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Summary
Summary
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. From the Paperback edition.
Author Notes
Arthur C. Clarke was born in Minehead, Somerset, England, on December 16, 1917. During World War II, he served as a radar specialist in the RAF. His first published piece of fiction was Rescue Party and appeared in Astounding Science, May 1946. He graduated from King's College in London with honors in physics and mathematics, and worked in scientific research before turning his attention to writing fiction.
His first book, Prelude to Space, was published in 1951. He is best known for his book 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was later turned into a highly successful and controversial film under the direction of Stanley Kubrick. His other works include Childhood's End, Rendezvous with Rama, The Garden of Rama, The Snows of Olympus, 2010: A Space Odyssey II, 2062: Odyssey III, and 3001: The Final Odyssey. During his lifetime, he received at least three Hugo Awards and two Nebula Awards. He died of heart failure on March 19, 2008 at the age of 90.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Kirkus Review
Clarke's Odyssey yarns, like Herbert's Dune and Asimov's Foundation, have been self-perpetuating if, thus far, unimpressive. The far superior Kubrick movie overshadowed 2001; 2010 was inventive but flatly undramatic. This, happily, is the most gripping and stimulating entry to date. Savvy readers will be tipped off by the title date: yes, Halley's comet is returning to the inner solar system. Aboard state-of-the-art spaceship Universe, a crew of scientists--including Heywood Floyd, now ancient but still fit, thanks to years of low-gravity living--will rendezvous with, and land on, Halley's comet. Meanwhile, astronomers in the Jupiter system observe the appearance of a huge, enigmatic mountain on the moon Europa. (Readers will recall that, in 2010, the intelligence controlling the ubiquitous monoliths turned Jupiter into a mini-sun in order to foster the development of intelligent life on Europa; humans were warned to keep off.) Then, a ship touring the Jovian moons is forced to crash-land on Europa by a fanatical Afrikaner saboteur. Why? Well, the embittered, vengeful Afrikaners (booted out of South Africa) have learned that the mountain on Europa is made of--pure diamond! (An irresistible prize as far as the Afrikaners are concerned.) Ship Universe speeds to the rescue--but what of the ban against landing on Europa? Will the still-mysterious, immensely powerful monoliths interfere? With starchild Dave Bowman and computer Hal waiting in the wings, Clarke provides intriguing and satisfying answers. The all-round best Odyssey so far. Indeed, Clarke, with an absorbing blend of scientific extrapolation and events that generate their own tension, has returned to something like Vintage form after years in the fictional doldrums. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Heywood Floyd, now the oldest man alive, is aboard a spaceship that races to the rescue of a sistership stranded on Europa, the one world denied to humankind in the last message from the alien Monoliths. Third in the series that began with 2001: Space Odyssey. [BKL N 1 87 Upfront]
Library Journal Review
Fifty years after the alien message forbidding humans to approach the moon Europa, an expedition to Halley's Comet is forced to violate the prohibition in the name of mercy. Though lacking the lyrical prose of The Songs of Distant Earth , Clarke's latest addition to the story begun in 2001: a space odyssey will entertain fans of the ``black monolith.'' For large sf collections. JC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
