The next logical step after reading 2001 was to dive right into its direct sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two. I read that one once in the past when I was still in high-school so I still remembered big chunks of it, but to my great surprise, not as much as I thought. I forgot most of the second half of the story for some reason. I’m somehow glad I forgot that much, as it unexpectedly allowed me to pretty much enjoy it a second time, something that doesn’t happen often.2010 is very similar to 2001 in terms of overall pace and story depth, although there’s much more action and stuff going on this time. That’s probably why I preferred it to 2001 back when I was a kid. Many of the unanswered questions from the first installment are tackled again in some form or another, some of which are partially answered. The mystery around the monolith remains mostly intact, or perhaps gets even bigger, as, by the end, we’re given a neat idea of what it’s capable of.
2010 is just as good as 2001. It does indeed have some elements to its story that might be even more compelling than what we can find in 2001… But nothing makes me put it before or after the original. It’s definitely on par with its 1968 counterpart. A great read!