2061: Odyssey Three Book Review

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So here we are again, this time with 2061: Odyssey Three. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite older sci-fi series that I’ve read. But does the third book hold up against the first two? Let’s get into the review and find out.

2061: Odyssey Three picks up several years after the second book, 2010, left off. Published in 1987, the book takes inspiration from the return of Halley’s comet. A lot happened over the past several decades. For one, Jupiter became a new star called Lucifer, transforming the climates of Io, Europa, and Ganymede. Humanity stays away from Europa based on the mysterious message about attempting to land there. Peace appears to thrive among the major nations, including the United States of South Africa.

But we get back to Heywood Floyd, now aged 103. He boards the spacecraft Universe and sets out for Halley’s comet, while his grandson, Chris II, works aboard the Galaxy. When the Galaxy attempts to fly near Europa, someone attempts to hijack the spacecraft, sending it crashlanding on the planet. Heywood Floyd and the Universe must leave Halley’s comet to rescue the crew.

I need to be honest here. I didn’t find 2061 as interesting as interesting as the first two books. To me, the reason lies in the fact that it primarily serves as the continuation to the series without focusing as much on what made the first two compelling in the first place. The first two books set up their unique concepts, and while the third book delivers a quick pace, it doesn’t settle on anything new to the story for too long. 2061, for example, includes the monoliths, but the story never dwells on them for too long. David Bowman’s story also barely continues until the end of the story.

The book, however, describes Europa for the first time, including Mount Zeus, the mountain made of diamond. I found this part compelling since it developed the idea of what the mountain represents in the context of the changing power dynamics on Earth. This combined with the monolith introduced on Europa means to me that the series is heading toward a more epic conclusion. I also found the ending especially interesting. I love a good space elevator for one, but I also liked how it called back to the original monolith. It made me more interested to read 3001, the final book.

Time to head back to my TBR! I have a few things lined up, even if things get a little busier for me this summer. See you all later this week for another writing post. Happy reading!

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