‘3001 The Final Odyssey’ by Arthur Clarke is the fourth book in Clarke’s series of science fiction books. The first book was ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ followed by 2010 and 2061 Odysseys.
If you have read the previous books, you will find ‘3001 The Final Odyssey’ familiar, but it also is different from the earlier books in some areas. If you haven’t read any of Clarke’s previous works, you will still enjoy reading this particular book- as a separate unit.
‘3001 The Final Odyssey’ features two main aspects that almost all the science fiction novels always have- A peek into the future and a war against extra terrestrial organisms.
The plot-
Astronaut Frank Poole almost dies while he is on the Discovery mission, but he is frozen to a point before death and remains floating in space for not 10, not 100, but 1000 years. He is brought back to life in 3001 using advanced technology. Now Frank Poole must face the bizarre world that is changed beyond his imagination.He also is curious to find out what happened to friend and fellow astronaut Dave Bowman and the super computer HAL. Finally, he has to perform a role in the war for saving the human race.
Yes, this is a typical science fiction story. Dr. Arthur C. Clarke ‘s name is well known in the world of science fiction. His scientific knowledge and literary skills together make his writing style so unique and special. His comments and imaginations are amazing.Most of the writers are positive when writing about the future. Clarke is no exception.
So, this book has two main aspects as I have mentioned earlier.
It contains Clarke’s imaginations about the period around the start of the fourth millennium. Scientists and science fiction authors have written about the world of ‘tomorrow’ so often that there is not much new stuff in this book for regular science-fiction readers. The second aspect is also familiar only- war between ‘us’ and ‘them’ i.e. humans and non-humans, and how the human beings together fight for their very existence. This topic, again, is discussed in many other books.
I liked the book because it was interesting and I am basically interested in space knowledge and astronomy. But, it didn’t fascinate me enough to read it in one stretch.
Some of the content is very technical due to which the book becomes boring at certain stages. (Imagine reading your physics textbook with more complicated concepts- got the picture?)
Overall, it’s predictable and somewhat boring. But the future part is interesting as usual. In fact, the technological development of 3001 is so cool that you will be tempted to freeze yourself right next to the ice-cream tub in your deep freeze for the next 998 years. (To live till 3001, not for eating the ice cream!)
Jokes apart, ‘3001: The Final Odyssey’ will make a neat read only if you don’t mind repetitive content and aren’t looking for something ‘new’.