near-obsessed parent focused on nurturing his lost child. The relationship between Chandra and HAL generate some terrific scenes throughout the book as HALs personality reemerges, including the first time it awakens from it's 9-year-long sleep: "Good morning, Dr. Chandra. This is Hal. I am ready for my first lesson." Dr. Floyd notices and comments on Dr. Chandra's work: "...to watch the steady regrowth of Hal's personality, from brain-damaged child to puzzled adolescent and at length to slightly condescending adult." "(It's like) disturbed youngsters were straightened out by all-wise descendants of the legendary Sigmund Freud! Essentially the same story was being played out in the shadow of Jupiter." The Chandra-HAL relationship creates tension within the plot as the crew can never fully trust HAL following his behavior in "2001"."2001" concluded with the Monolith's aliens shedding Bowman of his human form and 'raising' him up to a being that needs no real form, but exists as pure energy. This evolved Bowman returns in "2010" and acts as Clarke's guide to Jupiter and it's moons. He uses Bowman's exploration as a means to delve into the physical nature of those celestial bodies and postulation on what life could exist in those extreme environments. The exposition is detailed and written with a poetic flourish.Bowman is the evolutionary result of the experiments performed on the pre human man-apes by the Monolith millions of years ago, and famously portrayed in the original movie. In "2010", he becomes aware of how the alien beings introduced life and evolution throughout the universe, and monitor their progression over millions of years. These aliens are, for all intents and purposes, God. Clarke writes that the aliens, "...in all the galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind, they encouraged its dawning everywhere. They became farmers in the fields of stars; they sowed, and sometimes they reaped." More ominously, he continues, "And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed."

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In brief, this is the continuation of the tale begun in 2001 - A Space Odyssey. Perhaps it's not as revolutionary as 2001 but for me it made clear some of the scenes in that book. But I've loved everything this man has written so I'm not an impartial judge.

[razinha-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A much more enjoyable read than 2001, I should give it 5 stars, but no. Whereas Clarke was excellent at the science of his fiction, I have never liked his waxing philosophical. I just don't like the Bowman scenes here (and even less the "Through the Stargate" section of 2001).

But, it's still a good book.

[aethercowboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first sequel to Clarke's stunning Space Odyssey series, 2010 takes us on a second journey to the distant Solar worlds. In a retroactive change, instead of Saturn, Discovery One is now floating around Jupiter.Floyd, from the first book, as well as Chandra and several soviet cosmonauts, set off on a journey to Jupiter to investigate what happened to Bowman when his transmissions ceased.It is here that they discover more than just an abandoned space ship. They discover an event that will change the Solar system as they know it.This book brings more insight into the Star Child, as well as a glimpse into extra terrestrial intelligence. Clark is able to write convincing characters dealing with plausible science problems, and his books never cease to be entertaining. I recommend this book to you if you enjoyed the first one, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nope, there shouldn't have been a sequel to 2001. Leaving aside the fact that this book uses the events of the movie as its background rather than the events of the previous novel (did Clarke think Kubrick was a better author than he?), this book is anti-climactic. One of the great appeals of 2001 was the aura of mystery. Not everything was explained. The reader was left to guess what this next leap in the evolution of mankind was about. 2010: Odyssey Two brings it all back to the mundane. This book was well-enough written, but that's not enough to make up for what it does to our sense of 2001.

[andyray_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Again, as in the first book, the prose helped me understand things the movie did not.. Methinks I am vowing to read the book before I see the movie. The tremendous difference between reading the story and watching the story is in the former case you, the reader, imagine the visuals. In effect, the tone, temper, color, and persausions of the story are yours. In a film, or other visual, this is all done for you, which is why there is a vocation (that pays fairly well) called a casting director. This person makes sure Dom Delouise doesn't wind up playing Hamlet when he would make a much better Ophelia.In this story, astronaut Frank Bowman (last heard from as being incorporated into a spiritual entity) returns to our solar system to review his life, say goodby to mom and girlfriend, and help old friends return to earth before his string-handlers (those who created and control him, so to speak) turn Jupiter into a second sun. Neato. I can't wait to see what Clarke cooks up in Odyssey Three!

[rufty_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I can't remember anything of the movie it has been so long since I have seen it, so...This is not a sequel to the book 2001; it is the sequel to the movie 2001. This is an important difference because just having read 2001 the day before, that even with the foreword explaining this I was a bit put out by the fact that things had shifted from Saturn to Jupiter. This I can accept and deal with, the only issue I have with this is that there were a few details of what happened with HAL that were different between the 2001 movie and the book that now being more familiar with the book left me confused.Therefore if you are to read this and are not fluent with the film 2001 I suggest you watch it before reading this.Now onto the book itself.Uninspiring. I worry that people new to science fiction will read something like this and be put off. Yes it's average hard sci-fi, but nothing really stood out as being that interesting. I guess the reason I was unimpressed is because the characterisation was really nothing much to write about; there was no exceptional sense of mystery that wasn't blatantly engineered.On it's good points I liked the description of the Europan life forms, I was hoping more development would be done on this, but seemingly as part of some grander scheme Clarke had in mind, this was left undeveloped.

[ck2935 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book and I also really enjoyed the movie. You have to read the books though to really capture what is going on.

[unforgiven_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best of the four "Odyssey" books by Clarke, I think. I couldn't put it down, and was slightly saddened when it was over. Easily a staple for anyone with any appreciation for good science fiction.

[hopeevey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have mixed feelings about this book. Given that title, it should be a sequel to the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's not. It's more a semi-sequel to the movie of the same name. Where the novel and the book differ, 2010 follows the movie, expect where it changes things to make this novel more consistent. Since it's been a long time since I've seen the movie, I'm not aware of what those differences are.

Clark's writing continues to be quite beautiful. He has the rare combination of being both an excellent scientist, and an evocative writer. He describes the extra-terrestrial places and events both accurately, and evocatively. I would happily hand this book to someone with no science background; I think it would be very clear what's going on, and may well spark an interest in astronomy and space travel.

As long as Mr. Clark focuses on extraordinary people, his characters are great. In this novel, since the action almost entirely take place off-planet, he avoids having to write about ordinary people, which isn't his strong suit.

The storyline is very good in this novel, and even the more fantastical elements are believable. I'm most impressed with the ending - other novels by Mr. Clark end with more of a whimper than a bang, but this one ends well. It's not a neat and tidy wrap up of all loose ends, but it is a very satisfying ending.

[adam3bullen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

good book, got this one after reading 2001, but thought 2001 was better, althought i liked the way the 2nd sun 'lucifer' was created.

[dirtpriest_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a novel, 2001 is by far the best of the series, the other books simply relay certain events of a future that is completely believeable and realistic. As individual books, though, the sequels are lagging in the quality department, relative to 2001. That one should be required reading for anyone who considers themselves a SF fan, but the sequels exist only for the readers interested enough to see what a genius like Clark can imagine.2010 tells the story of the monoliths activating and creating a new sun out of Jupiter (sort of a spoiler, but I felt like I had read the book before somewhere the whole time and knew it was going to happen. Just not how. Oh yeah, and showing how the Russians and Americans can cooperate...An odd thing to quantify, how to phrase a recommendation of the series. They are good stories from a great imagination, but if SF isn't your cup of tea then the sequels are honestly best left at the bookstore. They are simply a vehicle for his idea of a future world of space faring and space living humans, really.

[jolerie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

...And because in all the galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind, they encouraged its dawning everywhere. They became farmers in the fields of stars; they sowed, and sometimes they reaped.And sometimes, dispassionately, they had to weed. Heywood Floyd and a crew of Russian astronauts are on a mission to the outer reaches of our solar system to retrieve a dilapidated spaceship and to salvage whatever information that was left behind by the long dead crew of the Discovery. Furthermore, they are to monitor and study the twin monolith, dubbed Big Brother that has been circulating Jupiter since the discovery of an exact replica was unearthed on Earth's moon. The mission should be a routine event with their objectives clearly defined and outlined by mission control on earth but everything begins to unravel when Floyd receives an ominous warning from a crew member on the Discovery, who should by all accounts be dead. With an unknown threat forcing the team to abort the mission early, the crew of the Russian spaceship Leonov unexpectedly become front row spectators in the cataclysmic destruction of Jupiter and the creation of a new star within our own solar system. The question of whether we are truly alone in the universe is answered; the answer a loud and resounding no.The second instalment of Odyssey series is just as good, if not better than 2001: A Space Odyssey. Questions and mysteries left unanswered in the first book are explained in 2010, but like any compelling story, events that transpire in the book lead us to ask even more questions. The subtle presence of an intelligence higher than our own creates an enjoyable tension that undoubtedly will leave me searching for the explanations in the subsequent followup books in the series. I have a sense, the journey is just beginning and I can't wait to see how Clarke will resolve the age old question - are we alone, and if we are not, who is out there and what do they want with us?

[thetwods · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sequel more to the film of 2001: A Space Odyssey than to the accompanying novel, 2010 returns us to Jupiter in an attempt to recover the abandoned spaceship Discovery and attempt to determine what went wrong with HAL, what happened to astronaut David Bowman and to investigate the monolith. Along the way we discover life on Europa and almost supernatural events begin to occur.While this novel includes some of Clarke's trademark "big ideas" about science and the future, this is more of a plot driven thriller set in space than a philosophizing meditation on the nature of humanity. True, questions about what it means to be human, in relationship to the artificial intelligence of HAL, do arise, but seem secondary to the narrative propelling the plot. Not that there's anything wrong with that.Fans of the original book and film will appreciate and enjoy this sequel, though those familiar with the film made from this book will find several details changed, the largest being the state of near-war between the US and USSR in the film does not exist in the book.While not nearly the masterpiece of science fiction which 2001 was, 2010 is a captivating sequel told in a fast pace and easy-going voice. Recommended for fans of good quality science fiction, though most of them have probably read it.

[valleyguy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good follow up to the first book. The first is s masterpiece without any real character development, while this book is not a masterpiece, it has much better character development and was very enjoyable to read. I was confused at first why the author chose Jupiter for the site of the book, rather than Saturn like the first book did, but then I read the foreword, where Clarke explains that he made this change to both match the movie and current scientific knowledge. This didn't detract any from the book. It was still smart, fascinating and fun to read.

[baubie_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this to be a wonderful sequel to 2001. I enjoy Clarke's writing style and I enjoy that this novel really highlights the SCIENCE in science fiction without becoming gimmicky or name dropping. I'm looking forward to reading 2061 and 3001 after reading this.

[anagarika0sean · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great book in the series. Does not disappoint.

[unclebob53703 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent sequel, considerably better than the so-so sequel to the movie.

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of the Russian-American mission to Jupiter to retrieve the Discovery, find out why HAL went crazy, and study the huge monolith orbiting Io. It's an interesting story, but padded out by too many passages lifted directly from "2001: A Space Odyssey". There is even a passage describing the four largest moons of Jupiter that occurs twice, almost unchanged; first when the Leonov arrives, and again when the Star Child visits the same moons. It just seems a bit lazy to me.

[johncf1018_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good book which closely follows the structure, if not the content, of its predecessor. It's actually based on the version of events which takes place in the movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey which are significantly different than the events in the book. This slight schizophrenia aside, the book is a solid work that presents a solid, otherwise hard scifi story with just a hint of the fantastic. Despite the very similar structure it avoids mere repetition. I enjoyed but did not love this book.

[cleverusername2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Earlier this year I made a vow to read all of the Space Odyssey books before 2010. I'm very glad I could revisit this particular book which I read halfway as s teenager, as the movie version is one of my favorite science fiction films of all time. 2010 has more action and dramatic tension than its predecessor. Clarke really got it right this time. Contrasted with the characters from 2001 Floyd, Curnow, and the other Russian and American characters seem more like real people with real feelings. There is a scene involving a Chinese astronaut stranded on the Jovian moon Europa that is particularly heartbreaking. There is also a payout where we learn more about Bowman's transformation and he too seems a more complex feeling creature in Odyssey Two. I'm a big fan of hard science fiction, where all of the futuristic content can be backed up by solid science or speculation on future technologies. Here we are presented with a story where orbital physics, propellant use and launch windows are major plot points. You won’t get that in Star Wars or Trek. It is also interesting to me that this is a sequel to the movie version of 2001 : a space odyssey rather than the print version, as the location of the second Monolith is Jupiter orbit rather than on a Saturnian moon. It is interesting to compare 2010 to its own movie version. The movie revs up the plot more by making the Monolith more sinister (it takes the life of a cosmonaut) which always kind of bothered me because it didn't jive with the relatively benevolent motives of the finale. Also, the book amps up the Russian-American political tensions back on Earth with a steadily escalating blockade and nuclear war. Politics just doesn't interest Clarke too much beyond some subtle needling that you would expect from a cosmopolitan man of science who is used to working with experts from all nations. As with 2001 it really helps to read the book to get a clearer glimpse of the alien intelligences involved. I highly recommend Odyssey Two.

[5hrdrive · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It slows down about half way through but picks up again towards the end. Amazing how much Arthur Clark got right about modern technology all those years ago.

[nadineeg-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

More explanation on the black rectangles.

[aug3zimm-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one is definitely less polished and sharp than the first one. It seems to show its age a bit more, too, particularly with character attitudes. There was also a note of condescension, I think. Not sure if that was just because one of the main characters were just kind of a dick or if it was from the overall slightly misogynist and outdated views of the author (but it was written a long time ago, so I'm just gonna gloss over it.) Speaking of characters, there were a bit too many - I kept getting them confused. Also, I was constantly annoyed that the book follows MOVIE cannon, not the first book. WTF. No seriously. WTF. Who does that? But I'm still gonna read the next one.