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arthur c. clarke is a fantastic auther. his ideas and storeys are amazing. this is no exception. A giant object is spotted and a team are sent in to investigate. the first in the series worth a read for sci-fi and none sci-fi fans.
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It still evokes that Sensawonder
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A giant cylinder is spotted entering the Solar System and a team of astronauts is sent out to investigate.
The cylinder is unfeasibly vast and (it is discovered) hollow with gravity on the inside of the cylinder produced by centrifugal force. The interior surface is lit by enormous lamps, covered with a variegated landscape and divided in two by a band of sea which exists in a circle around the inside.
Perhaps Clarke's best work, this succeeds (as did Niven's `Ringworld') by its sheer lack of explanation. In fact, the entire novel is, in some ways, an exercise in minimalist adventure, since despite the excitement of the exploration itself and having to rescue a crewmember who becomes stranded on the other side of the central sea, nothing really happens.
One cannot help, however, still being awed by Clarke's depiction of this magnificently vast alien mystery which appears in our Solar System and allows us inside her enormous shell before shortly afterward disappearing.
Again, like Niven's Ringworld, the novel was later lessened by inferior sequels (written in this case in collaboration) and which gradually eroded the awe and mystery which was an integral part of the original books. If you haven't read the Rama sequels you'd be best advised not to bother. The writing is far inferior to Clarke at his best and one suspects that his literary input was minimal.
However, getting back to the original, this is a novel which well deserves the title `classic' and still manages to evoke a sense of wonder set against a background of a universe vast and ultimately unknowable.
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A book that gives you a real sense of wonder
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It's 2130 and Rama, a cylindrical space vessel 50km long by 20km wide has arrived in our solar system. Humanity do not know what it is or where it has come from, only that it is artificial and is passing through our solar system before heading out into deep space again. The only human spaceship that can reach it in time is the Endeavor with its commanding officer Bill Norton.
When the explorers enter Rama, all is dead - there appears to be no activity anywhere. The landscape is strange, although with no geographical features except the frozen sea that separates the north end of Rama from the southern end and city-like structures are seen and named (Paris, New York). As the exploring continues many things are discovered, although none giving any clue at all to what Rama is and why it is here. Their is breathable air at ground level, although the temperatures are well below freezing.
With the sun getting closer, the interior warms and the sea melts. Once this chain of events has happened, Rama comes to life. Robots (biots) are seen carrying out tasks and walking and swimming in Rama. Exploring continues in each of the cities and strange activity starts around what can only be described as the spikes protruding from the southern end of Rama.
My expectations for this book were mixed. I've heard so much about it, yet so little, I really didn't know what to expect other than a huge alien spacecraft turning up in our solar system. What I found was a really nice intriguing read that makes you question everything that is discovered inside Rama. The detailed descriptions given really are wonderful and none of this is unbelievable in any way. The sense of wonder you get when the lights come on and the interior is finally lit up for the explorers to see is great and you can really imagine standing in Rama and taking it in for yourself.
If I had any gripes about this book it would be the characters. Although they're okay as far as characters go, this book really isn't about them and they just help move the plot along enough to get to some more welcome descriptions of Rama and the wonders it contains. The only other thing this book fails to give is any answers, although I can't stress enough how little that matters. It's so nice to read a book that isn't worried about the destination, just that it makes the journey one that you would want to take again and again.
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SF wonders on a grand scale
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I first Rendezvous with Rama about 15 years ago and found it an absolutely riveting read. I don't think any SF book I have read since has come near it in terms of instilling an awe-inspiring feeling of wonder and the thrill of exploring the unknown. This is what SF is really about for me and in this book Arthr C Clarke writes it better than anyone else I can think of. Don't expect high literature but revel in the nicely flowing, descriptive prose nonetheless. The one problem with the Masterwoks edition is the rather poxy cover that doesn't do a terribly good job of conveying the story within the pages!
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Pure entertainment
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Quite simply more than we could expect. An author that continues to create science fiction to become the next generations everyday
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