By Arthur C. Clark

$3.99 at Goodwill, possibly from the same deceased person’s collection from which I aquired 2010. Sadly however, I could not find a copy of the first book in the series, nor the last. However, I recently had the good fortune of finding both at Robert’s Books in Lincoln City.

A quick and easy read , it is less a philosophical discussion of the future of mankind in our universe as it is a simple framework to discuss some intersting theories about the satalites of Jupiter. This I suppose is in keeping with the hard science fiction approach of Clark for which he is apparently known. It doesn’t seem to fit in the series, despite the recurrence of the character Haywood Floyed, and his Dave Bowman-like ghost in the last act.

Other than that, it is a sciency adventure story of a crash landed ship on a forbidden planet. It is a decent read but lacks the HAL 9000, and most other connection to the rest of the series. Clark concedes as much by stating in the intro that it may exist in a paralell universe to the other stories. As a result it lacks the deep philosphical questions, continuity and suspense of the two previous stories. It’s not a deal breaker, it would be a light airplane read, and I look forward to completing the series.