Once upon a time, when the 1987 World Series was still five years away, a science fiction mastermind and literary genius sat down and wrote one of the most compelling and riveting sequels in history. Arthur C. Clarke gave birth to the novel 2010, Odyssey Two which was the sequel to the incredibly amazing novel 2001, A Space Odyssey. This 288-page marvel of the written word takes place nine years after the first had left off. A crew of both American and Russian astronauts were assembled to travel to Jupiter and rendezvous with the spacecraft Discovery. Mission Control had lost contact with Discovery right after the computer system, HAL 9000, malfunctioned, for unknown reasons, and killed four out of five members of the crew. The Leonov, which is the name of the recovery ship being sent out, must dock with the Discovery and retrieve as much data as possible. Through out the story more questions about the mysterious monolith that was found on the moon are answered. The enigmas that surround the disappearance of the Discoveries fifth member, David Bowman, are explained to some extent. Finally, the greatest secrets that the universe has begin to surface.
"He had passed through a cosmic switching system- a Grand Central Station of the Galaxies." Clarke takes the reader to the very ends of the universe and when he can no long go any further he takes us deep into the minds of man. 2010, Odyssey Two throws the reader through the empty loneliness of space and into a claustrophobic spacecraft. Even the simple setting of a cryogenic sleeping chamber is brought to life by Clarke's descriptions. "The glorious pink glow that surrounded him was very soothing; it reminded him of barbecues and crackling logs of Christmas logs." Though the intricate portrayal of the every-day places that Clarke presents is masterful, to say the least, the true astonishment is the imagination of Clarke that brings the reader to places that are out of reach.
