Rating: 
Summary: A superb book, far better than the movie
Review: Kubrick's movie was groundbreaking, original and did a lot to establish space movies as a genre. But, like most post-Strangelove Kubrick, it did so at the expense of a narrative. In the book, Clarke takes care of such mundane matters as givign the reader an idea of what's going on. Indeed, the book is more visionary than the movie in many ways. Clarke's brief discussion of the aliens' history -- from biological creatures, to robotic intelligences, to something far greater -- is the sort of thing Ray Kurzweil writes happily about (and Bill Joy writes unhappily about) today. But Clarke wrote it over 30 years ago. As usual, he was ahead of his time.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Science Fiction
Review: This novel is a work of genius. As with all other Clarke novels there is an underlying theme that is very thought-provoking, but it never gets in the way of the story. And the story itself is mesmerizing. It's sort of hard to get into at first (most good sci-fi books are), but read just a little bit more into it and the story gets very interesting indeed, it is nearly impossible to put the book down! I especially think the awe-inspiring, confusing, and somehwhat disturbing ending is an absolute work of genius. So many surreal images thrown at you at once that you don't know what to think! Another thing I love about this book is that it is incredibly funny. You are probably shaking your head at this, as to my knowledge, no one else has ever mentioned it. But I laughed out loud multiple times while reading this book. I guess you have to be a "nerd" to "get" the "jokes".
Rating:
Summary: ever the classic
Review: Clarke expanded this from his short story "The Sentinel," and it's among the best "first contact" scenarios, having as it does quite a mystical feel to it. (Clarke is an atheist who somehow always packs his novels with spiritual imagery. Hm!)
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling
Review: From a freshman: I thought this book was a story that can't be put down. You just keep reading and reading. I liked it because it made your mind dart to different conclusions every sentence. it linked the evolution of man with finding signs of civilization on Saturn. All in all, this book was one of the best I've read.
Rating:
Summary: 2001: An author's view
Review: I thought that the book was excellent. I gave it four stars for many reasons, which include the suspense, the way the author used his imagination, and for the description. To start, this book was written a long time ago. Man had just walked on the moon, and from there space exploration had no limits. Clarke had an image of what he thought the world would be like thirty years from when he lived. He saw people living on the moon and flights that took less than an to dock with a space station. It is fun to read how he portrayed what he thought today would be like. The second thing is the suspense. It keeps you reading and you just can't wait to see what happens. What is HAL going to do next? It is a real "on the edge of your seat" type book. I never saw the movie, but I would recommend seeing it after reading the book. Finally, the description of everything. He describes everything so well. From going to the bathroom in space, to what they found on the moon, you get a clear picture of what is going on in your head. He uses words very nicely. I took one star for only one reason. That was the dragging of the book. It kind of contributes to the suspense. It takes so long from one scene to the next. There is, I thought, a lot of unneeded information. Like the part when he is reading the newspaper on the plane. Overall, I thought it was a good book and I recommend it to anyone. 5-9-00
Rating:
Summary: Hubble Telescope Look Out
Review: I think the book was right on. It expresses the Space based mentality of Area 51 with the concept of pet dolphins and youngsters seeing their father take to space and get messages over video cameras until they are their parents age. Going to Jupiter isn't like going to Mars. Taking a life time. A little premature because in real life we're still checking out Mars. Sooner or later the Cuban fiasco or the Chinese fiasco or the Russian Fiasco will cause us to require our Government to go into defensive paranoid mode. hence the adventure 2001. Seven months left y'all.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: This book has to be the best book I have ever read. It portrays the future in the way we all wish it could be, traveling to the moon daily, and talking with computers as if they were people. I recomend it to any one who wonders what is possible in the future if we want it enough.
Rating:
Summary: A classic Si-fi novel
Review: 2001 is a book about exploring hummities origens and what our purpose in the universe is. Clark shows us a world that is on the end of its life and shows how mankind is going to destroy each other and are time on earth is limited. This right here takes reference from the Time Machine written by H.G. Wells. The world of 2001 is a one that no one cares about the future or past of their origens. Clarks theory that aliens helped our ape ancestors is out there but rember in the introduction Clark said "The truth is always stranger." Some say that this book is for teenagers you are lost but this is a book that will stimulate your thought a make you question how did mankind come about. As for the people who say that a computer like the HAL 9000 is impossible I would like to say something to them. Nothing is impossible it is impreable that something like that will happen in our lifetime but sometime in the future it might happen. We will never know if that is the truth but look at how fare technolgy has come in few years. In conclusion I say buy the book and jugde it for yourself. You can not waste anything by reading.
Rating:
Summary: Why 2001 is more than Science Fiction
Review: If you are looking for entertainment, don't go here. If you are looking for insite into the human mind, and how destructive it is, this IS the book for you. I hear people say all the time that this book is dry, and boring, and not worth reading, but I also find that these people are complete ediots! This is THE BEST book I have ever read. The symbolism and ideas presented are wonderful! If you want something out of a book that is more than entertainment, read this. If not, I hear Mother Goose is pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Book, but nowhere near as "great" as its reputation
Review: While I consider the Kubrick film one of the most profound, hypnotic, beautiful, and astonishing movies ever made, I never got around to reading the Clarke book until a few days ago. Since it is a short novel written in a conventional narrative style, I read it in just an hour or two. While Clarke's expansion on life at "The Dawn of Man" is gripping and imaginative, and the descriptions as a whole are phenomenal, this story is much more impressive in the film. One of the major problems with the book are the utterly flat, dull characters. Clarke may be a master conceptualist of the Infinite, but his understandings of the ordinary human mind are a bit vague. Every character in the book serves a strictly narrative function and no more. Dave Bowman has to be one of the blandest main characters in modern fiction, Frank Poole and Dr. Floyd are no more than ciphers, and the remaining inhabitants of the book are basically a string of names and no more. I know that Kubrick deliberately exploited this aspect of the story in the film, exaggerating the banality of human interactions beneath the shimmering veneer of our advanced technologies (and suggesting as well that not much has changed in the day-to-day activities of the human race since its earliest times) to underscore the idea that humanity has become stagnant and is ready for the next "phase". Frankly, both Kubrick and Clarke are guilty of exalting an abstract idea of "humanity" (which, I must say, does not really seem to include women) or "mankind" over the messy, emotional and fleshly reality that is our lot. Ultimately, I found this book very disturbing for the following reasons: its blatant worship of authority and technology, and its impoverished view of human relationships. It is no wonder that Clarke's book still resonates with confused adolescents: this is the perfect book for insecure, alienated teen-agers who really don't want to grow up and become part of the human race. Nevertheless, I do give the book 4 stars because of the vastness and intelligence of its concept - there aren't that many popular novels which make you think about the enormity of the universe. I just wish that Clarke's vision of the ultimate in human potential did not entail total submission to one dominant male or another.
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