Journey to the West
Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, "Monkey", Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation is well known.
2061: Odyssey Three
Clarke had originally intended to write the third book after NASA's "Galileo" mission to Jupiter had returned its findings in the late 1980s. The probe had been initially scheduled for launch in 1984 but this revised back to 1985 and then 1986. It was delayed further in wake of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. Deciding not to wait, Clarke took inspiration for his sequel from the return of Halley's Comet. "Galileo" was eventually launched by on the STS-34 mission in October 1989. It arrived in Jovian orbit almost eight years after the publication of "2061: Odyssey Three".