Rating: 
Summary: imaginative and scary
Review: clarke is great at putting a twist of horror and poetry into the universe unfolding around us in his trilogy of 4 books. i loved 2001 the best but the next two were worthy reads.
Rating:
Summary: Good second part, but not as good as the first one
Review: Although it is a good book, does not equal the first one (2001).
I recommend reading first 2001, cause this book creates the questions you want answered in this second part (and not all of them are answered yet).2010 shows wonderful views and sights of space, specially Jupiter and its moons, that alone makes reading worth it, but, as I said above, it is more enjoyable once you read 2001.
Rating: 
Summary: Clarke at a loss for ideas on 2001 sequel
Review: In the mid-1980s, Arthur C. Clarke expanded the plot lines of his 1968 speculative classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey into a trio of sequels, having, unfortunately, no specific direction or new ideas with which to propel the series. 2001's first unnecessary follow-up, 2010: Odyssey Two, brings back many interesting facets from its predecessor: More information is given on HAL, the onboard computer of the mission, Discovery, whose malfunction had deadly consequences in 2001; new developments occur in the international space race; David Bowman reappears in his star child form and some more big, black monoliths show-up. But the novel lacks the definitive direction of 2001. Half a dozen plot strains swim around but none answer any important questions left unanswered in 2001 or greatly spark the reader's interest. I'm sorry to say that Mr. Clarke was more likely inspired to write additional Odyssey novels by the attention and income drummed-up by the 2001 trademark than any further insights into mankind's enlightenment to the wonders of the universe.
Rating:
Summary: very disappointing
Review: - Attention: Spoilers -
If you find yourself captivated by the mysteriousness of the universe clarke and kubrick created in 2001, then DO NOT read 2010. Having been a fan of 2001 since childhood, I decided to commit myself to reading the books. When I began doing so, an aura of "untouchable coolness" surrounded the 2001 universe. This feeling was shattered by reading the books, especially 2010 and 2061. THe movie 2010 retains the omnipotent mysteriousness of the monolith, the characteristic of the 2001 universe which I feel makes it so great. There are a number of things about this book which annoy me. The first is Clarke's annoying tendency to spoonfeed the reader incredibly dumbed down, and often very corny, explanations for each major event in the story, which never fail to destroy the sense of awe which pervaded the movies. This is obvious in many different parts of the book, but reaches a fever pitch in the end of the book, with statements along the lines of - "wait a second - i think jupiter just turned into a star!" and "I think the monoliths just might be the "swiss army knife" of the galaxy. I almost could not bear reading the final chapter of the book, an unbelievably corny depiction of the thoughts of europan explorers in the year 20,001 on their place in the universe. Clarke also has a tendency to "pitch" scientific ideas to the reader, for no apparent reason, launching into what is essentially an essay on one of his pet topics. The example which sticks out is the "von neumann" mahcine, which served no purpose in furthering the story, but could have had a place in a collection of speculative essays. And lastly, Clarke seems to believe that everyone in the world is part of the scientific community, and that everyone will be able to relate to his nerdy scientist's sense of humor. I find this very annoying. wrapping things up here, I have nothing but the utmost respect for arthur c. clarke as a scientist, and scientific essaysist, as well as his ability to relate science to the reader. However, I think he should stick to the realm of writing essays, and not writing fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Chapter by Chapter
Review: Chapters 1-5 (Leonov) The first five chapters were not very interesting. It basically spoke about how they had created a computer similar to Hal named Sal. They also spoke of news that the people on the first spaceship Discovery were killed and gave assignments to those who were supposed to go back up to Jupiter to find out what went wrong with Discovery. Chapters 6-11 (Tsien) The next six chapters focused on the mission to Jupiter. This chapter also spoke of how the Chinese had created a ship that no one knew was a spaceship until they launched it because it was being built in space. It attempted to land on Europa and something of a different species destroyed the ship Tsien. The crew on board Leonov found out that there was life on Europa from a message received from the only survivor of the Tsien explosion. Chapters 12-21 (Discovery) These chapters discuss how the crew finally makes it to the ship Discovery. They get there and attempt to get Discovery back and running. They get things started up on the ship, and fix Hal. However, Hal remembers nothing from the past and his rehabilitation begins. Chapters 22-29 (Lagrange) These chapters discussed more of the exploration of Discovery and more of the rehabilitation of Hal. This also goes more into depth of what takes place on the ship Leonov. It also gives you more of a description of the characters and their personality traits. They also discover something strange heading straight for Earth. Chapters 30-41 (A Child of the Stars) These chapters were very confusing for me. They would begin speaking of things that were taking place on Earth and then they would hop to Discovery and then to some supernatural human. It also seems to be speaking of strange types of creatures on Europa or Jupiter. They also make it seem like a member of Discovery is still alive. Chapters 42-49 (Devourer of Worlds) One of the members of the ship Discovery returns as a ghost and speaks to a crewmember of Leonov. He tells them a very important message but doesn't explain himself. Then Big Brother vanishes and the crew begins to believe the message sent by the ghost. They find a way to get back to earth earlier. Chapters 50-55 (Lucifer Rising) This is a very interesting chapter and explains everything to a full extent. However I won't ruin the ending for you! You'll have to pick it up for yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: The Planet of Jollity
Review: 2010 brings the approach of a second Cold War between the United States and Russia, and at the same time, a problem is raised when the Discovery's orbit is decaying and risks a crash on Jupiter's moon, Io. Heywood Floyd, the director of the Discovery mission in 2001, is sent on the Russian ship Alexei Leonov to help stabilize the doomed space station. His other mission objectives is to solve the mysteries between HAL 9000's malfunction and the status of David Bowman after the encounter with TMA-2, or Big Brother, a gargantuan version of the monolith found on the Moon. And even more questions develop when the Chinese ship Tsien comes in contact with life on Europa. The characters are very believable, with a few good lines from Max. "'Not to worry,' said Max cheerfully. 'All that will be gone when you wake up. It's--what do you say?--expendables. We'll eat your room empty by the time you need it. I promise.' He patted his stomach." (pg. 31) The plot develops quite rapidly, with strange new conflicts in every section. The author also gives excellent descriptions of what could be true behind many planets' and moons' secrets. "The core of Jupiter, forever beyond human reach, was a diamond as big as the Earth." (pg. 190) Clarke tells the story very well, and everything seems to flow evenly, quite the contrary to my expectations. This book is never boring, and will keep you reading until your eyes bleed (or you finish the book, which ever comes first). The ending is not at all sudden, and it leaves the story wide open for more. Of course, Clarke has taken advantage of this fact in the sequel 2061, but that's beyond this review. This is a must-read for any Sci-Fi fan.
Rating:
Summary: Very good...
Review: ... but not as good as 2001. Although the story was very interesting, I could not get involved with the characters. This was especially painful because the main character's nonchalant acceptence of events really takes the impact out of key plot points. However, Clarke manages to find ways to make up for this lack. The science of this book was obviously well researched and, in many cases, is still applicable today. This adds a reality that much of the science fiction of the past years lacks. It really adds to the story. The story itself is a pleasure to read. Many questions raised in the first installment of the series are answered in this book in such a way as to increase speculation instead of quell it. I am very fond of his choice. Clarke appears to really want his readers to think about what they read, and I enjoy that opportunity. I don't agree with the author in that he chose to remain loyal to the movie instead of the book. The location is changed and I find Saturn much more interesting than Jupiter. However, the story flows freely from one to the other, and anyone who has read or seen either the book or the movie will find no trouble accepting this book. Although I don't like everything in it, I enjoyed this book and have no trouble recomending it.
Rating: 
Summary: Selling out a classic
Review: Reading the sequels to 2001 is a painful experience, and this one is the best of a bad lot. As a stand-alone novel, it actually has considerable merit. Clarke still shows a powerful and provocative imagination, and the events that unfold still manage to fill us with wonder. However, this is achieved at the cost of demolishing other, more central wonders, for no better reason than to service the plot. 2001 was a supremely intelligent work. I don't mean that it was written in intelligent sounding phrases or possessed the convolutions that pass for intelligence among the sophisticated. I mean that it respected our intelligence. It gave us room to reach our own conclusions. It never channelled our thinking along furrows already ploughed into the mental landscape. The most important skill that a writer can cultivate is to reveal just enough to provoke thought, but to respect the reader enough to leave the actual thinking to us. Therefore, the star-child's actions were left for us to interpret. The reason behind HAL's mutiny was left to our imagination. The nature of the mentor race was left to our own speculation. Most importantly, the ways in which humanity would change in the wake of the star-child's awakening were left to our own musings. We were left with a sense of awe and something akin to a spiritual awakening. Would we become a better race? Would we leave our earthly cradle and join a cosmic community? Would our focus change from an ingrown provincialism to an outreaching cosmopolitanism? For that matter, did the star-child rid the world of its orbiting nuclear weapons to give the human race a fresh chance, or did it destroy humanity because we were beyond redemption? This is the essence of good science fiction: to leave us with lingering reflections long after the final chapter is finished. How discouraging then, to have the mysteries laid bare, and our own reflections directed along the confines of some dried up mental riverbed. 2010, for all its cleverness, punctures our imaginings. The star-child turns out to be a mediocre messenger boy, the progenitor race is arrogant and aloof, and humanity doesn't change at all. Certainly, there are other imaginative developments to replace these, but do they really belong in the universe of the original work? The developments in 2010 could easily have been written for an independent novel and the result would still have been pure Clarke. Here, the wonder of the present work is achieved by destroying the wonder of the earlier work, and this is a bad trade. If you don't care about the earlier novel, you won't be disappointed by the developments in this one. The plot, themes and imagination are all up to Clarke's usual standards. But if you are like me, you will find the reading experience greatly diminished by the realisation that these achievements were made at the expense of a higher and more inspiring vision.
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing...
Review: A) This book ruined the movie for me (I can't imagine anyone who read the book liking the movie...but then...). B) The drop through the Jovian atmosphere, life on Europa (go Richard Hoagland) and the ultimate fate of Jupiter are all amazing (the fact that 1 1/2 of the 3 don't appear in the movie helped to doom it to me). C) I've probably read it 15 times, and I've enjoyed it each time.
Rating:
Summary: Good, interesting but not revealing
Review: Better than 2001, you need to read this one. If you read the 2 follow-ups you will understand the book/
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