2010, odyssey two

2010: Odyssey Two is a science fiction novel by the British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1982. It continues the story of his 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Clarke adjusted a few points in the earlier book so that the two would sit alongside the film version of 2001.

The action takes place in 2010, nine years after the Discovery One mission to Jupiter failed. A joint Soviet and American expedition arrives aboard the Soviet ship Alexei Leonov with a set of jobs to do: recover the abandoned Discovery, investigate the monolith that Dave Bowman had found in orbit, and explain Bowman's disappearance. The crew includes Heywood Floyd, and the Soviets have fitted their ship with an advanced new drive that makes the journey considerably quicker.

Much of what the expedition needs to know may be locked inside the silent Discovery, so the answers have to be recovered before they can be understood. In 1983 the novel was shortlisted for the Hugo Award for best novel, and Peter Hyams adapted it for the screen in 1984 as 2010: The Year We Make Contact.