From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!rocheste!heliotis Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Title: 2010 Article-I.D.: rocheste.361 Posted: Mon Jan 3 11:00:09 1983 Received: Wed Jan 5 01:00:10 1983 Just read Odyssey II by Arthur C. Clarke. I was not expecting much from a "sequel" book, but I was pleasantly surprised. Clarke is quite a scientist, and he uses the knowledge he has acquired over the last 15 years to help him write this book. I'm sure many of you CS types found HAL's sophistication hard to swallow; he seems to try to explain and justify how these 9000 series computers work with a lot of jargon that seems closer to 1980's "reality". Also, his use of the information from our Voyager missions is excellent. As to the drama side, I found the story reasonably exciting; I did not put the book down until I finished it (4AM!). However, I suspect there are other SF authors who can get you involved better with the characters. Clarke is still pretty good. Two negative things. I found myself disappointed that he decided to follow the movie of 2001 where it differed from his book (He claims the book was written first, then modified as the movie was being made). Also, sometimes, especially in the epilogue, I was make a little uncomfortable by all his apologies and justifications for the story, but then again, I'd be a little nervous two, if I was trying to get people to like a sequel to a great story. My mother sez she's heard a movie will be made from 2010. Wouldn't it be nice if Kubrick directed again? Jim Heliotis