Review: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

I’ve seen the movie multiple times and loved it, so I figured it was time to read the book (which was apparently written in tandem with the movie script).

The good

• More or less the same great story as the movie, but the book does a better job explaining what’s going on. Kubrick likes to leave a sense of ambiguity in his movies, which has its own charm, but for a sci fi story with a heavy focus on realistic physics, I found the clearer explanations to be a better fit.

• Touches on fascinating themes, such as the origin of intelligence, evolution, artificial intelligence, the inconceivable size—and perhaps even more inconceivable age—of the universe, discovering alien life, and space travel.

• Written in the 60’s, before the moon landing, this book is remarkably prescient about the future of space travel and technology. It holds up very well today, more than half a century later.

• Very well written, even beautiful at times.

The not so good

• Hal is a way more interesting and memorable antagonist in the movie than in the book.

• The ending is certainly more understandable in the book, but still feels a bit too bizarre and incongruous with the rest of the story.

Rating: 4 stars