&quot;A daring romp through the solar system and a worthy successor to 2001.&quot;<br><br> *Carl Sagan<br><br><br><br>Nine years after the disastrous Discovery mission to Jupiter in 2001, a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition sets out to rendezvous with the derelict spacecraft *to search the memory banks of the mutinous computer HAL 9000 for clues to what went wrong . . . and what became of Commander Dave Bowman.<br><br><br><br>Without warning, a Chinese expedition targets the same objective, turning the recovery mission into a frenzied race for the precious information Discovery may hold about the enigmatic monolith that orbits Jupiter.<br><br><br><br>Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman *the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith *streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . .<br><br><br><br>&quot;Clarke deftly blends discovery, philosophy, and a newly acquired sense of play.&quot;<br><br> *Time<br><br><br><br>&quot;2010 is easily Clarkes' best book in over a decade.&quot;<br><br> *The San Diego Tribune