2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
May. 4th, 2025 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereI have read very little sci-fi, and been most entertained by H.G. Wells among my efforts, so this was very much a wild card of a book - especially since a lot of classic sci-fi writers got tarred with a brush of having very poor prose styles and bland characters, being all about the ideas. But (aside from his slight over-fondness for the word "ebon") I had no problem with Clarke's prose. I'm the last person to find space imagery at all gripping, and he did an excellent job throughout at keeping my interest and conveying emotion.
A lot happens in a slim 200 pages, as the story switches frequently from one mood and point of focus to another. There's the primeval section, the mystery on the moon with all its ramifications, the clockwork grind of space exploration, the novel briefly veering into a horror story featuring a murderous AI, and the transcendent final sequence. Clarke conveys the sheer scale of time, distance and objects very well. Being able to convey abstract concepts is a writing skill, just as much as deep character exploration. Clarke also has a good sense of dramatic timing.
There's also a stargate, which I found childishly amusing. Actually, between that phrase and the concept of beings which ascend from the requirement of physical bodies and become pure consciousness, I am wondering if I just found a prime inspiration for Stargate worldbuilding?
I never saw Kubrick's film. David referenced it every now and then, which made reading this book extremely bittersweet, as I would have shared delightful conversations a few months ago. But that's true about everything, so I just keep going.
A lot happens in a slim 200 pages, as the story switches frequently from one mood and point of focus to another. There's the primeval section, the mystery on the moon with all its ramifications, the clockwork grind of space exploration, the novel briefly veering into a horror story featuring a murderous AI, and the transcendent final sequence. Clarke conveys the sheer scale of time, distance and objects very well. Being able to convey abstract concepts is a writing skill, just as much as deep character exploration. Clarke also has a good sense of dramatic timing.
There's also a stargate, which I found childishly amusing. Actually, between that phrase and the concept of beings which ascend from the requirement of physical bodies and become pure consciousness, I am wondering if I just found a prime inspiration for Stargate worldbuilding?
I never saw Kubrick's film. David referenced it every now and then, which made reading this book extremely bittersweet, as I would have shared delightful conversations a few months ago. But that's true about everything, so I just keep going.
