Alternatively Good (2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke)

Member Name: The Solid Grey

Product:	2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
Date:	22/04/02 (549 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You gain a lot more from it than the film

Disadvantages: none

One of the greatest science fictions films ever?, 'The proverbial good' science fiction film as envisioned by the creators. Weather the film is as good as its reputed to be isn't quite the case here, as what we're really looking for is, 'Is the book any good?'.

Having watched the film of 2001: A Space Odyssey two or three times I came to read the book, it was recommended, though perhaps not my usual choice, it certainly seemed an interesting thing to do, but first......

~~The Details~~
2001: A Space Odyssey is mostly based on the short story by Arthur C Clarke, called 'The Sentinel', and is the book of the film of the same name. The book came out in 1968 a little after the release of the film. My copy of the book is a 2000 reprint, and contains: a foreword, a 'back to 2001', the novel, and two Arthur C Clarke short stories, which are what 2001: A Space Odyssey is based upon, The Sentinel, and Encounter in the Dawn. The novel cost me £5.99, for 266 pages.

~~Background~~
It was sometime in April 1964 that Stanley Kubrick contacted Arthur C Clarke to see if they could come up with a story to make the proverbial good science fiction movie, after going over several short stories of Arthur C Clarke's, eventually, The Sentinel was chosen to base the movie upon.

The book was written at the same time as the film, the story evolved as Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke, passed back and fourth ideas often arguing about the plot and such, it was often rewritten due to changes and after seeing some of the film that had been recorded, which accounts for why there are some differences between the book and film. One instance is that, in the film the mission is going to Jupiter rather than Saturn, this was because they felt that Saturns rings would be too hard to reproduce.

There is a book, The Lost Worlds of 2001, which the unused ideas and writing are displayed and the creation of th
e idea is discussed. However the film is generally regarded as a classic, and the creators dream seems to have become a success.

~~Plot~~
The story of 2001: A Space Odyssey, is that of an alien race visiting earth and encouraging a species of ape to evolve, the 'Black Monolith' is the tool of these aliens. Forward several thousand years and a black monolith is found buried on the moon, sometime in the future, as soon as it is uncovered and a ray of light from the sun touches it, it sends a signal towards Saturn.

A mission is therefore sent out to see what's on Saturn, but things don't turn out as well as planned, the on board computer malfunctions and kills all but one of the crew. Dave Bowman finds himself alone, with an insane computer, halfway across the solar system with seemingly little chance of rescue, can he pilot the ship alone?, will he survive?, and what IS on Saturn?.

~~My Opinion~~
The first time I saw the film I was less than impressed, well I had heard a lot about it, mainly the fact that it was a stunningly good science fiction film, and as a science fiction fan, I wanted to see it.

Though it looked good, I really didn't see what all the fuss was about, it didn't seem to have much of a plot and didn't make a lot of sense, so why the hell did I then go and read the book, you may ask, well it was recommended, and I wanted to widen my reading, so it seemed a good idea.

One of the first things I noticed while flicking through the novel, as I commented on to my wife, was that it was going to take a lot of reading, as it was mostly text, with very little conversation to take up the space, as in the majority of the books I read, I didn?t think that I would get through it to be honest, I think I thought it was going to be a bit boring.

I soon found that I was very wrong, I couldn't put it down!, there was so much in the book I hadn't picked up from the film it
was unbelievable. The first part of the film concerns itself with some apes and a black monolith, I fast forwarded though all this the first couple of times when I watched the film, as I didn't have much of a clue as to what was supposed to be happening, in the book though its very well written, and I understood so much more, but there is more of it to be understood, and things that you can?t envision well in a film, so this hooked me straight away.

As I continued through the book, all the things I read which I had seen in the film, I actually realised what and why they were in the film, things I never knew why they lingered on in the film, I now saw the point of, and it really opened my eyes. Really it illustrated the point of reading books, and what you can gain from them.

As for the story itself, I really adore it, there is something so good and original about it. One of the things that makes it such a good book/film is that you never get to encounter the aliens - why is this good?. Well because your always left wondering, what and who are they?, what did they want?. If you actually meet them the wonder is taken away, so its more engrossing not to have them make an appearance.

I suppose another reason is that the ideas of these aliens and the black monolith is that its all entirely possible, its a fantastic idea, just imagine - this is perhaps a bit of a spoiler, so skip on to the next paragraph - the 'Black Monolith', is actually an alarm clock for the aliens, they knew life would evolve and wanted to be told when they had evolved enough to make journeys through space, which is why they buried a monolith on the moon, so man would discover it, and it would signal them.... and that's what makes it such a good read, such a great idea.

It is a very interesting read, a lot of things are explained, Arthur C Clarke does know his facts, as he takes an interest in science, the problems that Dave Bowman encounters, lonel
iness, for one, trying to pilot a spaceship alone, and all the problems that these things then cause. Its also very gripping, in the first part where its sets thousands of years ago, and talks about a community of apemen, I actually forgot I was reading a science fiction novel, until of course, the story proper began.

The story builds up to arriving at Saturn and your really eager to get there, just to see what happens, but the story takes its time, for good reasons it would have been very easy just to arrive at Saturn after the HAL, the computer goes mad, but instead the book deals with Dave Bowmans struggle for survival, and even when you do get to Saturn the story isn't over and your given more to marvel at, more information that sets your imagination racing and at the end your still left wanting more, and trying to think things out for your self, not so much the story but what the story doesn't tell, the things it makes you wonder about, which makes the whole thing more exiting.

I don't usually read these types of books its science fact rather then fiction, the concepts are plausible and have indeed actually happened in real life, another reason why I enjoyed the novel so much.

After reading the novel I watched the film again and it all made a lot more sense, and was all so much clearer. I can't help but recommend the book, even if you didn't like the film, in fact because you didn't like the film.

This was the first time I read anything of Arthur C Clarke, and was mightily impressed, I have since read, 2010, 2061 and have 3001 to read, and I'm also planning to read more of his books, I really liked it.

So if you didn't understand the film that much then this is really worthwhile. Its well written and very enjoyable. I wholly recommend it.

The Solid Grey

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