It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

This allegory about humanity's exploration of the universe, and the universe's reaction to humanity, was the basis for director Stanley Kubrick's immortal film, and lives on as a hallmark achievement in storytelling.

Listening Length

6 hours and 42 minutes
Author

Arthur C. Clarke
Narrator

Dick Hill
Audible release date

April 29 2008
Language

English
Publisher

Brilliance Audio
ASIN

B072HS6NFN
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	6 hours and 42 minutes
Author	Arthur C. Clarke
Narrator	Dick Hill
Audible.ca Release Date	April 29 2008
Publisher	Brilliance Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B072HS6NFN
Best Sellers Rank	#36,221 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #195 in Hard Science Fiction #775 in Space Opera Science Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #793 in High Tech Science Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

8,384 global ratings

5 star		74%
4 star		19%
3 star		4%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Jason

underwhelming

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 8, 2023

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I read this out of curiosity and was disappointed with the ending. I’d rather spend my time reading things that are real

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rickp

This is a truly timeless book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 1, 2020

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This book was originally published in 1968. I vaguely remember seeing the movie decades ago. Recently, while looking for something to read outside of my normal “thriller” genre, I saw 2001. For some reason I decided to buy, and wow, was I impressed. You would never know this book was written 52 years ago. It never gets into any intense, edge of your chair type of action, but it somehow maintains a constant pull on your attention, and near the end, it becomes consuming. I really liked this story a lot.

Rick P.
Winnipeg, Canada

Helpful

11354678

Great complement to the film

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 26, 2014

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After I'd read the book I was researching it was discovered that is was written while the film was being filmed and was worked on by both Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The book takes some of the ideas in the movie further but still doesn't necessarily explain them. I liked this because the mystery of the Monolith from the movie could too easily be destroyed from an unsatisfying explanation in the book, but the book doesn't to this. Instead I found the book added more mystery to those created in the movie by explaining the ideas some more, but not outwardly solving these mysteries for the reader.

For those that loved the movie this book is a fantastic extension of it. On its own it's everything a good sci-fi novel should be.

2 people found this helpful

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Canute

Restore Clarity In Your Life

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 11, 2016

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I saw the movie when I was quite young, and I remember being very confused by the entire storyline. Not long ago, I decided to re-watch it with my own son - and we both were confused (me again). A colleague of mine heartily recommended I read Clarke's novel in order to gain clarity, and that's exactly what happened. If you've never seen the movie, this is a very good SF novel. If you've seen the movie and are awash in confusion, read the book and life will become better for you. All things come together.

One person found this helpful

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Amelie

Size

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 10, 2020

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The book seemed alright - It did come a bit torn up from either the shipping or just how it was produced
Its about 6.5" long and 4" wide so a relatively small book :)

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Alek

A fantastic classic

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 25, 2020

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Imaginative and inventive for the time. The first inspiration for so many facets of science fiction and science we have come to know.

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Chezhannon Gifts

Christmas gift

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 13, 2021

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This was a Christmas gift and my son was very pleased

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Chamindani Somaratna

Excellent Book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 24, 2020

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A Must Read Classic

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Top reviews from other countries

Dennis Sisterson

Poignant view of future past

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 9, 2020

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The film 2001, while a favourite of mine, has always seemed to me fundamentally flawed - something it shared with the book. Having done a bit of reading around it recently I think the problem is this: Most great novels - I think science fiction especially - begin with a great idea, from which the author has then successfully extracted a story. The development of 2001 was the reverse of this. Stanley Kubrick decided he wanted to make a great sci-fi film and then hunted around, with Clarke, for a sufficiently great idea to fit that plan. It didn't begin with a great idea seeking expression. Consequently, the search for narrative or conceptual greatness equal to the budget and production talent Kubrick's reputation had allowed him to bring to bear on the project continued right up to the last day of editing, and personally I think never quite made it. The film's mystique comes from the fact that its ending seems cryptic and impenetrable, but this in turn only stems from Kubrick's determination not to show the story in a cheesy or overly obvious way, not because there's anything particularly deep or profound about the ideas themselves. It's more about hiding the fact that there's really not much there.
The interest in the novel, written in parallel with the film, is in seeing how it differs. In Clarke's rush to get the book finished and on the market he was often working from versions of the script that were later altered by Kubrick after Clarke's involvement ceased. I enjoyed imagining how a film shot from this version might have looked.
It's also a slightly poignant read at this distance. Like a lot of people in the 60s Clarke was overwhelmed and delighted by the speed of technical progress and imagined things would continue along the same trend, with massive bases and cities on the moon before long. Alien contact did not seem far fetched to him. The futuristic framework for the story is still interesting, if dated now. Sadly - aside from a few throwaway predictions about video phone calls and such - it's looking more and more like the dystopian sci-fi writers of that period are the ones who got it right and the best predictions for the future now seem to be about how much disaster we can avoid, not how much of the universe we can explore, so in that respect it feels like a rather poignant "might-have-been" view of the world.

19 people found this helpful

Chainsaw Charlie

Audio Book - 5 star content but 3 star recording quality!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 18, 2019

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After enjoying the movie (once again!) and deciding to re-visit the novel, I thought I would like to try this well-reviewed audio book. After listening to the book I find myself agreeing with other reviewers comments on the 'reader' (NOT A.C.Clarke as is somewhat misleadingly labelled by the cd manufacture!) Dick Hill - he does a very good job indeed of dramatising the novel and I would give a five star rating for what he brings to the reading. The novel itself is five star content. Unfortunately, the recording quality is not five star (and I have taken the trouble to examine the actual waveform of the recording on all six discs) - it is 'clipped' to say the least - and often makes the sound seem somewhat 'robotic' in places. Considering the time which must have been involved in getting six hours worth of Dick Hill reading the book, it's a pity that the sound engineers didn't do as good a job as the narrator! The producers of the recording have also done themselves no favours whatsoever in that they haven't even bothered to insert a chapter list (the book itself is divided into six parts with several chapters per part). It would have been a simple task for the producers to show where each 'part' and 'chapters' occurs across each of the discs. Overall, I would still recommend this as an interesting way to listen to the novel - it's just a pity that the recording lets the overall 'experience' down slightly.

7 people found this helpful

David Hartley

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do..."

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 7, 2018

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I'm a recent convert to audio books. I once heard a dreadful version of (shall we just say tactfully) "a" book - so bad I abandoned it and swore never to listen to another audiobook ever again.
But I'm so glad I broke my own rule with this one! Dick Hill reads this exactly as my mind would do! In a novel which is mainly exposition, he reads with conviction and drama. Clarke's writing is descriptive and yet poetic; it's easy to lose the rhythm and gentle humour. No danger of that happening here. It's an excellent performance full of pace and passion.
Some people say the book is a way to help understand the film. I'm not entirely in agreement with that. The book stands by itself as a fine piece of Science Fiction. In fact, this story diverges from the film in several key scenes.
I've seen the film over 80 times, it is my favourite film and introduced me to Stanley Kubrick's other work. I was already a fan of Arthur C Clarke, and have been since school. So I came to this with a little trepidation and quiet hope. However, I have no hesitation in recommending this audiobook.

9 people found this helpful

Luke Dennison

Ground-breaking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2021

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This seminal book, written in conjunction with Kuberick's film of the same name has no doubt had a massive influence on 'hard sci-fi' fiction (and films) and works such as Contact are indebted to it. The set up in the first couple of chapters are key to the rest of the chapters and then the linear story telling eventually changes to exploring far greater concepts. The level of detail in the writing, especially when describing planets, stars, the solar system etc is just phenomenal and the imagery is fascinating. It only gets four stars because (and it's my fault) my limited human brain struggled to picture of even fully understand some of the concepts discussed, but overall this is a stunning novel.

Rob Ross

As good as I remember

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 11, 2018

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Originally read this just after the film came out, and, as was usual at that time, was surprised how different the book was to what is seen on the screen, (this was my first book-to-screen experience). A much more involved thread throughout, with very insightful writing about the state of human affairs and fears of the time. Although it's a brilliant read for any sci-fi fan, and the author was years ahead of his time, there are certain elements that the film actually does better, even though I am one of those people who will always think that imagination is better than anything film makers can come up with. Although there could be an argument for explaining too much in this book, (something, if I remember correctly the second film did), I feel some exposition would have been a good idea. Obviously this is just my opinion, and I'm sure there are plenty of A.C.C fans out there who would violently disagree. But all in all, this is one of those "must read" books for any generation.

One person found this helpful

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2001: A Space Odyssey Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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