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2001 the novel is the book of the film, not a Clarke original. The film was based on a Clarke short story called "The Sentinel", but that only dealt with the discovery of the alien artefact on the moon. I read the book Clarke wrote about the film and it was clear that most of the film was Kubrick's ideas, not Clarke's. Clarke just turned the result back into a book. His touch but not really his work.
The sequels are terrible.
Of his own work, "Childhood's End" is worth a read. I enjoyed "Rendezvous with Rama" well enough, although I thought it ran out of ideas. Mostly I preferred his short stories, which had more humanity to them. "The 9 Billion Names of God" is a classic, even if it is a bit of a shaggy dog story. "Tales from the White Hart" is explicitly humorous and not at all bad.
If you want more of the same but a little more modern, Greg Bear probably has the best claim to being his successor. Same huge scale, a bit more humanity (and more sex). I don't know who has written in Clarke's style more recently; I stopped reading that kind of SF.
itsbruce-
I listened to the audiobook which included an introduction by Clarke. According to that the novel and screenplay were written simultaneously by him and Kubrick. Apparently the novel only exists because Clarke hated writing screenplays and needed the novel to help flesh out the story.
I'll have a look in to Greg Bear, thanks!
ltc
I just finished 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke. I enjoyed it a lot, not far off some lesser known Philip K Dick stuff in tone. Are any of the follow ups worth reading? Any other suggestions for his books that are worth a go?