Space Odyssey Books in Order
The Space Odyssey books began with 2001: A Space Odyssey, written alongside Stanley Kubrick’s film. They follow the mysterious black monoliths left by an alien intelligence and the people sent to study them, from Dave Bowman’s voyage to Saturn through to the year 3001.
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Series facts
- Books
- 4
- Published
- 1968 to 1997
- First book
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Latest
- 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)
- Setting
- Set in space
The reading order
Every Space Odyssey book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
- 12001: A Space Odyssey1968With Dave BowmanA black monolith dug up on the Moon sends a signal towards Saturn.Buy on Amazon
- 22010: Odyssey Two1982With Heywood FloydNine years after the Discovery mission failed, a joint Soviet and American expedition sets out for Jupiter to find out what happened.Buy on Amazon
- 32061: Odyssey Three1987With Heywood FloydHeywood Floyd, now an old man, travels to Halley’s Comet on its return in 2061, while events on Jupiter’s moon Europa draw the attention of the whole solar system.Buy on Amazon
- 43001: The Final Odyssey1997With Frank PooleIn 3001 the body of astronaut Frank Poole, lost in space a thousand years earlier, is found and revived.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read the four books in order. Each sequel follows the film versions as much as the earlier novels, so a few details change between books, which Clarke acknowledged.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Heywood Floyd | Dave Bowman | Frank Poole | HAL 9000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2001: A Space Odyssey | MMajor | LLead | MMajor | MMajor |
| 2 2010: Odyssey Two | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 3 2061: Odyssey Three | LLead | ·Minor | ||
| 4 3001: The Final Odyssey | MMajor | LLead | ·Minor |
Characters in the Space Odyssey books
4 characters from Arthur C. Clarke’s chart, with the number of Space Odyssey books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Heywood FloydSpace scientist | 3 | 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 |
| Dave BowmanAstronaut on the Discovery | 4 | 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 |
| Frank PooleBowman's fellow astronaut | 2 | 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 |
| HAL 9000The Discovery's computer | 3 | 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 |