3001: The Final Odyssey - Hardcover

Clarke, Arthur C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345315227 ISBN 13: 9780345315229

Publisher: Del Rey, 1997

Synopsis

It began four million years ago when a gleaming black monolith cast its shadow on the stark African savanna *an inexplicable apparition that ignited the spark of human consciousness, transforming ape into man.
It continued at the dawn of the 21st century when an identical black monolith was excavated on the moon *propelling Dave Bowman and his deputy Frank Poole on a mission to Jupiter that ended in the mutiny of the supercomputer HAL.
Only Dave Bowman would survive to encounter a third, and far more massive monolith on Jupiter's moon Europa *and be forever transformed into the star child.
It is the world of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And now, the odyssey enters its perilous ultimate stage. In 3001, the human race, incredibly, has survived, yet lives in baffled fear of the trio of monoliths that dominate the solar system--until a ray of light beams forth from a totally unexpected source. The body of Frank Poole, believed dead for a thousand years, is recovered from the frozen reaches of the galaxy, restored to conscious life, and readied to resume the voyage that HAL abruptly terminated a thousand years back. He knows he cannot proceed until he reestablishes contact with Dave Bowman. But first he must fathom the terrifying truth of what Bowman *and HAL *have become inside the monolith.
In 3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke brings the greatest and most successful science fiction series of all time to its magnificent, stunningly unforeseen conclusion. As we hurtle toward the new millennium in real time, Clarke brilliantly, daringly leaps one thousand years into the future to reveal a truth we are only now capable of comprehending. An epic masterpiece at once dazzlingly imaginative and grounded in scientific actuality, 3001 is a story that only Arthur C. Clarke could tell.

About this title

From the Publisher

CHILDHOOD'S END and 3001: FINAL ODYSSEY
A couple of years ago, at the national television syndication convention, I was chatting with Stan Lee (of Marvel Comics). He was asking me what was up at Del Rey, and I mentioned 3001: FINAL ODYSSEY, as well as the new mass market edition we'd just done of CHILDHOOD'S END. Stan stated enthusiastically that, if there was one thing he most wanted to do in this world, it was make a movie of CHILDHOOD'S END, one of his favorite novels. He apparently loves Clarke's work.

So when I got back to the office, I dropped a copy of the two books into the mail. About a week later I was listening to my lunchtime voice mail messages, and there were Stan's unmistakeable tones, sincerely thanking me for the books. This guy deals with the James Cameron's of the world, yet a gift of Arthur C. Clarke causes him to make the time to express his gratitude.

--Steve Saffel, Senior Editor

From the Back Cover

"3001: The Final Odyssey has an eerie and compelling plausibility."
--Business Week

"A fascinating picture of our future: cities atop needlelike towers that extend into space, the colonization of Venus, the pacification of humanity, and the abolition of religion."
--Newsweek

"Science-fiction master Arthur C. Clarke has taken generations of readers to the far and lonely reaches of the universe."
--USA Today

"MARVELS APLENTY."
--The New York Times Book Review

"From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. 3001: The Final Odyssey is a tour de force that finally answers the questions that sparked the imaginations of an entire generation."
--Buzz Aldrin

"3001 is interesting and enjoyable, worth the price and worth the wait."
--San Diego Union-Tribune

"Clarke's agile imagination stretches our notions of how things can be, should be, and might be in man's unfolding destiny. The novel is a torrent of challenging ideas."
--Roger Ebert

"Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey is witty, provocative and scary, a triumphant reaffirmation of his position as the dean of science fiction writing."
--Larry Collins

"A satisfying conclusion to the series . . . It is tightly constructed and stands well in its own right."
--Rocky Mountain News

About this edition

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0345315227
• ISBN 13: 9780345315229
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 263