Synopsis: The year is 2001, and cosmonauts uncover a mysterious monolith that has been buried on the Moon for at least three million years. To their astonishment, the monolith releases an equally mysterious pulse-a kind of signal-in the direction of Saturn after it is unearthed. Whether alarm or communication, the human race must know what the signal is-and who it was intended for. The Discovery and its crew, assisted by the highly advanced HAL 9000 computer system, sets out to investigate. But as the crew draws closer to their rendezvous with a mysterious and ancient alien civilization, they realize that the greatest dangers they face come from within the spacecraft itself. HAL proves a dangerous traveling companion, and the crew must outwit him to survive. (from the online description)Review: I have never seen the movie on which this book is based. I think I need too. Most of the book was interesting, and the part with HAL was creepy. But the end - I have no idea what happened. The dude became a star child? What the....? Esoteric Sci-fi, while lauded as ground-breaking and "asking the big questions" about humanity, space, aliens and our purpose in life, often leaves me confused and slightly irritated. If the average person can't understand your point, then you have failed in reaching the people most in need of being reached. I'll watch the movie and see if it helps. I'll read the next 3 novels because it's a set and I like things to be tidy. But I don't have much hope for it to actually make sense.
Bookmarks: 6 of 10
Awards: None (Although the movie it the book is based on won several awards)
ISBN: 0-453-00269-2
Date Published: 1968
Date Finished: 4-13-2014
Pages: 221
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