Rendezvous with Rama

It's odd to think that this book was published 40 years ago. I don't know why that strikes me as strange, but it does. It's tempting for me to call this book "Traditional Science Fiction." Or "Classic Science Fiction" or something along those lines. But what I really mean to say is that this is a story where the science is one of the central aspects of the story. The basic premise of the story is: In the future, humanity finds a alien spacecraft and investigates it. A lot of the joy of explorati [...]

Mysterious and engaging, classic science fiction.I first read this back in high school, we'll just say a LONG time ago. Since then the concepts, ideas and themes surrounding this archetypal work of science fiction have been a huge influence on works in this genre. Clarke first published this Hugo and Nebula award winner in 1972. The first works that I think of that was influenced by RWR is John Varley's excellent Titan series, first coming out in 1979. His influence on Ridley Scott's Alien, also [...]

Ladies, have you ever heard the advice that the more you cover up, the sexier you are? Forgo the plunging neckline for the small keyhole. Let the boys use their imagination. Hint, but don’t show. Clarke evidently had. He dressed this book in a turtleneck, elbow-length gloves, trousers, work boots, and one of those hats with ear flaps. There is barely any flesh showing. What does show is intriguing – a mysterious spaceship, a beautiful flower, an unknown destination, buildings with no doors o [...]

An enormous alien structure enters our solar system and a team is dispatched to explore it before it drifts away and is lost forever. What will humanity discover after its Rendezvous with Rama?Years ago, I decided I needed to read more hard science fiction. Then I read Ringworld and was so uninterested that I quit my hard sf quest before it began. Months ago, a copy of Rendezvous with Rama fell into my clutches. I decided to give it a try, despite my fears that it would be another Ringworld, a b [...]

Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. ClarkeRendezvous with Rama is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1973. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a 50-kilometre (31 mi) cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its mysteries. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards upon its release, and is regarded as one of the cornerston [...]

Rendezvous With Rama starts off where lesser books would climax. To begin with parts of Italy are wiped out by an asteroid leading to the creation of the Spaceguard system for detecting future asteroids well in advance of collision so that preventative measures can be taken. Along comes another huge object initially mistaken for another asteroid but as it draws nearer turns out to be a ginormous spaceship with no apparent mean of propulsion. The ship is given the named Rama and the crew of Earth [...]

For heaven's sake, don't expect great writing from this book. For all his talent, Clarke wasn't a wordsmith (heck, even Asimov could write better!) Instead, simply glory in one of the cleverest conceits you will ever read - an encounter with an alien civilisation in which the aliens are absent and there is no convenient "universal translator" to explain things. Slowly you can begin to piece things together, keeping maybe one step ahead of the astronauts, but you become aware that trying to under [...]

i like world-building in science fiction and fantasy. in these modern times, extensive world-building is commonly derided it is often seen as a lazy way to create a world, telling not showing, an author so in love with something they've built that they just want to describe instead of allowing the reader to slowly experience. i understand that point of view; world-building can often be seen as a glorified, masturbatory info-dump. but for some reason, it just doesn't bother me too much. i think t [...]

This book was SO BORING. Wow. I did not care about any of these characters, they were only slightly different demeanor-wise, which I guess could be believable among astronauts, but it made for a really lacking characterization element.Even during parts of the plot where danger was ensuing I felt no sense of danger & I had no feelings of hoping that the character in danger survived. In this novel women hardly served a further purpose than to be a distraction for or sleep with the men. Sure th [...]

I originally read this in junior high, when I first eagerly devoured all the writings of the "Big 3". This reread is part of a project to revisit the classics I read in my youth, now with my pesky adult brain in tow.Rendezvous with Rama is pretty much the prototype for what people complain about when they say "they don't make 'em like they used to." It is also, by consequence, exactly what others are criticizing when they say "they shouldn't make 'em like that anymore." It is essentially a hard [...]

This is one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. Arthur C. Clarke's 1973 classic made a clean sweep of the genre's awards, winning the Campbell, Hugo, Jupiter, and Nebula awards. The concept of the story is brilliant. The planet sized, spinning, cylindrical world of Rama is the star of the story, featuring a sea that circles the inside of the cylinder. The visuals created by Clarke were stunning. What will mankind make of this interstellar traveling alien world? I loved it, couldn't p [...]

“But at least we have answered one ancient question. We are not alone. The stars will never again be the same to us.” I remember promising to read more /classic/ SciFi books last 2014 and so far I've failed. I can only remember the Ender series (I haven't even read the last book of the original quintet) and The Martian being my /classic/ SciFi reads since 2014. I have a vast interest in space, aliens, space opera well SciFi in general but I have to honest and say that I'm a but intimidated t [...]

Rendezvous With Rama is the best and worst of classic pulp science fiction. The sciencey stuff is neato and the plot is exciting; philosophically, it raises some good questions. But the prose is functional at best, and the characters are wooden. If you can get past that, it's a great book. If you can't, most science fiction is maybe not for you.Clarke is given to breathless, pulpy sentences like this: "It was a good plan - and it failed completely." Which, I mean, I appreciate a good pulpy sente [...]

5.0 stars. One of the best first contact novels ever. The ability of Clarke to bring a high level of detail regarding the mechanics of the expedition without having the story get bogged down is a rare thing. This novel succeeds brilliantly. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinner: Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinner: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinner: (tie) John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinner: British Scienc [...]

This book was my introduction to Arthur C. Clarke, and I happened to read it just before he died. I wasn't sure what to expect. My friend lent me his copy, which was printed in the early 90's and looked pretty pulpy. And the title? But I really enjoyed it. Written in the 70's, but the science wasn't painfully outdated, except he hadn't foreseen just how small and complicated our computers would become even in a few years. Not badly written for a scientist, and he passes my sexism test. (I frowne [...]

I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a scientific person. I didn't do so great in science classes in high school (fuck you, Chemistry!) outside of Biology because that biology makes sense and because, I dunno, that whole science thing can be so boring to me. There's a lot of numbers, and I remember something about a mole bridge, and most things are pretty black and white and I'm the kind of kid that likes gray areas. It's a wonder that my boyfriend and I were even friends, ever, let alone in a relatio [...]

Ovu knjigu bi volio da sam pročitao kad sam bio mlađi , jer mislim da bi mi se onda još više dopao .Meni se dopao lagani Klarkov stil , bez previše nepotrebnih opisa , dovoljno da shvatimo neke stvari . Jednostavna priča o stranom objektu koji se kreće kroz sunčani sistem ,priča o drugačijem prvom susretu koji živi od misteriozne i napete atmosfere da saznamo sta je to u odlično izmišljenoj RAMI .Zaista fascinatni opisi!4*

"Rendezvous with Rama" is the perfect example of a great idea executed in the worst possible way. The concept behind the plot really captured my attention and had me dreaming of possibilities, but the plot itself, as well as Clarke's writing style, was not even anti-climactic: it was the height of boring. First, Clarke should be noted as having a particular style, something that (unfortunately) not many sci-fi writers have. He has his own voice, his own turns of phrase and, if I had to look at a [...]

Rather than do a synoptic review of "Rama", I'll just go ahead and rave about my absolute favorite part of this book: There are no spoilers to reveal! I suppose that's a spoiler in and of itself, but without going too far over the line, I love how much remains a mystery. This is a sci-fi masterpiece because it retains so much of the science while remaining purely fiction. The professional team that investigate Rama have no clues, they have to make theories and guesses as they go along, and thing [...]

Svakako jedno od dva najbolja Clarkeova djela.Tko god zavoli SF i naleti na Clarkea mora pročitati ovo, Odiseju 2001 i pogledati film (Odiseju naravno jer su knjiga i film neraskidivo vezani istodobnim nastankom).Osobno još preporučujem i Kraj djetinjstva, no to je osobno - za ono prvo dvoje postoji opće svjetsko suglasje.Izvlačeći pradavna sjećanja (jer me uvijek zanima reakcija "na prvu loptu") sjećam se koliko je ovaj "prvi susret" bio drukčiji od svih ostalih. Toliko stran i nepozna [...]

Rendezvous with Rama is one of those strange cases (which seem to happen to me a lot), where I remember more about my life while I was reading a book than the about the book itself.I remember liking it, and I have vague recollections of the Raman robot beings and the weirdness of Rama's interior, but that's about all I can conjure from the book.But everything surrounding my reading of the book is vivid.I was on my way to Stratford, Ontario to see The Three Musketeers, Hamlet, The Importance of B [...]

This was a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, this is a classic by my favorite of the Grand Masters, Arthur C Clarke. It was also quite thought provoking and philosophical with a touch of creativity. On the other hand, I found it banal and even more problematic, sexist in his depiction of the characters and his projections about futuristic culture.Clarke is always best when pondering philosophy and the nature of mankind. Though he shows some cynicism, I have found him to be mostly optimistic tow [...]

At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at an inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence. It will kindle their wildest dreams and fan their darke [...]

Boy, this was a great book. If you think of all the sci-fi story templates and formulas, you could find this story done a hundred thousand ways. But not like Clarke does it.He breaks every mold, and this ends up being a very unpredictable - even to your disappointment - book. Let me explain. You find yourself as a reader wanting something to happen so badly, that you scarcely think that it's probably better that it didn't. Just like every romance movie where the guy gets the girl at the end, you [...]

I enjoyed this pretty well even though, in retrospect, it doesn’t really seem like all that much happened. I can see now why there were eventually sequels written, although I don’t plan to read them at this time. This is a complete story, but there were still so many unanswered questions by the end that I was a little unsatisfied.The story is set somewhere around the year 2127. At that point in time, humans have colonized other worlds in our solar system but have not explored beyond that and [...]

I first read this book in high school years ago. What sticks with me most about this book is that by revealing very little about the culture who built the giant artifact/ship know as Rama, Arthur C. Clarke was able to tell a story filled with awe. Mr. Clarke never reveals the intentions, functions, or meaning of any of the artifacts which his characters encounter on the vast spaceship. In doing so he conveys the idea that the purpose of Rama is beyond human understanding and reason. The seemingl [...]

Giant alien spaceship is sighted. People go and check it out. It's full of cool stuff. Clarke adds some sex to show that he isn't just a holdout from the Golden Age, but his heart's not in it. As soon as they've finished, he wants to go out and explore the spaceship again. I can see his girlfriend rolling her eyes.

Now this is science fiction. A story which is all about the science. No action, no adventure, just a realistic 'what if' scenario that keeps you glued to the page. Awesome.Rama is a first contact story, but without all the fear and Hollywood elements. It is a thoughtful, educated look at what might happen if mankind actually met an alien race. And it is by no means the standard 'they-land-on-earth-and-they-try-to-destroy-it.' The idea of Rama is novel. The way the story unravels is intriguing. E [...]

It was only after I’d read Rendezvous with Rama that I found out it was a Big Dumb Object story. I mean, I knew Rama, the mysterious alien spaceshippy thing which appears in our solar system, was an object, and was dumb too – it doesn’t say a word to a soul, not one word – and yes, it was big too, really big. Bigger than a whale! Ten whales! But I didn’t put it all together. However, some critics did, and unkindly pointed out that quite a bit of science fiction is about Big Dumb Object [...]

Sa jedne strane vrlo jednostavna postavka: nepoznati objekat se kreće kroz sunčani sistem i mi hitamo da ga ispitamo pre nego šo odmagli dalje, a sa druge strane imamo odličan hard SF roman koji odlično prikazuje kakva bi mogla biti budućnost kroz 100 do 200 godina. Znači kolko se bavi istraživanjem (mogućih) vanzemaljaca tolko se bavi istraživanjem ljudi i uticaja svega ovoga na ljude i njihove reakcije na sve to.Što se pisanja tiče ovo je gosn. Artur iz najboljeg perioda kada je sv [...]