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2001: A Space Odyssey
: You're the capatin of the ship 'Discovery' on your
way to Saturn; to find something that holds a 3 million year old secret. Your actions in this voyage will determine the fate of humanity, and yours as well. Arthur C. Clark paints a world of the furture that is about to find out the answere to a question humans have asked for years; are we alone in the universe?
After reading Arthur C. Clarke's short story 'The Sentinal,' filmaker Stanely Kubrick enlisted the author's aide in creating what he deemed the 'perverbial good science-fiction movie.' The result of this great collaberation was '2001: A Space Odyssey.' The novel, which came out after the movie but was created at the same time, is a stirring tale of human evolution, exploration, and hope. The story begins with our ape-like progenitors and their discovery of a odd object- a black monolith, that boosts their IQ to a level that will promote thier evolution. Fast forward three million years: NASA discovers a strange object- a black monolith, buried beneath the lunar surface. When the sun hits it for the first time in three million years it sends a signal across the solar system. The expedition that follows is filled with hope, but will it succeed? The novel does have several minor differences from the 1968 film- for instance the planet of destination is Saturn, not Jupiter. But if you have seen the film and are a little confused as to what the monolith is and just what transformation the astronaut Bowman underwent, the book will answer you questions. A marvel of science-ficton!
 Written _after_ the film was made, the book has one major advantage: it contains something of the intended ending that Kubrick was never able to film. All that slit-scan and hotel room footage at the end was intended to substitute for the realistic alien creatures Kubrick was never able to achieve. Now that there is CGI, maybe he'll come out with a "Special Edition"... For better "First Contact" novels, try "The Mote in God's Eye" by Niven and Pournelle (with Heinlein ghostwriting!), or "Rendezvous with Rama" by Clarke
This is the bible of sci-fi. Almost like a holy book for every sci-fi fan. And everyone should read this. This is a masterpiece... Let me get started. I'm little over 14 now, and I readed this book two years ago and still I haven't forgotten it. It isn't long; well, it is a first part of a trilogy; but it'll enlarge your mind. This is a thinking man's book. I can't quite compare the movie to this; they're both good in their own ways ( I found the movie still a bit boring compared to the book ), but this wonderfully creates images to your mind. This could be real; in the near future. And questions like What is life? Why do we want to explore outer space? How can life last and why has it always been? awakes. I readed this book in two days; and I readed it again the very instance; second time trying to understand certain parts of the book. But still they remain mystery and so they should. Buy this book, or loan it from the library; either way read this at least twice. Only one read isn't fair to this story. It is the odysseus of the 21th century. eye of life opens. And first sight it sees is a mystery. What's the monolith. Still, after thousands of generations and technology we'll never know. Well, maybe I should read this again. And so I will.
Well, unlike some of the others here, I don't consider it to be one of the greatest sci-fi books ever written or anything like that. (Childhood's End might qualify...) However, it IS a solid sci-fi book, not to mention novellization of the movie. Standing on its own, it's a bit dry, but raises some interesting questions. Mostly having to do with the Monolith and those that created it. However, it is best read as a sort of guide to the movie. It certainly won't answer all the questions, NOTHING will ever do that, but it will give you a lot better idea what's going on in some cases. However, don't take what he says to be fact. After all, when he wrote it, they were still going to send the Discovery to Saturn. (until they realized what a pain making its rings would be) And the ending, I think, is way too literal, although I have no idea how you could have a writen equivilent of the movie's purely visual end. Incidentally, if you ask me, the key to understanding the movie is noting that
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