2010 Odyssey Two Written and Read by Arthur C Clarke Cassette Tape Audio Book Harper Classics CP 1709

2010 Odyssey Two is a 1982 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C
Clarke. It is the sequel to the 1968 novel 2001 A Space Odyssey, but continues
the story of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation with the same title rather than
Clarke's original novel, which differed from the film in some respects. Set in
the year 2010, the plot centers on a joint Soviet-American mission aboard the
Soviet spacecraft Leonov. The mission has several objectives, including
salvaging the spaceship Discovery and investigating the mysterious "monolith"
discovered by Dave Bowman in 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Continued below
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2010 Odyssey Two Written and Read by Arthur C Clarke with the Zarathustra Theme

Cover is VG+ with some bumps and edge wear
Tape is VG+ and plays great

Side A:
Band 1: Chapter 1 Meeting at the Focus
Band 2: Chapter 9 The Ice of the Grand Canal
Band 3: Chapter 11 Ice and Vacuum

Side B:
Band 1: Chapter 16 Private Line
Band 2: Chapter 30 Homecoming
Band 3: Chapter 51 The Great Game
Band 4: Epilog: 20,001
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From the back cover of the LP: Author's Note - The novel 2001 A Space Odyssey
was written during the years 1964-1968 and was published in July 1968, shortly
after release of the movie. As I have described in The Lost Worlds of 2001,
both projects proceeded simultaneously, with feedback in each direction. Thus I
often had the strange experience of revising the manuscript after viewing
rushes based upon an earlier version of the story - a stimulating, but rather
expensive, way of writing a novel.

No one could have imagined, back in the mid-60's, that the exploration of the
moons of Jupiter lay, not in the next century, but only fifteen years ahead.
Nor had anyone dreamed of the wonders that would be found there-although we can
be quite certain that the discoveries of the twin Voyagers will one day be
surpassed by even more unexpected finds. When 2001 was written, lo, Europa,
Ganymede and Callisto were mere pinpoints of light in even the most powerful
telescope; now they are worlds, each unique, and one of them—10—the most
volcanically active body in the Solar System.

And there is another, more subtle, psychological factor to be taken into
consideration. 2001 was written in an age that now lies beyond one of the Great
Divides in human history; we are sundered from it forever by the moment when
Neil Armstrong set foot upon the Moon. 20 July 1969 was still half a decade in
the future when Stanley Kubrick and I started thinking about the "proverbial
good science fiction movie" (his phrase). Now history and fiction have become
inextricably intertwined.

The Apollo astronauts had already seen the film when they left for the Moon.
The crew of Apollo 8, who at Christmas 1968 became the first men ever to set
eyes upon the lunar Farside, told me that they had been tempted to radio back
the discovery of a large, black monolith: alas, discretion prevailed…

And there were later, almost uncanny instances of nature imitating art.
Strangest of all was the saga of Apollo 13 in 1970.

As a good opening, the Command Module, which houses the crew, had been
christened Odyssey. Just before the explosion of the oxygen tank which caused
the mission to be aborted, the crew had been playing Richard Strauss'
Zarathustra theme, now universally identified with the movie. Immediately after
the loss of power, Jack Swigert radioed back to Mission Control: “Houston,
we've had a problem." The words that Hal used to Frank Poole on a similar
occasion were: "Sorry to interrupt the festivities, but we have a problem."

When the report of the Apollo 13 mission was later published, NASA
Administrator Tom Paine sent me a copy, and noted under Swigert's words: "Just
as you always said it would be, Arthur." I still get a very strange feeling
when contemplate this whole series of events-almost, indeed, as if I share a
certain responsibility…

Then, there is the strange case of the "Eye of Japetus"-chapter 35 of 2001.
Here I describe astronaut Bowman's discovery on the Saturnian moon of a curious
feature: "a brilliant white oval, about four hundred miles long and two hundred
wide...perfectly symmetrical...and so sharp-edged that it almost
looked...painted on the face of the little moon," As he came closer, Bowman
convinced himself that "the bright ellipse set against the dark background of
the satellite was a huge empty eye staring at him as he approached...." Later,
he noticed "the tiny black dot at the exact centre," which turns out to be the
Monolith (or one of its avatars.)

Well...when Voyager 1 took the first photographs of lapetus they did indeed
disclose a large, clear-cut white oval with a tiny black dot at the centre.
Carl Sagan promptly sent me a print from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the
cryptic annotation "Thinking of you...."I do not know whether to be relieved or
disappointed that Voyager 2 has left the matter still open.
Invariably, therefore, the story you are about to hear is something much more
complex than a straightforward sequel to the earlier novel-or the movie. Where
these differ, I have followed the screen version; however, I have been more
concerned with making this book self consistent, and as accurate as possible in
the light of current knowledge. Which, of course, will once more be out of date
by 2001…

-ARTHUR C. CLARKE

Arthur C. Clarke is not only well-versed in current science, but indeed is
about 1,000 years ahead of today in his grasp of what we will become and where
we are going. Arthur C. Clarke was born in England. His prime interest was and
still is: Science. He began to write for British and American magazines, and
his first book was one of the masterpieces of imaginative science fiction,
Against the Fall of Night, later re-written as The City and The Stars. An early
book of nonfiction was The Exploration of Space which was offered by the
Book-of-the-Month Club in 1952.

By this date it is doubtful if even Arthur knows how many books in how many
languages are to his credit. To mention only a few, Childhood's End (TC 1614),
Rendezvous With Rama, Imperial Earth, Transit of Earth (TC 1566), and The
Fountains of Paradise (TC 1606). But it is perhaps as author of the novel 2001:
A Space Odyssey (TC 1504) and co-author with Stanley Kubrick of the screenplay
of that memorable film that he is best known. All of Arthur Clarke's recordings
are available in a Soundbook package (SBR 121). And what, as they say, to the
future? What has Arthur next in store for an unsuspecting world? Who knows!!!

Cover: Photograph courtesy of NASA. Jupiter and its four planet-size moons,
called Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March 1980 by Voyager I
and assembled into this collage. They are not to scale but are in their
relative positions. Reddish lo (upper left) is nearest Jupiter, then Europa
(center); Ganymede and Calisto (lower right).

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