Unknown Binding
English language
Published April 5, 1989 by Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media.
A re-visitation of the imaginative future painted by Arthur C. Clarke in his previous two books [2001: A Space Odyssey][1] and [2010: Odyssey two][2].
Two expeditions into space are inextricably tangled by human necessity and the immutable laws of physics. Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths must once again confront David Bowman - or whatever Bowman has become - a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race that has decided Humanity is to play a part in the Evolution of the Galaxy whether it wishes to or not.
[1]: openlibrary.org/works/OL17365W/2001 [2]: openlibrary.org/works/OL17413W/2010
Clarke has a weird way of making adventure simultaneously enthralling and even-keeled. It's his quiet combination of scientific passion and scientific dispassion which keeps the reader going, always wanting to learn more. Highly recommend.
It's such a shame that a series that's started off so strong has gotten so weak. There are far too many characters for such a short book with many of them acting more as one-note gags than people to care about. In a way, I feel like this book acts as the bridge between the second and 3001.
I feel so bad for giving a Clarke novel such a low score, because he really was a tremendously talented writer. I'm hoping that the last book ends the series with a bang rather than a fizzle.
