3001: The Final Odyssey

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.

This novel may not be as action packed as previous works, but Arthur C. Clarke again demonstrates his craft of placing the human spirit, emotions, desires, and faults into a culture and time of technology far advanced. It is not the speculative technologies that capture the reader but how the human experience remains true no matter the time frame. I highly recommend 3001: The Final Odyssey along with the entire body of work by Arthur C. Clarke

3001 puts an end to the thousand year saga of the Monoliths. Without being a spoiler let me just say that Dave, Frank and HAL are reunited to save civilization. You have to read the book to find out how. All in all, a fun read

Author Arther C. Clarke exhibits a wonderfuly vivid look into tomorrow with outstanding concepts and ideas that when really given the time to think about, make sense. However, I believe Mr. Clarke looses track of the story many times, and when he finaly gets back to the point he tries to make, he does it in a quick like gesture. Overal, a disapointing book to end the "Odyssy" series, but a marvelous look into the third millineum.

This book starts out badly, and then gets worse. Clarke, not content to rest on his laurels after completing his original 2001 trilogy, decided to make a great leap forward a full 1,000 years to show us his vision of what our human society would look like at the start of the Fourth Millennium. This he does by resurrecting astronaut Frank Poole, previously notable mainly for being HAL 9000's first victim, after he'd been found adrift in deep space, and then plopping him right smack in the world of 3001 and letting us see it through Poole's eyes. This is, at best, the stuff of cheap pulp science fiction, and a man of Clarke's scientific knowledge should have been embarrassed to use it as a key plot device. This is, after all, the man who gave us the notion of putting astronauts in hibernation for long duration space flight, an idea that, though technically challenging, at least sounded reasonably plausible. In contrast, re-animating a corpse that's been dead for a thousand years is just absurd.
Anyway, it starts from there, and quickly heads downhill. A common critique of science fiction is that it's often heavy on the science and light on the fiction. Putting aside Poole's magical, er, `revival', the rest of the science is quite good. And it is also the only part of the book that is genuinely imaginative and interesting. Clarke's 3001 does sound eminently plausible, there have been great strides in space travel, for instance, and yet there's still been no star voyages, no discovery of "hyper drive" or "warp drive", for instance. But once he veers away from his vision of futuristic science and technology, the train starts to leave the rails. There is little sense that people had advanced artistically, culturally, morally, spiritually or in any other way besides technologically. True, there's less crime, for example, but that's only because every person is outfitted with an electronic device that plugs directly into their brain, thus allowing potential criminals and other forms of deviancy to be monitored and dealt with. As a result of developments such as these, future life is generally safe, healthy, and pleasurable, but also generally bland and seemingly lacking in any higher sense of purpose. It is, not coincidentally, also lacking in religious faith and values, which also makes for the most controversial (and, in my opinion, poorly handled) part of the book.
Clarke isn't exactly subtle in his views on the subject. Early on, Poole finds that whenever he utters the word "God", even as a mere figure of speech, people react as if he's just used a dirty word. It seems in the future, religion, while apparently not outright illegal, appears to be strongly discouraged. Clarke dredges up the usual arguments, most notably the case of the Inquisition, to try to portray all religion as a sham at best, and a form of insanity at worst, but ultimately they fall flat. This is probably due to the fact that Clarke seems to have made only the shallowest and most rudimentary efforts to understand the subject of religion, having, for instance, one character pompously proclaim that religion was simply the byproduct of fear, it obviously never occurring to him that it might also be the byproduct of hope, even love. And, finally, it is interesting to note that, while the 2001 series makes for an entertaining creation myth to explain mankind's evolution from ape to thinking human, there's a moral to be derived from the fact that the mysterious monolith brings us only intelligence, but not wisdom or virtue.

Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey is the not so thrilling conclusion to the space odyssey series. 3001 brings back Heywood Floyd, one of the main characters from the original book (2001: A Space Odyssey), reviving him into a different world where he saves all of humanity. While the book does not compare well to the original masterpiece, it is indeed better than the two before it, which just seemed to bad copies of the original. 3001 brings back many of the things that worked for the original, such as Floyd, but does not emulate the plot of a space journey gone awry. The book also contains more than its fair share of faults. While Arthur C. Clarke does not copy the previous plot, he copies a whole chapter from the previous book (2061: Odyssey Three), and while reading the chapter one can not stop from thinking that Clarke has run out of material. 3001's greatest fault of all is its conclusion; what seems should be the most thrilling part turns out to be the worst. After careful consideration of the pros and cons, it seems that the faults outnumber the strengths. I also start to wonder why I read it at all. Huge science fiction fans should not give up on the book, but overall one should just read 2001 and be content not to read the rest.

What I've always admired about Arthur C. Clarke's writing is the sheer poetry he managed to meld so successfully with the narrative. The city glowing like a jewel on the desert in "The City and the Stars." The arrival of our primal fears in "Childhood's End." The wonder of the artifact in "Rendevouz with Rama."

Sadly, most of the poetry and the wonder was missing from his later, collaborative books. And although Clarke's physical difficulties have prevented him from writing more single-author novels in the past few years, I wish he had passed on authorship of 3001 to someone else. Then I would have been able to remember him from his past triumphs.

Although 3001 would have rated a 7 or 8 from a lessor author, from the past master it is a 3 at best. The narrative is rudely broken by what must be Clarke's thoughts of the world at present. Circumcision and religion may play a valid point in any novel, but the way they are addressed in 3001 reminds me more of Gernsback's polemeic Ralph 124C41+ than it does of the Clarke I look forward to reading. His opinions interrupt the narrative and do so in a way that doesn't advance the story line. Unforgivable in an author of his stature. Most of his 40-year-old short stories evoke more of a sense of wonder than this novel does. The mind "sees" the printed words in a book. 3001 requires significant allowance for myopia and astigmatism.

Wait for the paperback. Or better yet, wait for the Sci-Fi Channel adoption of the book. It couldn't be worse. Unfortunately, it might even be better.

Generally pretty lame, although the idea it takes off from is kind of fun--the recovery and resuscitation of astronaut Frank Poole, whose body had been flash-frozen one thousand years before. ----- For me the book was particularly marred by one of the silliest popular misconceptions current, namely that religion is responsible for most of the world's suffering. The two great causes of persecution in this century have been atheism (particularly under the former Soviet Union and its vassal states) and racism (under the Thousand Year Reich, during its decade or so under the sun). Also ripe for blame are political ideology and territorial ambition. Clearly, something else is happening--call it man's inhumanity to man. It doesn't seem reasonable to blame religion for a common human failing. ----- Arthur C. Clarke is a fine thinker when he sticks to his area of expertise. His book on the terraforming of Mars is wonderful. This one is a duck.

Hmmm. Clarke is probably one of the best writers this century in any genre. However I have to ask - did he really write it or was it ghost written? I quite enjoyed the overall read but the book didn't hang together well. As for the end, I turned the page for the next chapter to be confronted by no more story! It was as if Arthur suddenly got bored and just stopped!
2001 was excellent, 2010 and 2061 were both innovative and well written, this however quite frankly is very poor, and better he should have not written it than given us this. Maybe I'm too harsh, but we have come to expect from Clarke a certain imagination that allows us to believe in what he says. It's not coincidence that much of what he predicts happens as those inventors probably read Clarke as boys, and were spured on by their own imagination and Clarkes belief.
Sorry but this only gets a 3 out of deference to all his past unsurpassable works.

Earlier this year I made a vow to read all of the Space Odyssey books before 2010. By golly I did it. I was warned that the last two were rather lackluster, and while 2061 struck me as rather perfunctory I did enjoy reading 3001 : the final odyssey even if it did meander and then come to a shuddering halt like a stalled car. I am not a fan of transhumanist, post-scarcity speculative fiction particularly if everyone has abandoned their bodies and are living in some computer server somewhere. Iain Banks and his Culture novels were the sole exception to the genre that I sought out. 3001 is transhumanism with a light hand giving the reader Clarkes' idea of what the far-flung Third Millennium might look like.

Here we find Frank Poole, that guy in the yellow spacesuit that HAL 9000 murdered in the first book floating out in the Kuiper Belt. His corpse is rescued by a deep space mining ship (nice touch) and revitalized after a thousand years by advanced medicine. Through Poole we see how humanity has advanced and expanded through the solar system. Many things I found interesting, such as superstructure of spaceports surrounding the earth, tethered at the Equator by four space elevators. Most people have a chunky human-brain interface implanted in the scalp which I found rather clunky in light of nanotechnology developments. The best parts of Final Odyssey is when we emphasize with Poole's cognitive vertigo when he comes to grips with being 1,000 years out of touch with his species.

There is a plot about the creators of the Monoliths making judgments about which species they advance being worthy and which need extermination so they don't become a violence menace, much of which contradicts previous information on how fast the Monoliths can communicate with one another; but the suspense plot seems a bit mechanical and a token offering in comparison to Poole's journey. Even his reuniting with HALMAN, the HAL 9000/David Bowman hybrid entity is a bit of a distraction. Everything works out in the end and then wump, the ride comes to a stop the bar lifts off your shoulders and it's time to exit your seat. The Space Odyssey is over.

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.

3001 would probably have been allright as a stand-alone, but it read like Clarke didn't really have anything left to say about the monoliths. All through the book, I was thinking, "OK, this is all interesting: all the future predictions and gadgets, but when do we get to the monolith?!?" I really got interested when they discovered the monolith's plans, but nothing ever came of it. They had ONE meeting about it where they figured out how to solve the issue (trying not to give anything away to anyone who hasn't read it), Frank had ONE conversation with Dave and they implemented their solution. I thought the humans were going to get into a real good conflict with the monolith, but instead all I got was that weak spectacle at the end when the monolith was defeated. So basically, interesting view of the future, but Clarke seemed to be trying too hard to fit it into the 2001 series.

After the disappointment of 2061, which amounted to a space rescue, Clarke's Odyssey series seemed doomed. But 3001 is an excellent addition to the series and attempts to do the impossible: to EXPLAIN 2001's enigmatic ending. Fans of 2001 will be happy to know that Frank Poole's body (sent out to the depths of space compliments of HAL's paranoia) is recovered and, thanks to a thousand years worth of medical advances, revived. He's the man a 1000 years behind the times. Clarke's description and explanation of architecture, space travel, and society are all clear and rooted in modern science. Poole's search for the Bowman-entity actually moves the plot forward and provides an ending every bit as strong as 2010.

NOTE: Clarke does use some chapters from previous books, but more often than not they are his best passages from previous novels (especially the descriptions of life existing in Jupiter's upper atmospheres from 2010). This is an excellent book. Go find a used paperback and enjoy.

Like so many of his recent works, Clarke's "3001 - the Final Odyssey" hangs a few tenuously-connected vignettes together, with a heavy sauce of Clarke preaching about what he sees wrong in today's world, as here he revives "2001" astronaut Frank Poole to be the butt of numerous lectures from his "betters" in the "more civilized" world of 3001. From religion to circumcision to eating meat (he's against them) to environmental activism (which he appears here to support), the "story" (a relatively uninspired one, and quite timid in his technical prophesies) frequently jerks to a halt as it groans under the weight of its lecturing load. His improbably "deus ex machina" ending, he complains in the Afterword, is his own - but since it's the same one as the movie "Independence Day", he's afraid that people will think he stole it from ID4. Don't worry, Dr. Clarke; it was a bad idea in ID4, and it's a bad idea here, too. Who'd steal garbage? Overall: read it in the library.

3001 was a letdown. I had been looking forward to this book ever since I finished 2061. I finished the book and basically said "That's it?" I'll admit that some points in the book are very flavorful, but they are not used to their potential. It's as if this was a bit rushed and background was kept at a premium. I guess the Odyssey went in like a lion and out like a lamb.

Mr Clarke clearly takes a dim view on both humanity & religion. Too bad this is the end of an enjoyable series. The book itself is disjointed, lots of gaps and jumping around in time. When it finally gets to the end it feels like he just got tired of writing. Too bad.

Just like another viewer, I started reading 3001 while training my Dragon voice-recognition system. I liked it, didn't love it, but was a dedicated 2001 fan, so bought it, violating my own rule about book length (it's short). There is not enough content in here for a decent screenplay, let alone a novel. No characters except the one we already knew, no real plot, dialogue, or content. Then, enjoy an additional thirty pages or so of acknowledgements BY CHAPTER! I'm sorry for bad contracting requiring another book of a designated length, but this is ridiculous! I actually have to thank the illustrious author, for giving me faith in my own writing. I have this irresistable urge to finish writing this book. It IS a good outline. I just don't normally buy works in progress. Save the money, wait for the movie, it will be longer and more interesting, if it ever gets made.

I just finished this novel and was stunned that it was over...I kept waiting for something to happen and all of the sudden I was left looking at credits and commentary by Clarke.

I agree with others that this book should never have been published. I disagree that there is anything really interesting in it. None of the ideas are new, and most have been presented better in other books. The fact that it shares something with the movie "Independence Day" should be an indication that it isn't very good.

The story just plods along with no real focus or reason for being until near the end and then the solution is so matter of fact, and trivial that it just sucks the life out of the Odyssey series.

I would recommend passing on this book.

Although I don't have complains about the linear plot, and the mostly impossible to happen ending (I don't think the Gods use digital computers anymore), I must give this book three stars for the technological speculations alone.
That said, I will recommend people to read this book, although do not expect much, it could have been much better, and the premise alone shows it.
Unfortunately, that did not happen on this Universe.
A near respectable finale for the series.

There's nothing I enjoy more on a Saturday morning than a Friday night pizza. Somehow it manages to satisfy some base need. Maybe it's the nomadic sense that I'm foraging for food. "3001: The Final Odyssey" is the cool leftovers from an intense evening before.
That said, I wasn't expecting anything particularly profound. I wanted to finish the series and 'see what happens.' No car chases, no lewd or baudy scenes. And while I get the distinct impression - from the notes in the back of the book - that Mr. Clarke is beginning a new genre: the pre-historical novel, I enjoyed the read. He absolutely makes clear what the future is like: the world is a kindergarten class on Ritalin. One can have fun imagining what we only do in our dreams, and in that respect the book offers some fresh ideas. The novel is a reflection of what life is like: it's a lot less interesting and romantic...it usually plods along with a couple of punctuations for flavour. Is it the best A.C. Clarke book ever written? No. Is it A.C. Clarke? Most definitely. Should you read it? Hey, it costs less than a movie and is better than most of what's out there on film.

I would rank this amongst the worst books I've ever read. I know that Clarke is highly esteemed in the science fiction world but I have found his writing to be rather stilted and dull. It has been many years since I've read 3001 but just recall the tedium of attempting to finish this. The idea that Frank Poole survives floating in space for a thousand years in a state of suspended animation was silly enough but the rest of the "plot" is wholly forgettable. It left no impression on me once I finished the last page. The film of 2001 was totally complete and needs no sequels. What makes it great after all these decades is the ambiguity and multi-interpretational nature. The books (I've read only three in the series) are all pointless and diminish the film in their way. After reading Clarke's The Lost Worlds of 2001 I refuse to read anymore of his books. The only book I enjoyed of his was Childhood's End----more for it's premise of the events of an alien race on earth over the period of a thousand years rather than it's bland writing. 3001: The Final Odyssey is a waste of time and money. Read it if you're an obsessed fan of the series but go expecting very little.

I was quite a bit disappointed in this final chapter of the Odyssey saga. I found the bringing back to life of Poole to be rather unbelievable as some of the hard science fiction elements of the story. He would have been better off following the plot of Childhoods End rather than leaving the reader hanging the way he did, especially considering this "Final" odyssey. The only part of this story that moved a little was the use of man-made viruses to deliver a crippling blow to the antagonist.

The final installment of Arthur C. Clarke's "Odyssey" quartet, "3001: the Final Odyssey" features the return of Frank Poole, a fascinating look at what life could be like in the 31st century, and final answers to some of the most asked questions in the history of science-fiction.

While it lacks an even-flow to the narrative (even more so than "2061: Odyssey Three), it is still a wonderful tale full of mystery, beauty, wonder, and terror. Fans of the other novels will not want to miss this one.

"3001: The Final Odyssey" is a great read, and an outstanding finale to one of the greatest science-fiction series ever written! Grade: A-

This book, no rather collection of pages, was awful. Where is the plot, where is the imagination? By the time I finished I felt that ACC had an appointment that afternoon and quickly finished the book so as not to miss his engagement. However, to the books credit, since it did nothing to stimulate my gray matter, I did sleep very well as it slipped out of my hands.

I've been a big fan of Clark and the 2001 series for a long time. 2001 of course was monumental and both a great book and movie. 2010 (both book and movie) was just as good if not better. 2061 was not quite as good as the first two, but still a great read and worth the time. I had high hopes for the series finale, 3001, but it only greatly disappointed in the end. It starts off great with Poole awakeing 1000 years after the incidents on the Discovery, and Clark paints a beautiful picture of life in the far future. However, the story quickly nosedives with insanely goofy descriptions of dinosaur janitors, personal flying recreation in micro-gravity, implausable computer-virus as-weapons, and ho-hum descriptions of societies on Europa and Ganymede. Very little effort was made by Clark to produce an engaging storyline, especially one that makes use of "the astonaut odessey" which he did so well in the first three books. The dialog with Dave Bowman entity sounds about as poetic and profound as an over-the-fence conversation with your next door neighbor. Clark's explanation of the monoliths purpose greatly cheapens their awe - would have been better to keep some of the mystery behind them, or at least visit their society or point of origin. Clark's writing also greatly suffers in this installment. For example, take this excerpt, which I felt was both corny, and implausable Poole would have such a thought: "It was more like a rounded hill than a sharp peak, and he could well believe that one of the local pastimes was bicycle riding to the summit. Until now, none of those sportsmen and women could have guessed at the secret hidden beneath their wheels: he hoped that the sinister knowledge would not discourage their healthy excercise." Poole was worried people would be discouraged from riding their bikes? Groan. I give this book more than 1 star only because the first third of the book starts off quite captivating. If you've read the others, you might as well read this one, but be prepared to be disappointed.

The only reason to read this book is to see Clarke's science predictions for the next 1000 years, which are very interesting. Also of interest are the notes at the back of the book, where Clarke expands on some of the technology he's describing in each chapter. Clarke has never been a great charactor developer, but the 1-dimensional portrayal of Frank Poole is really disappointing. Clarke throws in a paragraph about how Poole suddenly realizes that he'll never see his dog or his brother (in that order) again, but otherwise, Poole is completely (and unbelievably) well adjusted after his 1000-year sleep. The story in the second half about the monoliths and Dave builds nicely with suspense, but the ending is quick, easy, and 1-dimensional. This book is quite short. It's a real shame Clarke didn't spend more time on it to double the legnth to put some flesh on it and come up with a more thoughtful ending.

This is the first Clarke novel I read, chose it because I saw the two movies and this one was available to me. The premise is great - Frank Poole, the guy that Dave Bowman presumed dead and hurled into space, gets discovered and reanimated a thousand years later and becomes a worldwide celebrity. Then the book progressively loses steam. It's not that the events are unexciting, they are, but the writing is too impersonal to've affected me the way it might've. I didn't get to know the character of Frank Poole at all as I didn't get to know anybody else. The main distinction is that he's the man of the past to the people of 3001. Then I thought, maybe the monolith is the star of the show. Not so. Also the alien lifeforms prominent in the story get a really vague description which was a letdown. It seems to me that Clarke was more interested in constructing his book around as many scientifically plausible concepts as possible (as evident from a lenghty list of explanations in the afterword) and not to tell a great story the best way possible.

As sad as this may sound, I would have expected better from a first-time hack writer. This is hardly ACC at his prime; the plot was utterly contrived, consisting of little more than a repeat of chapters from the previous three books with some glue in between. As an attempt to add some suspense, the reader is treated to an ending worthy of Hollywood: the Monolith becomes the villain of the story, with our heroes involved in a gratuitous battle to save Earth. The deus ex machina solution, of course, consists of one (1) supercomputer virus, Jeff Goldblum, and a Powerbook. Wait - I must have confused this with Independence Day.

This series has definitely reached a new low point with the 3001: Final Odyssey. I do not relish the thought of yet another literary atrocity, just in case the publishers are even contemplating a sequel. Avoid at all costs.

Frankly, I am surprised with all these negative reviews, and I advice anyone who hasn't read the book to read it and then decide for himself about the quality of it. First of all I want to say that Clarke is a genius, and you should respect that regardless of your thoughts about this book.
Now, on to the book. I really loved it. It finally answers all the questions about the monoliths, Clarke gives interesting ideas about the fourth millennium, and there are some inconsistencies between this one and 2061, but that also applies for the previous sequels and is understandable considering the time lag between the books. Okay, maybe the virus endind is not that original (the reason I gave it 4 stars), but overall it's a great book. The series had to end sometime, and this is a worthy conclusion.
Definitely recommended for every sci-fi fan, but make sure that you've read the previous books.

MAJOR SPOILER - The main problem I had with the story was the idea that the aliens would be so violent as to blow up mankind because of a report from a machine. You'd think they'd see what Dave has to say and send someone to investigate. For me the ending lacked nuance and was rushed. The good news is that the book was a page-turner, and I enjoyed speculations on future technology. I liked the nods to Asimov (Danil is pretty close to Daneel!). BTW, my favorite short story by Clarke is Earthlight. I'm moving away from military sci-fi, but this story brilliantly shows both the power to bring together and to destroy that technological advancement represents. Clarke's wonderful depictions of the bonhomie of the academic world is there in force. The writing is crystal clear... like the shadows on the moon are stark.

I really don't think space travel or "living" above earth but connected to via elevators will ever be our future. Mr. Clark absolutely had to have Poole survive. Only makes sense though. Great reading.

I really loved 2001. And the next two were very good, but this conclusion did not have the same appeal to me. It did have its moments of brilliance but they were few and far in between. It did not spark the imagination they way I expected. It was almost as if it was written by a different author. I guess I had too high os standards after being so blown away by 2001.

I took 3001 on vacation because I wanted a fun, fast, mildly interesting read. It fit the bill wonderfully... it wasn't so complicated that I had to focus on it like a final exam, but it wasn't cotton candy either. That being said, you may be disappointed if you carry a lot of expectations about anything associated with the original 2001. "3001" is an engaging look at a possible future, but it most likely won't become a science fiction classic.
UPDATE: Because my earlier comments are misleading some readers, I'm adding this further explanation and adjusting the rating from four to three stars. The original review was only my way of highlighting the positive instead of the negative. That said, IF you like speculation about our world of 1,000 years from now, 3001 is a fun and easy read. Will its predictions conform to your own? Not unless you and Clarke are of very like minds. Does the riddle of the monolith aliens come to a glorious conclusion? No, I agree with many here who say that it's weak. Hard core fans of 2001 will probably not like "3001" and should only read it if they have a thing for completeness.

This is perhaps the biggest letdown I have ever read. The Odyssey series is one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time. But Clarke seems to have ignored all the questions of the other books to write this. The first 3/4 of the book is boring drama about how Poole adjusts to 31st century life, then the last bit rips off the ending to Independance Day (which incidentaly is completely ludicrous). Overall a big let down considering this ends the series.

This book was twice as useless as 2061. It is a good short story that never makes it as a novel. As usual, Clarke uses the story to publish his predictions for the future, but with this book that's about all you get. The poorly developed characters elicit no empathy from this reader, and the plot is only ankle-deep. I kept thinking that sooner or later it would have to get interesting when I realized I was three quarters of the way through to the rushed and wow-less ending. I read this book only to finish out the series. Odyssey 2: 2010 left me wanting more. And while Odyssey 3 was rather lackluster, 3001 is contrived and downright juvenile in story development. Read the Epilogue from 2010 and consider that the end of the story because you will find no new revelations or answers here.

|TITLE| "3001: The Final Odyssey"
|AUTHOR| Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - 2008)
|REVIEWER|
· Josh Grossman, Colonel {r}, U.S. Army Medical Corps, M.D., FACP
· E-mail [email protected]
· Physician/author/educator U.S.M.L.E. Step 3 III Tutor/Mentor
|BOOK TYPE| soft cover
|COPYRIGHT| 1997
"There universe is young and their G-D is a child. It is too soon to judge them. When We return in the Last Days, We will consider what should be saved."------Epilogue
· 2001
· 2010
· 2061
· And now
· 3001
· Thoughtful Fantasy and Science Fiction Readers have doubtless read all of these outstanding texts. Now may well be the time for re-reading and re-thinking the concept of Space Exploration. Our Solar System is ours to explore and perhaps to colonize with the reasonable exception of Europa!
· The core question may well be, "Who is beyond our Solar System?"
· The genius of Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - 2008) may well be asking us, "Can we accept the tendency of Order-to-Proceed-to-Disorder; i.e., Entropy?"

3001: the Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke is a science-fiction novel that is ultimately compelling. The story, unlike some science-fiction novels, is not too strange or too creepy to get into or understand. The main reason that 3001 does not seem too strange or unrealistic is because it takes place in the future. When playing with the future, the author can make anything sound as if it could be a real thing and suddenly nothing is out of the range of "normalness" even for a fiction novel. Clarke's style is very simple, (the reading level is probably Junior High) but it is filled with some symbolism, many allusions, and a few too many clichés. While Clark's style is simple, it does not take anything away from the story. In fact, I believe that it assists the author in his descriptions. Describing the human race one thousand years from now would seem like such a hard thing to do, but Clarke truly possesses the mark of a great writer and possibly the greatest science fiction wring of his time.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this book is not the author's descriptions or ideas of how things will be in one thousand years, but it is how Clarke forces the reader into thought. The fact that this Poole comes from 1000 years before when he now lives begins a thought-provoking discovery. It is great that Clarke is showing the future through the eyes of a twenty-first century man, someone who the reader can relate to because of the time-connection. As the reader sees it through Poole's eye, the reader can feel as thought they were Poole. The specific question raised in the book is how it would be to have someone who lived in the 1000s to suddenly appear in the 2000s. Think of all the changes humans have gone through it just the last 100 years. Considering that, now how will our world look in the year 3000. Will people be: brighter or dumber, taller or shorter, more dependent or less dependent on technology? Clarke does a good job of answering questions like that and making his prophecy of one thousand years from now seem at least somewhat correct in its logic and technological theories. The reader is drawn to consider all of mankind and how we have grown in search for God, education and brainpower, and how we will continue (or not continue to grow). Civilization for humans can be seen as a large exponential function. At the beginning of man it took quite a while for our first ancestors to greatly contribute to the rest of mankind. As time went on more and more each civilization came up with more and more inventions to help the world. Yet in just the last 100 years, the advances we have made have been "astronomical" toward every person's life and items.

Though the story was excellent, I believe that the true masterpiece of this work is in how it forced you to think philosophically and historically about what we know and believe to be true. I do recommend this book to people of all ages (specifically young boys or girls) and I hope that anyone who reads this story will not simply read it for it's plot, but mostly for the intellectual thought-process that it starts.

SPOILERS!
From the master of sci-fi comes one of the most disappointing and worst books I've ever read. It's hard to believe that the author of 2001 could churn out such an atrocious piece of literature. What's missing from this that was present in the previous books is an actual story/plot. 2001 was fascinating due to its story, suspense, and action. It was one of the most profound books I've ever read, and I felt as if I were a part of the novel. And the way ACC writes makes it seem as if everything he's written is actually plausible and real. This book had an interesting premise. Frank Poole is found on the fringes of the Solar System, and is revived after a millennium of cryostasis. Though this seemed a bit implausible, it was very interesting. However, this is all the book has going for it. Frank is revived and immediately accepts that he is living in the 31st century. No culture shock, or hesitancy. He just accepts the fact. I don't know about you, but if I woke up in the 31st century, I'd be a bit disoriented and confused. Poole is predictable and a flat character. Gone are the the vivid, three-dimensional characters from previous novels. We don't get to see much of what Frank is thinking. Compare Heywood Floyd's encounter with Dave to Frank's encounter. We see what Floyd thinks of his encounter, whether or not it was a figment of his imagination, and how to interpret it. In contrast, when Frank encounters Dave, it's as if he's meeting a friend for lunch. No excitement, no amazement. Frank is just way too credulous throughout this book. Instead of getting good characters and character development, we have ACC's harangues on religion, society, and circumcision. The conclusion was terrible. No plot twist, no suspense. 2001's ending made me think for a while and it was eloquent. This ending just fizzles and leaves you empty. It was as if the book just stopped, and ACC just decided to publish it. This book had so much potential, but I am left with unanswered questions.

"Just as it says from the back of the book ,the moment i started reading it i could not put it down. Especially since i am a long time sci-fi affacionado .Started to follow this story at the cinema watching the movie 2010 when i was a kid!
Immerse yourself like i did into this book and start coming up with your own images of technology and space adventure coming from this journey .Rediscover again the continuation of what happened to Frank Poole,what is he now discovering many years later and the ongoing mystery that surrounds the Monolith!"

I picked up this book for a good price and just because i knew the author was a good one. I can't say that i've read his other novels, but i hear he can do better. As it started I was intrigued and read the first hundred pages non-stop. It portrayed in good and facinating detail the ways of life and the culture shock that Poole tried to avoid in 3001. As i read i became less interrested, but kept reading hoping that since the beginning was excellent that it would end w/ a bang. I was sourly dissappointed at a boring and mildly eventful ending For the diehard Clarke fan its a must, though dissappointing, I wouldn't reccomend this to anyone as a first impression of good Sci-fi.

3001 attempts to explain much of what has happened since 2001, a book whos' lack of explantation made it so popular to me.
Mankind finds superior intellect in the universe and in this book we attempt to understand "its'" purpose. This is the last of a four book set, preceded by 2010 & 2061, books that shouldn't have been written. Over four books you finally reach a pinnacle, that does nothing more than disappoint. The ending is similar to Independence Day (the movie). Computer virus wins over are ancestral guides? Ughhh!
It earns one star because it set up a great premise, but could not deliver.

Clarke had the right idea. Let's show 'em where we are in a thousand years! Let's make a diamond band around the Earth, hell, let's even bring back Frank Poole, but in the end....the story just wasn't there. The great things about this book are the scientific wonders and descriptions, the bad things? Frank Poole just didn't carry the book like he could have. Not enough of the story stressed the Monolith, at times the story dragged, and the ending was rushed...to the point of confustion.
But it's Clarke, it makes you think, it shakes the foundation of arrogant presumption upon which you live, and it deserves 3 stars.

The Final Odyssey is a big disappointment. There are no original ideas, but the author treats the ideas like they are his creations. The characters are not developed at all, and are merely plot devices with names. Arthur Clarke promotes his underdeveloped religious and philosophical ideas in a way that has nothing to do with the plot. The ending is the most unrealistic and disappointing part; it leaves the reader wanting more and wondering how the author weaseled his way out of writing an ending. Read the earlier ones, but to NOT ruin your appreciation of the series by reading 3001.

The mystery of the monolith, being so cryptic and strange, is an exceptionally good concept for a science fiction plot. After all, everyone whoever saw 2001 wonders at times about the monolith.
Sadly though, it seems that the author never really figured out how to develope this idea and ended up just dragging it out through 4 books.
This sort of was an obvious let down for readers.
I also felt that the series was more devoted to his idea of the future and the universe than delivering a real storyline. The storyline was merely used as tool to express his quite fasinating image of the future to the reader.
I must admit, the fourth book is a bit predictable. He needed to finish off the series and was only capable of thinking up a medicore climax.

I *love* AC Clarke, and I love his short stories and novels, especially the 2001 series. However, this is a bad book -- a failure that should not have been allowed to happen. He starts out really well -- Frank Poole, alive, as a vehicle to explore the future. Great! But there is no story, no mystry, nothing but a few admitedly neat ideas about the future (love the towers) and nothing else. Skip this book, and check out the Red Mars series instead.

This book doesn't deserve even 1 star. It is at such an opposite extreme of quality to the original novel, one must assume that Arthur Clarke didn't really write it. Astronauts coming back from the dead? Circumcision? Computer viruses locked in a vault in the moon? Please. Beyond stupid. The only -- and not even remotely saving -- grace was a few interesting ideas about what future technology might look like.

Lots of possibilities for the future but it is sort of flat. Never get any real action. The
virus that was locked in a cave for hundreds of years seems a bit naive. Any good hacker could do
that. One thousand year old men could be made more exciting. No more sequels please.

I found the imagery in this book to be extremely awe inspiring. Clarke's vision of the future is a masterful one. And I like the quotes about how technology seems magical to those of the past. Reminds me of my parents. Overall however, i found the plot lacking. The explanation of Poole's return is vastly unbelievable. If you can get past that, the plot is very slow and cursory, and the ending leaves a lot to be desired. It kind of leaves you hanging out there, wondering if he's going to do another sequel, or did he just run out of ideas? If you're a fan, it's worth the read though for the imagery alone.

The book isn't deep, hard to read, of straining. It's justyour average piece of science fiction fluff with the added benefit ofrecalling the seductive nostalgia of 2001, 2010, and 2061. Wait for the paperback then find a cosy spot to let yourself relax while reading a little mind-candy.

I expected better coming from Clarke... I was sorely disappointed. There seemed to be a total lack of character development. I've seen better development in short stories. I only paid $4 for the paperback edition, but I do not believe it was even worth this amount. I wonder if it would have even been possible to get this one published if it had not been with Clarke as the author. If this is an indication of how his abilities have slumped in his later years, I believe that it is time for him to give up writing and take up gardening. If you are a Clarke fan, you will have to read it solely because it was written by him, but don't expect too much... Borrow the book so that you don't waste any money on it...

2001, 2010, and 2061 were all great books. 3001 however, wasn't good enough of the title Odyssey. Frank Poole's a likeable guy and the first part of the novel is great. The rest is all and all bad. Clarke is a great author. It's almost impossible to think that this novel is his.

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.

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...

It is a millenium after the original 2001 saga that featured poorly communicative monolithic slabs of extraterrestrial technology causing havoc to an ill-fated spaceship on a voyage to Jupiter. Well, those monoliths are making trouble again. This time they are out to destroy the solar system, or at least the humans who inhabit it. But the technologically inferior humans try to outsmart their digital adversary with ancient computer viruses produced by terrorists with an adolescent mindset. Ignore the problem of operating system compatibility; the real leap of faith involves how the program is uploaded to the monoliths' server's cpu.

This book, to put is plainly, is stupid. Once you get past a few of the interesting concepts that are discussed in the beginning, it becomes a chore to read the book. 2061, although not fantastic, was a solid conclusion to possibly the greatest science fiction epic of all time. Clarke has tarnished the series with the publication of this book.

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.

Yes, the plot is thin. Yes, the characterization is feeble at best. Yes, his philosophical and social commentary is hardly argued. I can deal with all that. Too many hours of television can lower anyone's standards. But the reason I read books (especially science fiction) is to be lost and believe in a grand mysterious worlds. I want to see the monoliths. I want to hear the conversations between Poole and Hall/Dave. I want feel it once as if I'm there. And that, above all it's faults is where this book has gone tragically wrong.
How Arthur C. Clarke has managed to transform possibly FACINATING scenes and descriptions into unbearably weak second hand accounts is beyond me. Half of the book reads as a series of half-hearted e-mails, and the other is utterly void of energy or lyricism. This is more a book synopsis than a book itself. The cardinal rule of writing is "Show. Don't Tell", but in this fizzle of a sci-fi legacy Clarke reduces the mystery of the star child to a yawn enducing radio treatment.
Juse because he's written a lot of good books in the past, shouldn't allow him to get so sloppy.

Arthur Clarke will go down in history as one of the best science fiction writers of all time. Unfortunately, this book is not worthy of him. He wrote it in just one month, and it reads like it. It's hardly well thought through, and falls flat on the mind. Stick with his earlier works.

Basically, it is a commentary on the society present in 3001 as compared to the 20th and 21st century. Many interesting concepts are explored, including the nature of Solar System space activities.

However, if you enjoyed 2001 and 2010, I would recommend to skip this book. Simply because it will detract from the splendour of the black monolith.

As some reviewer previously pointed out, it seems that Arthur C Clarke wrote this to purposely de-mystify all the rampant speculation of 2001. As though he got sick of all the various postulations of everyone and everybody continuously bugging him about the mystery of the Black Monolith.

The secret of the Monolith is revealed in the most pedestrian way and removes all sense of wonder from the series. Additionally, while relevant, some of the 3001 descriptions of technology seem a little, well, obvious, given we are now closer to 2008, and Braincap = Matrix etc.

Finally, it is very surprising (and frustrating also as relates to how the Monolith communicates with its Source) that light speed is still a major impedance to communications, while seemingly free propulsion is available and terraforming, colonies, robot and bioengineering is all in full swing, there is no real mention, in 3001, for goodness' sake, (for Deus' sake) of missions to nearby stars, say anything within 20 light years which should have had human exploration marked on it by this time.

A perfect recap of the ending of my geeky (well, seriously-geeky) sci-fi phase of my life.

Go watch Sunshine (Fox Searchlight, 2007) for some good "harder" sci-fi.

I want to cut Mr. Clarke some slack. I really do. He's a legend, a genius, one of the greatest and most influential *genuine* (as opposed to fantasy) science fiction writers of all time. But I just can't. "3001" is soooo bad.

The story takes place in (duh) the year 3001. Frank Poole's corpse, after bobbing around space for a millenium, gets discovered, defrosted, and woken up. Too bad for Frank, 'cause the world of "3001" is hokey, derivative, and ever so lame. For example, the decorative plants of 3001 are tended by intelligent(ish) gorillas and dinosaurs with computers attached to their heads (my question: where are the sharks with friggin' laser beams attached to their heads??).

So much for the hokey and the lame; on to the derivative. No kidding, a significant portion of "3001" appears to have been lifted directly from the film "Independence Day." In the book's epilogue, Clarke himself vehemently denies ever seeing or knowing anything about "Independence Day," but I call b------t. Either way, I'm not sure which is worse, a respected author ripping off ideas from one of "The Fresh Prince's" movies or coming up with those inane, B-movie ideas on his own.

I would recommend you judge the alleged similarities/plagarisms for yourself, but then you'd actually have to read "3001," and that is one thing I definitely recommend you NOT do. Instead, I suggest you just pretend "3001" had never been written and seek out a different source of speculation as to what life will be like in the Third Millenium, like watching Matt Groening's "Futurama." It's way more entertaining and probably just as plausible.

I grew up on Clarke. His novels and short stories fuelled my avid interest in science, evolution, and academic pursuits. It used to be that I could not wait to read the latest Clarke edition.

But the last good books Mr. Clarke has written were 2010 and Fountains of Paradise. All subsequent books by Mr. Clarke, including 3001 have lacked the ingenuity and sense of wonder present in his earlier work (i.e. Childhoods End, Rendezvous with Rama, Expedition to Earth). I thought that 2061: Odyssey Three was the low point of Clarke's writing, but 3001 is nothing more than a "cut and paste" job from all the intruiging ideas explored by Mr. Clarke in previous books. The notes at the end of 3001 are more interesting that the actual story, and most of those notes appeared in the much earlier (and brilliant) Fountains of Paradise.

My advice to those that loved 2001 and hated 2061, give this book a miss.

Postscript

I originally reviewed this book anonymously in 1997, right after it came out. I reread it again recently, and had to stop. It really was not worth it.

I think that 3001 was a wonderful story and all my thanks to Arthur C. Clarke for writing such a fantastic and mind captavating novel! If you haven't read this book yet-DO! It was the first book I have read in a long time that I didn't want to put down!

SPOILER: THERE IS NO ENDING. The book suddenly stops in its tracks. I had to re-read the final chapter and check the PAGE NUMBERS to see if the publisher had left out the ending by accident.
It's as if Mr. Clarke lost interest in this awful piece of fluff about three pages into the story -- if story is the right word --and continued to write, grudgingly, in order to pay his mortgage.
Yes, he's brilliant, and he's written some classic fiction and non-fiction, but he was so disintrested in his own story that the magic, the mystery, the grandeur of the next (or, previous) thousand years is glossed over without any thought about entertaining the reader.
If you haven't read this book yet -- don't. Go find a 30-year-old Larry Niven book, curl up and enjoy the next thousand years written by an author who gave a damn.

Their were enough revelations, technologies and other discovery's to save this ending. I especially liked the return of Poole, a character who hasn't been heard from since 2001, and in that he had a small part. But by the fourth book, the story was getting a little dull.

When I heard that mr Clarke had written the fourth book in the series, I thought it was something special, you know, a great adventure that would make me loose my breath or something, almost like 2001. My mistake. It was boring

Monolith mankind murder, with Poole.

Frank Poole's body is rediscovered and presumably frozen enough for 31st century technology to revive ok, and this happens.

Not so great is the discovery that the monoliths want to get rid of those pesky humans, so a defense is mounted to try and prevent this.

What will confused readers of this series is the inconsistencies between all the books - monoliths here in this book, but not in that one, in this book they can travel like this, in the other, no. This is all presumably deliberate on the part of the author.

Of al the books this is my least favorite. Though I liked the book, the author could have worked the plot line more thoroughly. I was disappointed by the outcome of the Monolith and it's creators. Something we believed to be benevolent was actually not...

Overall, I liked the book but not my favorite. 2001 has that one.

A good read in its own right, but sadly didn't do much for the saga, The only peice of future truth to be gained was about religion of our day being the cause of 70% of our problems, Worth the read just for this thought provocking isssue

Arthur C. Clarke managed to continue the story of Dave Bowman nearly 1000 years after he left off. He also managed to do it it in such a way that a someone who had never heard of 2001 could pick up this book and understand it. I first read this book in 1997 at the ripe old age of 12. Reading Clarke's work opened up a whole new world for me. Clarke brought to me a love of reading and science that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. He may of left us with questions, but Clarke never promised all the answers. He only promised to make you think.

In 3001 the body of a lost voyager from the spacecraft in 2001 is found drifting in the outer solar stysem. Modern science is able to revive him making Frank an interesting visitor from the past. Along with having to adjust to the culture, Frank learns of the history behind the missions in 2001, 2010, and 2061. He finds many questions are left unanswered and he can help write another chapter in the oddysey to find the true meaning of the black monoliths.

I've been a fan of Clarke for decades, but this book is the least exciting, least interesting, least everything he has ever done. The story is mundane and predictable and without any of the facination that held my interest in earlier books. This book opens at a low level of interest and maintains it throughout.

Clarke uses this book as a soapbox for insulting anyone of faith (calling them "Un-Sane"). After his last few books I swore I would not read anything else he published - I should have kept my word.

There are many better ways to spend your time than to read this book - trimming your nails, waiting in line for a movie, and going to the dentist are just a few.

2001: GREAT. 2010: Ok. 2061: Bad. 3001: Horrible
This book along with 2061 only serves to damage the legacy of 2001, one of the greatest books ever written.
Point 1: A dead body floating in the radiation soaked vacuum of space for 1000 years cannot be revived. It couldn't be revived after 5 minutes. I can't believe it was the great Clarke who put this in one of his books.
This is how the book begins. It just gets worse from there.

As a standalone introduction to Frank Poole and his adventures, it was a good book. As the culmination of 4 novels, it was somewhat anti-climactic. Clarke's writing great is as always, but the ultimate resolution of the story was a let-down.

I have to agree with most of the other reviews. Th e novel didn't have much of a plot if any, but I am still facinated to read about Clarke's views of our future on earth and in space. Still a good read.

Okay... I admit it, I AM BIAS! I'll read Clarke's grocery list if he published it!! I love the way this man writes. His descriptions of things, places and events are just incredible! He transports you there! I could see the rain on Venus, the asteroid rustlers working, Poole's body being rescued! It is almost impossible to see where his science stops and his fiction begins. 3001 is a wonderful view of what human society will be in the future.

This turkey shouldn't have been written. Flat, stale, unprofitable to read, and with a totally lame ending that leaves the reader unsatisfied. That it was written by Arthur Clarke makes it even more disappointing.

A great surprise in the resurrection of Frank Poole. A great deal of answers to many of the puzzles in the past three books. Arthur C. Clarke is a genius in writing future sci-fi books, but I was very disappointed in the final solution the human race had for dealing with the monolith. Without giving it away, let's just say that Clarke did a little Independence Day copying. If the monolith can do all that it can do, it shouldn't have been this easy for the human race! Still a good story and well read by John Glover!

For me, the compelling story of Franke Pool, long believed to be dead, being resurrected and communicating with the evolved consciousness of Dave Bowman within the monolith was just too good to pass up. I've added it to: Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Foundation", "2001", "2010", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.

A lot of people voted poorly on this novel. I thought it was great. I've read 2001, 2010, but skipped 2061 or whatever it is, and went straight to 3001. I like it because it's the same "universe", but a new journey. That's what a second, third, etc. novel is suppose to be, a new adventure with the people you already trust and love. Plus, you can pick up the rest of the books within 3001. Overall, pretty gooooooood stuff. I would recommend it if you like sci fi, but reasonable sci fi... you know, stories that aren't so out of this world.

Although I was well aware that this book was the one to anwer all my questions, I was still disappointed to find that it did so easily. I'm afraid the adventure ended far too quickly for me - and I was especially saddened to discover that the Monoliths and their controllers had their weaknesses too. It was nice to think that us Earthlings will not always win in the end! All together I felt that Arthur C Clarke could have concluded this epic series in a far less hurried way.

Not much to say that hasn't already been said. 2001: A Space Odyssey (the film) should have been the beginning and final chapter in this 'saga'. The movie was a classic enigma; the 'Mona Lisa' of cinema. Each viewer left with his own interpretation of "what the hell was all that about'? That was the fun, the mystery, the challenge of what the Odyssey presented to the individual viewer. To have it dragged out, ad infinitum, into a Star Wars wannabe, was just sad! 2001 Is still one of my all time favorite films. I was 17 when I saw it in CINERAMA in Montreal. I'm 60 now, and have watched the movie maybe 50 times. It still leaves me with the same chills and awe that it did the first time I saw it. Too bad it got dragged the the comercialism knot-hole! Kubrick must be rolling in his grave.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books in the Odyssey series. They each had one thing that this book completely lacks: Plot.

3001 seemed to have been slapped together in a week. The actual events that do occur in the story seem to have been thrown in as diversions to are long, dull, obsolete essays by Clarke on his perspective on religion and the moral state of the human race. These soapbox asides are clumsy, polemic, and not substantiated adequately. If you want to read a decent gripe about how self-destructive we are, read something by Kurt Vonnegut instead.

Clarke also seemed overwhelmed by the task of catching Poole up on 1000 years of history. Every character he talks to makes references to the 20th Century; it makes one wonder if nothing interesting happened over the 1000 years Poole was dead outside of improvements in space exploration and industry. Compare what you know about 1000 A.D. to what the characters in 3001 know about 2000 A.D., and the book becomes absurd pretty quickly (braincaps aside).

Overall, 3001 was incredibly disappointing. The climactic confrontation simply is not; it reads like a deus ex machina. Clarke's whole perception of what mankind would be like in 3001 seems terribly amiss and too simple (especially in regards to attitudes concerning weapons of mass destruction).

If you really just want to say that you've read the entire series, get this from the library and get through it as quickly as possible. Don't pay a cent for it.

This is the last part of the story and it could have been the most interesting one but we can recognize there ideas from other fiction sources. The first 2/3 of the book is boring. It's too descriptive. Clarck tries to describe a world at 3001 based in theoretical physics of today, we don't know if could be ever possible, and when action starts it's too simple, no suspense. And the final comfrontation to the monolith has been taken from a recent commercial movie of the 90's.

I have been a fan of ACC for decades but this is garbage. Milking a cash cow in the worst possible way. Go back, watch the original movie, have your faith restored and remember that Kubrick said, "The medium is the message."

A boring book by an author held in esteem by many. This was my first of Clarkes books but it does no justice to his name and fame. The book is dull, monotonous, ungripping and only the last 50 pages provide some excitement. Clarke playes around with his imagination creating space cities and theroies on present day institutions which irritate beyond words. If u havent read it then - DONT. Unless u have no worse way to waste your time.

I hadn't read any SF books (except for Jules Verne and HG Wells) when I started this one. For me this book was worth the time and money if only for the fact that it is based in 3001...Judging by the developments in technology in the past 100 years and assuming that technology will continue to grow at an exponential rate...imagining life in 3001 is quite a task. The author's vision may or may not be similar to the world in 3001,,,but some of the ideas are certainly interesting and provide some food for thought.

I love most of Clarke's works but this book actually drives me mad! If I did not know him, I would guess he did never saw a computer even from distance! How he did even imagined using a computer virus, 1000 years after it's creation on an alien computer? I really did not expect that from a world class SF writer. I think that flaw realy spoils the experience....

Don't be decieved by this just being another installment in Clarke's Odyssey works. His final odyssey delivers with information that the reader could never have dreamed of. With vision and clarity your questions will be answered. By taking this final trip the reader will truly glimpse into mankind's future and the outcome of reading this great work is to understand that you have been touched by the greatness of the author.

I was impressed with 3001, but I hadn't read the others in the Odyssey chain. I am reading 2010 as I thought it might shed some light on 3001 -- sort of a literary reverse engineering thing. Sure is dark in here.

"Plagued with problems" is how I choose to describe "3001." I echo what J. R. R. Tolkien said about Lewis's conclusion to the Space Trilogy: I think it spoiled it. (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 393). In fact, I think this series is a good example of when a good franchise goes bad. "2001" is euphoric, "2010" is idealistic, "2061" is optimistic, but "3001" is sarcastic. The future may have been a let-down, but his books need not be.

What we wanted was a resolution to the Monolith Enigma, but what we got was an old geezer sounding off on religion, politics, circumcision, society, and religion. Clarke has a gift to taking pre-sent day science, extrapolate it 20 years into the future, and then place today's man into tomorrow's world--exploring humanity's possibilities. Sadly, the "silent artillery of time" has worn down his vision.

Additionally, there are grave continuity errors. Originally, the monoliths were blasting caps for primitive species' thinking caps; now they are just outdated hardware in need of an update patch. In "2001," there are multiple monoliths on Earth (2001, Ch. 2), and after Moon-Watcher expands his mind, TMA-0 disappears (2001, Ch. 5), only to be dug up in Africa in "3001." In "2010"'s epilogue "20,001," Clarke presents the Europans with Swfitinan twist: bickering over religion, philosophy, and the nature of God the Monolith. But this discussion cannot happen, since the monoliths disappear, and the Europans are stuck in an evolutionary cul-du-sac (Ch. 31). And, at the end of 2061 (my favorite of the series), the Great Wall has eBowman, eHal, and wise eFloyd as a human Holy Trinity (Clarke's words, not mine), but eFloyd is conspicuously absent (2061, Ch. 59).

And there is eDave: Originally, he was the next step in human evolution. Now he is a semi-used subroutine, akin to a Yahoo! Widget. The expression "Star Child" does not appear in this book, only as a back-cover blurb.

Of these discontinuities, Clarke merely asserts that his books are not direct linear, sequels, but variations on the same themes, and occurring in parallel universes. This explanation is really an excuse not to hold himself to higher standards. If each book is its own continuity, then why not have each chapter with its own continuity, or each sentence? By disregarding the continuity, Clarke disregards the theme, the plot, and the whole purpose for writing a book.

Then there are the difficulties in projecting future civilization. Clarke honestly admits "A writer who sets out to describe a civilization superior to his own is obviously attempting the impossible. ("The Lost Worlds of 2001 Ch. 34). Well, "physician, heal thyself." The cloned dinosaurs and kongs, the brain-computer interface, and using a computer virus to crash the Cosmic Server were science-fiction clichés known to every John Q. Popcorn (P. 265).

In the endless end-matter, Clarke excuses this last item by saying he never saw "Independence Day (Single Disc Widescreen Edition)," and claiming that he came up with it independently. Actually, this was used earlier in Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Fifth Season "I, Borg." And the computer virus was really a modification of a natural virus, which was H. G. Wells's deus ex machina in "The War of the Worlds (Modern Library Classics)"

Speaking deus ex machina, this series is essential religious: During the writing of 2001, Clarke noted, "Saw Carol Reed's film about Michelangelo `The Agony and the Ecstasy.' One line particular struck me--the use of the phrase `God mad man in His own image." This, after all, is the theme of our movie." (Lost Worlds of 2001, 39).

Yet Clarke has a weird take on religions (Ch. 9), which is hilarious, since the franchise is essentially Christian: Replace aliens with God, the monolith with Christ, and evolution with salvation, then you have the core Christian message. As Athanasius said, "God became man so that man might be god." (On the Incarnation (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei)) What C. S. Lewis wrote about Christ applies to Dave Bowman: "In Christ a new kind of man appeared; and the new kind of life which began in Him is to be put into us." (Mere Christianity).

Think of the Monolith Trinity: Floyd is the wise Father, Bowman the son who dies and is a mediator, and Hal is a fine Holy Ghost. Why, then did Clarke feel the need apologize to people of faith in his endless end-matter? He has just started his own religion with the story.

*

I was fascinated to learn that the book's core idea goes back to the brainstorming sessions for "2001." In his journal, Clarke recorded that the monoliths may be malevolent: "Suggested to Stanley that `they' might be machines who regard organic life as a hideous disease. Stanley thinks this is cute and thinks we've got something." (Lost Worlds, p. 32)

More to the point: "Fighting hard to stop Stan from bringing Dr. Pool back from the dead. I'm afraid his obsession with immortality is overcoming his artistic instincts." (Lost Worlds of 2001, p. 36).

Ahem!

I dislike this books. I would have preferred having the Trinity of Bowman, Hal, and Floyd meet with Poole discuss the possibility of the monoliths malfunctioning. Then have the Trinity get control of some portion (or all) of the monolith network. The book could have ended with the threesome setting the monoliths on back on track, or meeting Clindar and the Firstborn, or even the higher Powers that Be.

So can Clarke salvage the franchise? They may be a story in-between 2061 and 3001 that would account for Floyd's absence. Another thread would be the nano-reassembly of Dave, hinted at in Chapter 6. The monolith's supervisor is 450 l.y. away, so that gives us a time frame for a response (Ch. 34). Or we would finally me the Firstborn or the powers and entities that are higher than Firstborn, as they send repair crews to fix the malfunctioning monoliths.

This last one may be what Clarke wants: an apology from God.

(Too bad Douglas Adams already did this in "Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Trilogy)")

P. S. Susan Calvin is from "I, Robot."

this book was what i call junk i can't belive he wrote a book on this some part were ok but what the heck were you thinking.you ruined your self on the third so never make another and people don't read this if you don't like stuff that is so mixed up you can hardly read it but hey in the end it was preaty good.

ACC should have stopped at 2001, a truly great read from one of the best movies of all time. Each book in the series went down from there. This one doesn't even deserve one star! It sucked so hard that I read it in one sitting, since I knew I would never come back to it if I put it down. It is horrendous, no lie!

I was very impressed with 3001. It was very different than most sci-fi type books. I really enjoyed it because of the science accuracy and the realistic perspective Clarke created. The ending in the book was amazing. It totally made sense and brought the other 3 books in the series to a close. I would suggest for anyone who enjoys a complicated and realisitc book read this one.

Fascinating, but I felt as if he got bored with his own story and just tapered off. Why should I, the reader, care of the author ceases to? I am a fan of both this series as well as Clarke, but from the first novel, "2001," I feel like each book was forced. Too bad...

This book could have been good. The story is reasonably interesting and the idea that Frank Poole might be woken up from his deep freeze offers some interesting plot possibilities.

However, I have some major problems with this book.

Firstly, the technology of the world of 3001 is too conservative. Unless the world slips back into a new Dark Ages from several hundred years (George W. Bush and American Christian Fundamentalists are trying hard!), the technology in 3001 will probably be with us a lot sooner - maybe in a couple of centuries (or decades? ;-))

Secondly, I cannot imagine that "human" society will be even remotely comprehensible to a 20th century human being by 3001. A social/technological/biological "singularity" may well have taken place.

My third problem is that the monolith hasn't done anything to Hal or Bowman other than store them as AI programs. The mystery and magic of the transformation/transmogrification of Bowman into a "post-human" being is blown away in this book. We are presented with a very prosaic picture of Bowman and Hal being stored in a Von Neumann computer. Bowman never travelled to the heart of the galaxy and never came back as a godlike being.

It appears that the monolith in this book cannot communicate faster than the speed of light, either!

The references to the collapse of religion in this book didn't bother me at all. Unless you are a Christian fundamentalist, an ordained priest or an American, you will be untroubled by the references to religion in this book.

After traversing the ever expanding story arc of 2001, 2010, and 2061, the finale was a supreme letdown and major disappointment. Part of the tragedy lies in the evolution of science fiction writing itself. Contemporary sci-fi writers are much more nuanced, subtle, and sophisticated. While there is still some of the simplistic alien wars with bizarre lifeforms (usually for no reason), the majority of sci-fi writing today is for an educated, adult audience that includes exploration of societal organization and interpersonal relationships in addition to the standard advances in physics, biology, medicine, electronics, and computers.

3001 is written more in the style of pre-1950's sci-fi where the audience was primarily pre-adolescent boys. The science and technology is not terribly engaging. Clarke's philosophical meanderings are mostly a distraction to the story. One gets the impression that Clarke is frustrated that the future is not turning out as he originally envisioned. Finally, the expectation for some resolution of the monolith structures is left wanting. Clarke appears to be "stuck" in a time warp of old-fashioned (rather than classical) sci-fi writing style that is simply unsatisfying today.

For those looking for closure with the whole 2001 saga, by all means read 3001; it's relatively short and quite readable.

Between the time I read 2061, and 3001, I was excited to see how Clarke would sum everything up. Unfortunatly Clarke did a poor job in 3001. The first half of the book was simply about the technology of 3001. The part of the book, that was advertised, was that the Monoliths would be explained. They were explained very quickly. There was very little suspence, like in the 2001, and 2010. It was a real let down.

This book was very disappointing given Clarke's other works. There was little explanation as for how Poole survived, and the book spent most of the time catching him up on the last 1000 years. I was expecting a big finale, and what I got was a few pages involving using a computer virus to trick the monolith system into giving humanity another 1000 years. When I got to the last page I thought, "that's it?"

I feel that this was a disappointing finish to a classic series. I would have hoped for a little bit more than what I read. there didn't seem to be a lot of fleshing out of the higher entities and to many repeated things from the other books

The book in general is terrific, because it's funny, original and very interesting. The autor show us a "near" future that will depend's on our capacity to manage the advance technology in convination with our inner values, like faith and love, in a new worlds with new paradigms. The final it's great too, with a profund message.

This is a very final odyssey that you can't put it off.

A weak ending to a great series. The sense of wonder was gone. Very little suspense and story. This is more Clarke's view of the future than it is a story about the future. Potentially interesting as an examination of Clarke's views on politics, but that's about it.

This story is one of the finest I read, I finsihed it the day I took it from the Library. I hope to read the other books soon, I found it Highly entertaining, although I don't know how it compares to the other books... YET.

I and a lot of other science fiction readers have gotten used to the idea that Clarke was a true prophet. In the 1940s and 50s he made a number of predictions, such as satellite communications using synchronous orbits, which have come true. He had a rash of other ideas which I will not explore. 3001 showcases some of them, but it also reveals another side of Clarke--his blindness.

3001 is full of libels against religion in general and Christianity in particular. One wild idea is that a future pope (Pius XX) will renounce his faith due to the "space monoliths," release the records of the Inquisition and thereby cause the collapse of Christianity. This idea is possibly a sign of a mental hardening of the arteries. No way, Mr. Clarke. The Inquisition is old hat. No one today gives a damn about it except a few historians. And a lot of people think it was a hoot--thanks to Monty Python.

More disturbing yet is the peculiar Professor Theodore Khan of Ganymede whose field of interest is the "psychopathology known as religion." His--and obviously Clarke's--ravings against religion and reveal a profound ignorance of religious feeling. He describes some of the cruelties perpetrated in the name of relgion, failing to mention many of the worst. But, he completely ignores the murders of atheism. Let's see--Lenin and Stalin, 40-50 million, Adolph Hitler, 20 million, Mao Zedong, 100-120 million, Pol Pot, a trivial 3 million. Just counting these we a have a total of 173-193 miilion people. That is far more than fell to all the Inquisitions, Crusades, and Jihads combined. Millions slaughtered to produce a world free of God.

I would rather not live in Clarke's 3001. A world without God is a world without hope, full of cruelty and human depravity. I suggest that Clarke read Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 18-23 and Orwell's "Animal Farm" before writing diatribes against relgion. There are worse things than religion. If you attach any value to religious belief do not read 3001.

First, Clarke does not even know when a millennium begins. His would begin Jan. 1, 3001, but he thinks it begins a year earlier. A lot of his scientific thinking has been outdated by now (2003). It is interesting, but a bit scientifically sophomoric.
-F.M. Sturtevant, Ph.D.