Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: An enjoyable jump to future with a brilliant twist: the resurrection of Frank Poole. The speculation of what life is like in the next millenium is quite interesting.But short the Epilogue makes the whole book mindblowing.
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment as a conclusion to the series
Review: This book is a big disappointment. After the thrill of the original 2001 and the two subsequent books, I was looking forward to a capstone book where we learn much about the social and political structure of the universe. I expected this to come from some knowledge regarding the builders of the monoliths and their real purpose in creating them. However, it turns out that they are just stupid machines, most likely not even as intelligent as HAL, yet somehow sophisticated enough to absorb the personality of David Bowman, who still manages to 'live' and influence the actions of the monolith.
The book begins with the discovery of the body of astronaut Frank Poole in deep space, where he is still alive after a thousand years. He is revived, and the story largely revolves around his attempts to acclimate to a new society. This gives Clarke the opportunity to make some predictions about the future course of social and technical advancement, most notably the near abolition of religion. While such a situation is of interest, the real point is to reach some understanding concerning the purpose of the monoliths, and that is just not covered.
I read the book because I felt the need to complete the series. However, it lacks the drama and mystique of the previous books, even the social commentary is not up to Clarke's previous high standards.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read this book Clarke lost his mind
Review: I counld not belive the ending it was very poor.
Rating:
Summary: So-so
Review: The book starts interestingly, with Poole being brougth back to life and feeling like a middle age barbarian would in our time. I also appreciated Clarke's perception that religion only hinders the progress of mankind and it will disppear as science advances.
So far so good, but as much as 2061, it disappoints as a sequence of the fantastic 2001 and 2010 books. Ingenious ideas such as the monolith, von-neumann machine and star-child were given little importance. The idea of virus attacking the monolith was dreadful! Machines interprets only the language they are built to support no matter how advanced they are, which makes implausible that a program designed on Earth would run in an alien machine and eventually destroy it!!
Rating: 
Summary: A dissapointing ending to a wonderful begining.
Review: I've been a fan of 2001 (as a series) since I first saw the film when I was 13 years old. I was mesmerized by the images, haunted by the music, and in awe of a future which, in my young mind, was fully within the realm of possibility. When I was old enough to understand it, I read the book. The insights revealed by the text were no less profound than the fantastic sights and sounds inflicted upon me by that masterpiece in celluloid. But the works that came in subsequent years were disappointing at the very least. But more than that, they tarnished the memory, and hope that the first book, and the film instilled in me. If you have followed the entire series, this is a must read. If you have read 2001:A Space Odyssey, or have seen the film, and are merely thirsting for more by exploring these pages in the hopes of delving deeper into the promise made at the start of the saga, stop right here. Like some of the moon astronauts said after they came back from the moon, what do we do now? What can possibly top this? In respect to 2001, nothing has, yet.
Rating:
Summary: Did Clarke really write this?
Review: This book is terrible. I loved the other books in the series. Not only are the characters shallow and undeveloped, the plot thin, but the actual writing is terrible. It seems there at least three exclamation points per paragraph. "I'm sure confused! This is the future! That's nice!" I think that Clarke must have a grandson or something who is learning how to write and used his grandpa's name on this book.
Rating:
Summary: i LOVED this book!
Review: Clarke's science is spot on, and his description of the 31st century is utterly fascinating. Most futuristic novels use some bit of technology as a 'centerpiece', not so here. The science itself is center, with no one piece taking over the show. Clarke's depiction of religion (which he calls "the madness of mankind") might offend some, but there is a lot of truth to it. The simple fact is that people REALLY HAVE offered up prayers to Osiris, Zeus, Epona, Ishtar, and Thor every bit as fervantly as they now offer them up to Jesus and Allah. People REALLY DO go on killing sprees for religious reasons, whether it be flying planes into buildings or blowing up abortion clinics, entire WARS are fought over religion (in fact a lot of people here in the states are on the religious rampage over the current war in Iraq, "God is with us" and all that). So, yes Clarke's denouncement of religion may offend some, but the truth does hurt. Science and Religion out of the way... As far as continuing the plot goes, Clarke does it in probably the last half of the book. It's quick compared to the others, but much of it is very cool. The ending is very open, and there is a plot hook on the last page that deals with the Monolith's final instructions. If we are lucky, Clarke might write 20001 (Though he's in his 80's so it doesn't look like it). The only bad thing i found was the mid-book exit of a character named 'Dim.' He just vanishes and his fate is only mentioned in passing. All in all, the best parts are the speculative ones. I can see how many didn't like it (but then anyone that thinks humans will be living in other solar systems or will have even traveled to any by the year 3001 needs his or her head checked, this is probably a lot like it will actually be though we may take a different road to get there), but if you are a science buff like myself there's few better works out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A clever and insightful conclusion.
Review: Highly readable and a worthy conclusion to the series. The only problem with this book is it is NOT a stand-alone read; be sure to read the others first. Many reviewers are complaining of a lack of an ending - I completely disagree. As far as a tying up of loose ends goes - this is superb. The ultimate truth of the monoliths is totally unforeseeable and brilliant. Sure this doesn't have much of a plot - it doesn't need it! In reality, none of the Odyssey's had a long, detailed plot - there is SO much more to these books than that! In this final addition, Clarke shows the courage to come forward and display the many problems associated with organised religions. These are things that had to be said. Good show Mr. Clarke! As usual in ACC's books, his visionary ideas for the NEXT millenium do have scientific credibility as told in the appendices. However, some ideas (such as the low-gravity ballet performances) could (should) have been omitted. Nevertheless, lovers of the first three books will NOT find this unsatisfying (unless you are strictly religious, in which case it might do you good to read this), albeit it is probably the weakest link.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendously disappointing conclusion to the famous Odyssey
Review: The Odyssey of the Monolith and the Hal 9000 computer is among the most fabled stories in all of science fiction. The first in the series, the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", is considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction movies ever (although, I do not share opinion, even though it's a good film). It was followed up on book and on film by the successful "2010: The Year We Make Contact (Odyssey Two in the book)". "2010" was a more straightforward story, but it pushed for greater ideas about HAL's existence and the purpose of the Monolith. The third part of this series, the book "2061: Odyssey Three", reached the satisfying conclusion of the tortured Dr. Heywood Floyd's involvement in the Odyssey. It also helped expand the understanding of the purpose of the Monolith. "3001: The Final Odyssey" presented a tremendous opportunity to tie up all the loose ends and answer all the questions. Unfortunately, Arthur C. Clarke's choice in story direction answered all those questions incorrectly. Clarke does reveal the purpose of the Monolith, but what he reveals renders everything we knew about it in the previous three stories totally moot. I will not reveal what it is. You should still read it to find out. I just ended up being very disappointed by the resolution. The ratings given by other reviewers show that they felt much the same way.
The irony of the story is that it had great potential. After 1,000 years of floating in virtual suspended animation in the 'absolute zero' graveyard of space, astronaut Frank Poole's body is discovered in remarkably well preserved, and barely alive (!), form. Poole's amazing revival has provided humanity with an unbelievable to tap into the mind of the only living person to have had first contact with the Monolith. Poole doesn't have too much trouble adjusting the changes in the culture he knew and his newfound celebrity status. He comes to terms with the events of the past and tries to help humanity understand the Monolith as it impacts its future. This is actually quite an entertaining story arc and the reason I didn't give this book a one-star rating. It just feels right reconnecting with Poole. Alas, the book goes south when Clarke defines the purpose of the Monolith. It's very disappointing and leaves the reader flat. Still, for Odyssey completists, you need to read the book to see how it ends (regardless of the disappointment). At only 274 pages, you won't have risked to great a time investment in the process.
Rating:
Summary: 3rd Of 4
Review: After 2061 I almost passed on reading this one except I already owned a copy so I figured it couldn't get any worse than the last one. Fortunately I was right, barely. The initial premise is cool that Frank Poole could be revived after all these years but then the story delves into predictions of the future that are nowhere near as plausible as the predictions in 2001. To have come this far and make this the last book is the series it would have been nice to have answered some of the questions raised by the first two books. While 2061 looked like there was little else there besides the reputation of the first two books at least this book starts with an interesting premise.
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