2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke

 A Book I started "reading", as an audio book. In fact, I listened to the full audio book. Then, towards the last 1/3 or so - at rather with HAL being forced to a "lesser role", I just had to properly read the text, to get a better understanding of the book.

And finally, over the last weekend, came Stanley Kubrick's movie. At the end of the movie, I felt kind of sorry for those who have watched only the movie. The movie, clearly a masterpiece ( as if Kubrick wanted to hear that from me ), is, albeit, cryptic. I am really glad that I read the book first, for it is only because I read the book, a broader understanding of what happened was apparent to me. There are more than a handful of differences between the book and the movie ( for those who have read the book and watched the movie, read / watch this - http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/difference-between-stanley-kubricks-arthur-c-clarkes-2001-a-space-odyssey.html )

This will not serve as a full fledged review, given that half the world has probably read this book, before me. Instead, I will only mention the specific area that made the most impression on me - the machine intelligence!

“But he knew well enough that any man in the right circumstances could be dehumanised by panic.” 

This to me, which was David Bowman trying to understand the "psyche"(?)  of  HAL, after some very unfortunate incidents, was a phrase that hit me right in the middle of my two eyes. There is no other phrase which suggested HAL, for all its speak of not being able to make an error, clearly makes an error of judgement. In the movie version HAL admits of its faults, but not so in the book. In the book, HAL  remains smug, cold in his polite way, and pleads against his imminent senility.

"Deliberate error was unthinkable. Even the concealment of truth filled him with a sense of imperfection, of wrongness—of what, in a human being, would have been called guilt. For like his makers, Hal had been created innocent; but, all too soon, a snake had entered his electronic Eden."

  In the book, the fact that HAL feels no remorse is captured in a vivid fashion. This, to me was the most important point to ponder, for us humans. HAL operated without rancour - but also without pity. But given the gap in knowledge between HAL, the three hibernating scientists, and Poole and Bowman, it could even be argued that HAL was justified in trying to protect itself from death. For, after all, it had the best interests of the mission in mind.

 I will not dwell much on the part about early life, or the transition to the star child. After all, am sure that a large many of the readers in these forums have read this book, and here I am playing catching up, may 25-30 years too late.

This single book was sufficient to convince me, that it  the better Arthur C. Clarke books needs to be read, and I have no hesitation in making a decision to read the rest of the sequels for, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Rating: *****