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Title: Where's the story?
Review: "Arthur C. Clarke is considered the greatest science fiction writer of all time," says the publisher's blurb. By who? _3001_ contains maybe 25 pages' worth of story (though "story" is putting it too strongly), padded out to ten times that length by self-indulgent prophesying and preaching, in amateurish prose that makes you cringe several times per page. And when, after 150 pages of this padding, we finally get to the actual story, Clarke fails to provide us with the most important and potentially interesting part of it, the actual message whose warning of impending disaster finally sets the real plot in motion. Ironically, the best writing and reading come in the nonfictional source notes and valediction at the end of the book. For addicts only, and they might want to wait for the cheaper paperback edition, which surely won't be long in coming
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