Review:Any fan of science and space needs to read this book. Besides the very well researched fiction basis of the trip out of the solar system, the facts of NASA, Astronauts lives, JSC, Clear Lake, and on and on and on are factual. I lived almost 20 years right out of the back gate to JSC by the baseball fields. It's worth reading just to get an idea of what really goes on.
I could talk all night... BUT JUST READ IT!!! Read more

Review:When you consider that most films are derived from books, and this book is the opposite. The book was written after the screenplay for the movie was done. (Any true SCI-FI buff knows that.) This book may be one of Arthur Clarke's best books. It does a great job of fleshing out the characters of the movie, and gives some really great understanding of motivations of the civilization that left the monoliths,

I am proud to have my first edition hard back in my personal library, and I recom... Read more

Review:Have been waiting for this book series to come out in the Kindle edition. I love my physical books but it's great to be able to take all my favorite books where ever I go.....thank you amazon and keep getting all books into Kindle editions. Read more

Review:One of the classics of the genre, first published in 1956, but a chilly read withal. It is set in the far distant future, in the city of Diaspar -- a city that its residents believe to be the last home of humankind, and a place they can never leave. One person is born with a unique personality; unlike the other residents, he is not living a long series of lives, one after the other, but has appeared de novo. Of course, he sets forth to solve the mysteries around Diaspar, the fate of human kind, ... Read more

Review:The bottom line is, this book is good as long as you're one of those people who really enjoyed the first book and want to know what's gonna happen next. I would say that a LOT of the plot is complete ... and, sadly, many of the characters and subplots are completely irrelevent and unnecessary... Frankly, I could have written better. HOWEVER, once I reached the last third of the book, I honestly did find it very engaging and interesting. It was the first two thirds of the book that made it diffic... Read more

Review:Six years ago I was friends with a very smart girl at UCLA. Since she was so smart I thought I would ask her what she read. (This proves that I do read books that people recommend to me: I just might be a bit late in reading them). She recommended that I read the book, The Gods Themselves, written by sci-fiction author, Issac Asimov. There is no doubt that the author is incredibly intelligent and well-versed in the field of science. However, the man is not very good at character developmen... Read more

Review:I found this book to be an interesting take on what it would be like if all or most of modern technology were taken away from us. In this book 3 children venture out on their own to find just what secrets are being kept from then. I like the idea of the book but found it lacking from be a real page turner. I am glad I read it but it took me some time to get through it as some parts I found to be a little slow. With a little more work this could be a great book. I have received a fre... Read more

Review:I have been a fan of Clarke for over 35 years, and he has yet to flesh out a character. The "Concept" is the focal point. The language and sexuality was disappointing, but maybe that was Baxter who added it. Or Clarke is simply flowing with the culture. The attacks on historical figures was predictable, especially Jesus. But as the Afterword explains, sources for an alternative life of Jesus are common, i.e., the Jesus Seminar. In an uncharacteristic manner, the Epilogue destroyed the b... Read more

Review:I can state, after TSODE, that ACC is an excellent writer- well beyond the genre he's best known for. That said, it's easy to see why even hardcore sci fi fans might not be drawn to him in the way they are to the more pulpy Frank Herbert- descendent of the Jules Verne, HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs vein, the more accessible Philip K. Dick, or the more stoic Isaac Asimov. In all of his books ACC is more of a visionary than a storyteller. His characters are merely ins to the greater tale that he ... Read more

Review:Despite the introduction of new material and mind-boggling imaginings there is no way this sequel can top the original. Once the idea, the plot, the germ of the story has been let out of the bag, it is extremely difficult to capture that initial excitement and even euphoria.
The ideas of our "new" sun, the further adventures of Bowman, the exploration of life elsewhere in the Solar System - all of these are developed well. Of course, as in all Clarke books, it is the lack of character devel... Read more