2001

A Space Odyssey

Paperback, 297 pages

English language

Published Sept. 1, 2000 by Roc.

ISBN:
9780451457998
OCLC Number:
131430416

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (113 reviews)

From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man ventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

This allegory about humanity’s exploration of the universe—and the universe’s reaction to humanity—is a hallmark achievement in storytelling that follows the crew of the spacecraft Discovery as they embark on a mission to Saturn. Their vessel is controlled by HAL 9000, an artificially intelligent supercomputer capable of the highest level of cognitive functioning that rivals—and perhaps threatens—the human mind.

Grappling with space exploration, the perils of technology, and the limits of human power, 2001: A Space Odyssey continues to be an enduring classic of cinematic scope.

73 editions

Review of '2001' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

As someone who has been reading SF/F since about 13 or so, I find it strange that this is the first time I've read this book. Yet, I'm glad I hadn't until now. If I had read it at an earlier age, I would not have understood it--heck, I barely understood it now, at the ripe old age of 20!--and might have been turned off speculative fiction. I both hated and loved this book. I loved it because the ideas were intriguing and the writing was well done enough that I was able to read this book in two days, with a longish break in-between for life. I hated the book because it was slow-going and because it made my head hurt with its abstract ideas. I haven't seen the movie and I think I'll pick it up sometime in the near future. Clarke definitely had some interesting notions about …

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Subjects

  • Computers
  • Space vehicles
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Twenty-first century
  • HAL (Fictitious character)
  • Film novelizations
  • Science fiction
  • High interest-low vocabulary books

Lists