2001: A Space Odyssey

Arthur C Clark changed my life with this book

The book was shorter than I expected it to be, otherwise it was a fantastic listen. The characters' accents were a bit funny, but the narration of HAL made up for any shortcomings. As always, the book went into decadent detail that the movie left out (not to say the movie was not a cinematic masterpiece); it creates a different illustration of its near-future landscape. It was a fun tale about the origin of man, it's present evolution, and its musings about transcendence. All of the key elements in the story reflect our society today, making it a must-read for anyone living today, and for those in our future.

The book is so much more than the movie, but isn't that often the case? The detail is phenomenal though. I enjoyed the casual factual references and the sometimes mundane statements which reflect the inner monologues of characters. The narrator, and narration, is also very good. Smooth, easy on the ear and well paced, like someone who has read the book a dozen times and knew exactly how and when to pause and when not to.

I saw the film and read the book in the 80's. I had forgotten how rich the whole story is and how it is much more than the parts with HAL. That said, he narrator does a great job with HAL and the other voices. Clarke builds a very detailed world out of the imagined future of the mid 1960's. The book is a treat and has so many echoes in the mythology of other science fiction that is popular today.

I think I last read this in the 70s but saw the movie in a 1968 when released. Best Sci Fi out there IMO. BUT the Movie is based on the book so if you see the movie without reading you're lost! Kubrick said if he had to do the movie based on the book exactly it would've taken about 3+ hours for the movie which was too long. Never heard a narrative book read ever and it really changes the way you feel the book since the narrator puts his own spin on the words which makes a big difference for me. I've seen the movie about 10 times now and it still entertains me. Go Stanley!

amazing detail that transport the listener on a far off journey.

this book series is unbelievable. I mean it has changed my life and fueled so much thought in my head I can't stop thinking about all 3!!! must read

It was different than I expected, based on the snippets of impressions from the movie I had collected through my childhood. I now need actually watch the whole movie.

Did not live up to expectations but isn’t that always the way with genre changing books? It’s well written, very descriptive with a thin story. and the narrator does an adequate job but not the book for me.