3001 The Final Odyssey

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Concept, but too slow!
Review: Although Clarke has defined the genre of "possible" sci-fi, he lacked some of the general points that made 2061, 2010, and 2001 so popular. I didn't really like Frank Poole returning from the dead to live in the 22nd century, but I did like the ideas for future space exploration that Clarke gave. If you follow this series, I would recommend reading this book, because it is the "full circle" of Clarke's amazing series.

Rating:
Summary: A good start that was published too early.
Review: I love Arthur C. Clarke's books. Always have. But. A big but... 3001 starts out fantastic and I blazed through the first couple of chapters letting Mr. Clarke tell me, what appeared to be, another good story. But it would appear that Mr. Clarke didn't want to tell a story. That he only told this story because he was asked to continue his most famous story line. The worst part is that he felt that he needed to flash back to remind the reader of what happened to Mr. Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey. If I ever feel that I need reminding of that great tome, I will dust off its well worn cover and retrace those steps. 3001 just seems unfinished. A true Clarke fan may find it interesting, but few will find it the type of book that one can return to like our other old friends on our bookshelves.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say that hasn't been said?
Review: I read "3001" during the last few days of writing a fantasy novel of my own. (It hasn't been published yet--in fact, I haven't even approached a publisher with it--so you don't need to worry about my violating the rules against reviewers plugging their own books.) "3001" seemed to help give me the strength and inspiration I needed to finish my book. Unfortunately, that's the best thing I can say about it. As almost everyone else who has reviewed it here points out, "3001" is a great disappointment. It starts with a shocking plot twist which will electrify fans of its three predecessors, but after that nothing happens until about halfway through the book. After some fairly interesting occurrences that occupy a few pages, the story stops again, even skipping over a period of several decades in the characters' lives with perfect nonchalance, until the last few chapters, which provide a mildly suspenseful but still horrifically anticlimactic end to the "Space Odyssey" saga. Despite Clarke's attempts to justify them in his afterword, the departures in "3001" from the continuity in the other books really go too far, especially the indirect revalation that the events of "2001" didn't take place in 2001, but later in the century. Clarke also almost ignores the events of "2061," and my suspicion is that this is so a "3001" movie can be made without having a "2061" film first.

Rating:
Summary: Final? We can only hope!
Review: Oh, where to begin? Do they read books before publishing them? I'm not sure if this was a story or some sort of test on human patience. Again, as in "2061," nothing happens in the first three quarters of the book. But, unlike the previous one, it does not pick up. Did Clarke even write a novel, or did he just write "Poole meets new people, learns about technology, and travels. REPEAT ENDLESSLY?" And the problems just start there. It seems that 1999-3000 weren't very interesting. Nearly all the history they describe is stuff we know about, things that really did happen.I certainly hope the next thousand years aren't as devoid of historical happenings as Clarke seems to think they will be. Also, language hasn't evolved much. If someone who died in 2001 would wake up in 3001, the language barrier would be much tougher than it is in the book. And what about that ending? even if Clarke hadn't seen "Independence Day," I'm sure an editor or someone could have told him to try again. But that's beside the point. The ending is totally lame on its own, as is the rest of the book.Anyone who read the first three should give it a try, though, just to complete the story. But, if you haven't, just read the first two and see the movies. Or better yet, just watch the first movie and nothing else.

Rating:
Summary: I've got to defend this book....
Review: After reading the reviews on this page, I was a little hesitant to buy this book, but I did it anyway. This is the first Arthur C. Clarke book I've ever read. Yes, some of the points do clash with parts of the other books. But, if you read the Author's Note section, you'll see that the author acknowledges this, saying that the stories are meant as stories taking place in the same universe, as opposed to one continuing story. While it is a little frustrating to follow, the best thing to do for this series is to treat each book as a stand - alone, instead of as parts of a series, or to read them backwards as I did, which really is not that confusing. Altogether, I found this book highly enjoyable, and I consider it a good introduction to Mr. Clarke's writing, and not at all what I expected after reading these reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing....
Review: six years ago I was introduced into the world of science fiction. A friend lend me several Clarke books (Rama series, Childhood's End, and the first three Odyssey books). I loved the Odyssey books, although there were some inconsistencies, the serie in general was really good. For the next six years I waited to read the book that'll end this great series. Maybe the anticipation, made me hope for something better, but 3001: Final Odyssey was really disappointing. I expected something better with which the Odyssey series would bid farewell to the fans....

Rating:
Summary: Too much tecnical speculations and less action
Review: It's the worst of the 2001-serie. First part of the book are only tecnical speculations and a few are very ridiculous. They seem to be in the year 2100 and not in 3001! The second part is low action. What happens with Clarke? Only for very hard fans of Clarke...

Rating:
Summary: Okay, I guess...
Review: Even though I'd seen the reviews here, I decided to buy the paperback edition from an airport and I read a large part of the book on a long transatlantic flight. I didn't really expect much, so I wasn't as dissapointed by the book as I *might* otherwise be. I like ACCs speculations and descriptions of the future and that was enough (BTW, I can't sleep in airoplanes, so I had to do something...). So, in this context, it was good. Furthermore, I don't see much difference between 3001 and 2010 and 2061 (apart from the fact that ACC is maybe running out of really original things) and I gave those two a relatively high rating (ok, maybe too much), so... After all, ACCs original ideas to stories/books written is not that high. He tends to have some ideas that he "recycles" from time to time, but that's OK by me (as far as I don't read his books too close together :)... To sum up, a relatively pleasant and easy to read book.

Rating:
Summary: Just Another Disappointed Reader
Review: Having seen the films and read 2061, and with the subtitle 'The Final Odyssey', I had big expectations for a great epic conclusion to this series. Instead 3001 takes the series out with a whimper instead of a bang. The book is purely descriptive until 2/3 of the way in, before any semblance of plot or story are revealed. And when the story does begin, its more like an afterthought: brief and unoriginal. It reads more like a story outline than a novel. Clarke himself did the homicidal computer bit much better in the original 2001. HAL was a character, and his motivations were better conceived than here. Clarke should also have clarified the differences in this book from the previous ones in a forward, because i was confused at points on inconsistencies. The final showdown with the monolith was the biggest disappointment. I expected an explanation of the monoliths and what had taken place previously that would have deeper philosophical implications and would try to make some kind of meaningful statement about the universe, humanity, alien life, or something. Instead its just another averted doomsday story. If there is a 4001, I think it should completely disregard this book, and answer all those questions raised in the series in a way that is satisfying and worthy of the original works.

Rating:
Summary: Nice plot,shame about the ending.
Review: With great anticipation, I borrowed this book and proceded to devour it in the space of a single evening. The Good Uncle Arthur's ability to handle "Hard SF" technology and themes is still second to none (straight after finishing the book, I was on the web looking for sites related to Zero-Point Field theories).His prose and style remain adequate, if workmanlike.All in all a much better read then 2061, but still not a patch on 2001 / 2010. The Bad The book feels far too short.You never get a real feel for the world or the people of 3001.You almost get the feeling that as soon as Clarke runs out of ideas in one section of the book, he hurries on to the next section to mine a new vein of information. The Ugly The ending.This really spoilt what had gone before.While I never expected 3001 to answer all the questions that had been raised by the three preceding novels, I did not expect the crudity with which the problems are resolved. Maybe I expected too much!