tip, though: DON'T read any sequels. 2001 is great, 2010 so-so, 2100
blah, and 3001 well-nigh unreadable.
A little correction: it's 2061. I disagree about 2010 and 2061 as I loved
reading them. 2061 explores the interesting character of Heywood Floyd in
more depth. But I agree about 3001. It was unwise of Clarke to write it the
way he did--and the parts about computer viruses pretty much sound like my
ideas about Plan 9 and computers in general; uninformed at best, that is :-D
While doing short stories you may want to try Clarke's The Sentinel as
well. 2001 grew out of that one. 2001, the film, is probably the greatest
science-fiction film of all time. Any serious 2001 fan should also read The
Lost Worlds of 2001. Clarke's chronicle of how 2001 the book was written
and 2001 the film was made. It contains in addition parts of the book that
never appeared in the final revision. Some of them are astounding, some
clumsily-written, but all worth a read.
Two very interesting short stories of Asimov legacy are The Last Question
and The Last Answer. Each thought-provoking in a different way.
--On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 5:56 PM -0500 "Joel C. Salomon"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 5:32 AM, Eris Discordia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
There are the Great Three, of course. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and
Robert A. Heinlein. Anything they wrote is worth a read. Sometimes a
number of reads. Clarke particularly interests me. Try the short story
The Nine Billion Names of God. The series of Odyssey novels are very
readable--2001 is a magnum opus of Clarke, and of science fiction.
Clarke's short stories are great, as are many of his novels. Quick
tip, though: DON'T read any sequels. 2001 is great, 2010 so-so, 2100
blah, and 3001 well-nigh unreadable. Same with the Rama books: read
the first, ignore the rest. Also, if there's a short story, and then
an expanded novel, stick with the short story. Especially Guardian
Angel/Childhood's End.
If you want short stories, look for the "Best of …" set by del Rey
books. Great introduction to many authors, especially Golden Age ones.
—Joel
