History Literature / TheSpaceOdysseySeries

* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: The Firstborn, who created the Monoliths and later went on to transfer their consciousness to all of space-time. While they normally [[AllPowerfulObserver stay out of the affairs of lesser races]], they will occasionally personally interject their help if they deem the one asking for it worthy. [[spoiler:This is displayed at the end of ''2010'' when Dave asks them to save HAL from being killed by the newly-born Lucifer's creation. They transfer HAL's consciousness to be with Dave in his ascended form from then on.]]

* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: ''2061'' mentions that Dr. Chandra died in hibernation on the trip back to Earth after ''2010''. It's implied that he [[DeathByDespair died of grief]] over HAL having been destroyed by the explosion of Jupiter, despite the ending of ''2061'' stating that he will create a new 9000 computer.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Implied in 3001. The final page of the book states that the Monolith was ordered to continue observing humanity, but the Monolith (stated by Halman to have been damaged in the Jovian impact) chooses instead to eradicate humanity.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Nicely averted when a Europan life form eats a human, and then vomits it back up, pointing out that alien predators wouldn't necessarily find us tasty or nutritious, and that our biochemistry could even be poisonous.

* FailedFutureForecast: In addition to [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp incorrectly predicting that the USSR would still exist]] by the year 2061, the series also incorrectly predicted that the [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra South African Apartheid regime]] would end in a coup d'état, with the white population fleeing and taking most of the country's wealth with them, leaving the black population to rebuild the economy, which they are able to do so in a matter of months.

* AbsentAliens: Besides the unseen creators of the Monoliths, the Europans and Jovians, mankind has not made any contact with other aliens even by the year 3001.

* TheDayOfReckoning: The last page of ''3001'' makes a statement that the Monolith's makers will not determine humanity's fate until "the Last Days".

* OhMyGods: In place of "God", the people of ''3001'' say "Deus", example: "By Deus - It's full of stars!".

* {{Precursors}}: The mysterious race only know as "The creators of the Monoliths". The prologue gave them the name "Firstborn", but was never used in-story.

* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: ''2061'' mentions that Dr. Chandra died in hibernation on the trip back to Earth after ''2010''. It's implied that he [[DeathByDespair died of grief]] over HAL having been destroyed by the explosion of Jupiter.

* FailedFutureFoercast: In addition to [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp incorrectly predicting that the USSR would still exist]] by the year 2061, the series also incorrectly predicted that the [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra South African Apartheid regime]] would end in a coup d'état, with the white population fleeing and taking most of the country's wealth with them, leaving the black population to rebuild the economy, which they are able to do so in a matter of months.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: In addition to incorrectly predicting that the USSR would still exist by the year 2061, the series also incorrectly predicted that the [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra South African Apartheid regime]] would end in a coup d'état, with the white population fleeing and taking most of the country's wealth with them, leaving the black population to rebuild the economy, which they are able to do so in a matter of months.

* BroadStrokes[=/=]NegativeContinuity: While all of the novels takes pretty much all of the events of the previous ones in account, each installment also seems to ignore the ending of the previous one. WordOfGod is that each novel takes place in its own [[AlternateUniverse parallel universe]].

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Nicely averted when an alien life form eats a human, and then vomits it back up, pointing out that alien predators wouldn't necessarily find us tasty or nutritious.

* JustFriends: Poole's relationship and eventual marriage with Indra is a form of this. They even managed to stay friends after the split up romantically 15 years later.

* RipVanWinkle: Frank Poole

* EarthShatteringKaboom: In ''3001'', the people observe a planet explode, which somehow triggered a supernova. They are left to wonder if there was intelligence on that planet and if they caused the supernova. Though everyone was so terrified of the phenomenon they [[NeverSpeakOfItAgain didn't want to speak of it again]].

* NightmareFuel: In-Universe in ''3001'', the people were terrified when they observe a planet explode, which triggered a supernova. They are left to wonder if there was intelligence on that planet and if they somehow caused it.

* KillAllHumans: [[spoiler: In 3001, it turns out the monoliths have decided that humanity is no longer worthy of existence, due to how we behaved during the 21st century, and blocks out the Sun (and Lucifer) in an effort to kill us all.]]

''The Space Odyssey Series'' is a series of novels written by ArthurCClarke, which takes a philosophical look at many SpeculativeFictionTropes, such as {{Precursors}}, [[AIIsACrapshoot Intelligent Computers]], space travel and the humankind's place in the universe.

'''''The Space Odyssey Series''''' is a series of novels written by ArthurCClarke, which takes a philosophical look at many SpeculativeFictionTropes, such as {{Precursors}}, [[AIIsACrapshoot Intelligent Computers]], space travel and the humankind's place in the universe.

* BroadStrokes[=/=]NegativeContinuity: While all of the novels seems to take all of the events of the previous ones in account, each installment seems to ignore the ending of the previous one. WordOfGod is that each novel takes place in its own [[AlternateUniverse parallel universe]].

* ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968): A interesting case since the novel is actually the byproduct to a collaboration between Clarke and Creator/StanleyKubrick, which resulted in [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey the film of the same name]] that came out the same year, which makes the book the {{Novelization}} (Clarke himself said the book should have been credited to "Clarke and Kubrick", just like the movie was credited to "Kubrick and Clarke"). The book and the film are both based on some of Clarke's earlier short stories, most prominently ''The Sentinel'', and they largely follows the same plot, but with some small differences.\\

* AdamAndEvePlot: Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' issue 7 has a Star Child ('New Seed' in the comics) taking two lovers from their doomed planet to repopulate on another.
* AllCavemenWereNeanderthals: The first two issues of the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series involves them.

* BarbarianHero: Marak in issue 3 and 4 of the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series.

* InvisibleAliens: The creators of the Monolith, but averted in the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series which features different aliens.

* MatchCut: With two panels in Issue 1 and 2 of the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series. The first panel has a caveperson, and the second one has a modern human astronaut in the same position. Likely to invoke the famous match cut from the movie.

* OutOfFocus: The Monolith appears in all but the final issue (#10) in the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series.

* StrictlyFormula: Issues 1-6 of the Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' series replays the same idea with different characters in different situations, both prehistoric and futuristic.

* CanonImmigrant: Mister Machine (now Machine Man in the MarvelUniverse).

* TheDayOfReckoning: The last page makes a statement that the Monolith's makers will not determine humanity's fate until "the Last Days".

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: ''3001'' Is about a man brought back to life 1000 years in the future and [[AuthorTract Clarke's thoughts]] on what it will be like, then only the last third returns to the ongoing plot of the series.

* AdamAndEvePlot: Marvel Comics' ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' issue 7 has a Star Child taking two lovers from their doomed planet to repopulate on another.

* NightmareFuel: In-Universe in ''3001'', the people were terrified when they observe a planet explode, which triggered a supernova. They are left to wonder if there was intelligence on that planet or if they somehow caused it.