Rendezvous with Rama
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- Create Date：2021-05-18 10:53:31
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Arthur C. Clarke
- ISBN：0575077336
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Summary
Alternative cover edition exists here。
The enigmatic object christened Rama was detected while still outside the orbit of Jupiter， and a first radar contact at such a distance was unprecedented， indicating that Rama was of exceptional size。 As it raced through the Solar System， it became apparent that Rama was a cylinder so geometrically perfect that it might have been turned on a gigantic lathe。 Mankind was about to receive its first vistor from the stars。
There are perpetual surprises， constant evocation of the sense of wonder， and occasions of the most breathless suspence - New York Times
Quite masterly - The Times
One of the best novels Clarke has written。。。 packed with suspense and mystery - Sunday Times
Cover illustration: Steve Stone
The enigmatic object christened Rama was detected while still outside the orbit of Jupiter， and a first radar contact at such a distance was unprecedented， indicating that Rama was of exceptional size。 As it raced through the Solar System， it became apparent that Rama was a cylinder so geometrically perfect that it might have been turned on a gigantic lathe。 Mankind was about to receive its first vistor from the stars。
There are perpetual surprises， constant evocation of the sense of wonder， and occasions of the most breathless suspence - New York Times
Quite masterly - The Times
One of the best novels Clarke has written。。。 packed with suspense and mystery - Sunday Times
Cover illustration: Steve Stone
Reviews
Yates Buckley
，
The story is a very real and in many ways uneventful first contact。 The great quality is the world of imagination the story leaves the reader with。 The sense of the depth of unknown。。。
Lisa Bee
，
I get why this book is a sci-fi classic， but it’s pretty old school。 I don’t see myself reading the other books in the series。
Phil
，
I love this book。 There’s something about the mystery and wonder of exploration that I find absorbing。
Peter
，
Old SciFi。 This has a feel of new science and history。 Maybe it's alternative history too。。。 Good characters， nice plot development， nice struggles， great ending。 Old SciFi。 This has a feel of new science and history。 Maybe it's alternative history too。。。 Good characters， nice plot development， nice struggles， great ending。 。。。more
Roland
，
It is not a bad book， but except for the overall world of Rama， then the details are not breathtaking。 In other words， Rama doesn't have the philosophical depth of a great Sci-fi story。 It is not a bad book， but except for the overall world of Rama， then the details are not breathtaking。 In other words， Rama doesn't have the philosophical depth of a great Sci-fi story。 。。。more
Bhuwan Chand
，
What more can I say about Rendezvous with Rama that hasn't been said before， it won all the science fiction literature award the year it was published， even after more than 50 years， it is still extremely relevant and fills the reader with awe and respect for Arthur C Clarke and his vision of the future。 There were times when I took a pause from reading the book and started wondering about the space and what may lies beyond。。。 can we even imagine what wonders are there for us to discover？ Humani What more can I say about Rendezvous with Rama that hasn't been said before， it won all the science fiction literature award the year it was published， even after more than 50 years， it is still extremely relevant and fills the reader with awe and respect for Arthur C Clarke and his vision of the future。 There were times when I took a pause from reading the book and started wondering about the space and what may lies beyond。。。 can we even imagine what wonders are there for us to discover？ Humanity is still in its infancy when it comes to understand the space。。。 Loved the book， its beautifully written， go read it if you still haven't。。。 。。。more
Iva Jar
，
Asi už pomalu objevuji， který kousek žánru sci-fi mi tak nesedí。 Tento。Solaris， Rama。。。 A teď se teprve divím， jakto že se mi líbila Vzpomínka na Zemi。Od Clarka se mi jiné věci líbily víc。 Teda ty dvě， co jsem četla předtím。
Bruno Neute
，
3。5*
Mike Lees
，
I remember this book from many years ago。 It was the epitome of what I like in Sci-Fi。 An epic for the mind。
Isaac Cabrera
，
Mi reseña en mi canal de YouTube 'La Biblioteca de K' https://youtu。be/AasChSepOS8 Mi reseña en mi canal de YouTube 'La Biblioteca de K' https://youtu。be/AasChSepOS8 。。。more
Robin Howard
，
3。5 rounded up - I liked the world building aspects， the realism， the well-thought-out science， the plausibility， and the space politics。 What I found lacking was the characterization， which led to me not really caring whether the characters lived or died because I felt no connection to them。 I think they should make this into a movie but edit out all the sexist remarks from Commander Norton and give women more of an important role in the book。 Other than that， I thought it was an interesting re 3。5 rounded up - I liked the world building aspects， the realism， the well-thought-out science， the plausibility， and the space politics。 What I found lacking was the characterization， which led to me not really caring whether the characters lived or died because I felt no connection to them。 I think they should make this into a movie but edit out all the sexist remarks from Commander Norton and give women more of an important role in the book。 Other than that， I thought it was an interesting read and I appreciated the various artists that have published their renditions of Rama on the internet - I found those to be helpful in visualizing the interior and exterior。 :） 。。。more
Tushar Marpaka
，
This is a hard sci-fi book about space exploration。I loved that there was no unnecessary explorations into the characters。I agree some stories need it。 But not this。The Endeavour is an effective group。 That's all I needed。But encouraging unconventional ways if it helps their understanding。Author paints a clear enough picture of the huge 50km long and 20km wide cylinder 'Rama' floating in space and it's various mysterious components etc。 This is a hard sci-fi book about space exploration。I loved that there was no unnecessary explorations into the characters。I agree some stories need it。 But not this。The Endeavour is an effective group。 That's all I needed。But encouraging unconventional ways if it helps their understanding。Author paints a clear enough picture of the huge 50km long and 20km wide cylinder 'Rama' floating in space and it's various mysterious components etc。 。。。more
Tomer Rosenthal
，
wonderful correspondence to the asteroid recently found in our solar system。
Anton Jernberg
，
This is what a so-called classic is supposed to be like。 The vast majority of the classics that you either read or watch on the TV are severely outdated。 They no longer hold up to the standards of the modern day。 By this I do not mean the video quality of the movie or the language used in the book， since those are properties which will deteriorate inevitably as time passes。 I am talking about the cohesion of the story， the pulling force of the narrative and it's confidence that this is what it i This is what a so-called classic is supposed to be like。 The vast majority of the classics that you either read or watch on the TV are severely outdated。 They no longer hold up to the standards of the modern day。 By this I do not mean the video quality of the movie or the language used in the book， since those are properties which will deteriorate inevitably as time passes。 I am talking about the cohesion of the story， the pulling force of the narrative and it's confidence that this is what it is all about。 Most of the classics were daring and new for their time， but they didn't actually age all that well。Rendezvous with Rama is a relatively light read which truly knows what it wants。 It is a story of exploration， of first contact and of plunging into the unknown。 I believe that there is some part of every person， however deep it lies， that desires to explore and discover， to uncover what is unknown and find out what really lingers in the darkness at night。 Rama is a deep dive into this concept。 It will challenge you as a reader to imagine things which are difficult to even comprehend in your mind and fill in the blanks on your own。 It is not a 5/5 masterpiece， and I am incredibly biased since First Contact and the exploration of the unknown are generally two of my favorite genres/concepts， but without a doubt this book went straight to my favourites list。 I finally understand what a classic should be。 A monument which was not only new and daring for it's time， but something which is timeless and continues to shine indefinitely。PS: there are more books in the "Rama" series， but this book works perfectly as a standalone book。 I read this one， loved it， but I have no desire at all to read the sequels， as they do not feel necessary 。。。more
Donn Lawler
，
Spectacular as usualI picked up this book after the discovery of Oumuamua because the similarities were just too great！ This turned out to be a really great sci fi tale with adventure， peril， and great imagination。 Character development was a little stiff at first but just like meeting a new friend， their true colors don't always shine at the start。 Took some warning up but glad I stuck with it。 Looking forward to the next book！ Spectacular as usualI picked up this book after the discovery of Oumuamua because the similarities were just too great！ This turned out to be a really great sci fi tale with adventure， peril， and great imagination。 Character development was a little stiff at first but just like meeting a new friend， their true colors don't always shine at the start。 Took some warning up but glad I stuck with it。 Looking forward to the next book！ 。。。more
Wania Cris
，
（3，5）Arthur C。 Clarke dispensa apresentações por já ter se provado um excelente autor de ficção científica em O Fim da Infância e 2001 e Encontro Com Rama mantém a qualidade de escrita em alta。Cientistas do universo todo se deparam que um corpo vagando pelo espaço， em princípio， perdido e sem função， mas， logo esse objeto de torna a coisa mais interessante jamais vista。Rama não é um livro ágil， mas a escrita dele prende a atenção e mesmo sendo mais descritivo e reflexivo， você se vê preso às pág （3，5）Arthur C。 Clarke dispensa apresentações por já ter se provado um excelente autor de ficção científica em O Fim da Infância e 2001 e Encontro Com Rama mantém a qualidade de escrita em alta。Cientistas do universo todo se deparam que um corpo vagando pelo espaço， em princípio， perdido e sem função， mas， logo esse objeto de torna a coisa mais interessante jamais vista。Rama não é um livro ágil， mas a escrita dele prende a atenção e mesmo sendo mais descritivo e reflexivo， você se vê preso às páginas pensando onde isso tudo vai dar。 Não está no mesmo nível de 2001 nem de Fim da Infância， mas， é uma boa leitura。 Obviamente a escrita da década de 70 iria trazer elementos negativos para nossa época e as passagens machistas são bem revoltantes。Se a mensagem do livro for no sentido de deixar claro que não estamos sozinhos no universo， serviu também pra mostrar que nós， humanos， nos temos em muita alta conta。。。 。。。more
Owen
，
Four stars for the science， but a bit weak on the storytelling。 I really did enjoy the former， and it is very much the focus here， but overall I didn't get any of that sense of awe that Childhood's End left me with - as my first Clarke novel， and one I still love to revisit， it seems to have fixed a rather high watermark in my mind for judging his work since。 Four stars for the science， but a bit weak on the storytelling。 I really did enjoy the former， and it is very much the focus here， but overall I didn't get any of that sense of awe that Childhood's End left me with - as my first Clarke novel， and one I still love to revisit， it seems to have fixed a rather high watermark in my mind for judging his work since。 。。。more
Phil
，
Thought provoking and ominous 。。。 a total nail biter！ Much better than 2001 imho。
Walton C。 Shepherd
，
Classic sci-fi！
Patrick
，
Very fun classic sci-if， which I had not read before。 Perfect vacation reading for me。 Much of the science and technology ages surprisingly well。 The macho， hyper-male narrative lens， less so。 The absent characterization and dated chauvinism does grind after a while， and ultimately detracts from the overall enjoyable reading experience。
Mar
，
Obsessed obsessed absolutely OBSESSED with Rama。 This is literally just solid 200 pages of people exploring a huge alien spaceship and yeah， the characters are flat and boring， but that's fine， I was too busy completely losing my mind about the sick spaceship anyway。 The last line made me YELL， it's literally one of my favourite last lines I've ever read to a point where I don't know if I wanna read the sequels because it felt like such a perfect ambiguous way to end the story。 Also， the science Obsessed obsessed absolutely OBSESSED with Rama。 This is literally just solid 200 pages of people exploring a huge alien spaceship and yeah， the characters are flat and boring， but that's fine， I was too busy completely losing my mind about the sick spaceship anyway。 The last line made me YELL， it's literally one of my favourite last lines I've ever read to a point where I don't know if I wanna read the sequels because it felt like such a perfect ambiguous way to end the story。 Also， the science was surprisingly accurate （even if the technology was a bit dated）， which was a cool surprise。 Though the sexism （and glorification of James Cook？？？？ literally what？？？） sprinkled throughout the book was annoying ngl 。。。more
Tom West
，
A well-crafted book。 Elegant， profound physics and designs。 Probing beneath the surface *cough* reveals beautiful solutions to space travel and Clarke's depth of imagination。The only issue is that much of the hijinx would have been averted with the advent of drones， including a certain plot-advancing episode。 That， and there's also a semi-pungent whiff of sexism that needs a bit of nose-holding to get through here and there。No fancy space lasers， no epic cosmic battles， no dialects written by pi A well-crafted book。 Elegant， profound physics and designs。 Probing beneath the surface *cough* reveals beautiful solutions to space travel and Clarke's depth of imagination。The only issue is that much of the hijinx would have been averted with the advent of drones， including a certain plot-advancing episode。 That， and there's also a semi-pungent whiff of sexism that needs a bit of nose-holding to get through here and there。No fancy space lasers， no epic cosmic battles， no dialects written by picking words from several languages out of a bucket: Clarke delivers a crisp space adventure that leaves so many questions begging to be answered。 *SPOILER* （You know it's a classic when they don't show you the aliens。） *SPOILER* 。。。more
Srikar Kashyap
，
This has been an exciting and novel experience。 The lack of any aliens makes it even more interesting。 An ideal candidate for a cinematic adaptation。
Ed
，
Truly excellent sci-fi， with a strong emphasis on the science。Clarke evokes an unparalleled sense of wonder as we explore the mysterious atefact dubbed Rama- a massive construction of alien origin that passes through the solar system。 That's pretty much it， that's the whole plot- we're exploring this thing and trying to figure out what it is， who built it and why。 It doesn't sound like much， but the book is so well constructed that it's genuinely gripping- suspenseful and mysterious， and the dri Truly excellent sci-fi， with a strong emphasis on the science。Clarke evokes an unparalleled sense of wonder as we explore the mysterious atefact dubbed Rama- a massive construction of alien origin that passes through the solar system。 That's pretty much it， that's the whole plot- we're exploring this thing and trying to figure out what it is， who built it and why。 It doesn't sound like much， but the book is so well constructed that it's genuinely gripping- suspenseful and mysterious， and the drive to know what wonders there are to be found kept me hooked all the way through。There are stakes and danger too- but the antagonists here are the laws of physics。 Everything here is thoroughly well thought out and follows logically from the last in fully realistic ways， so that even once we slightly leave behind the known laws of physics everything feels realistic and grounded。 The large Rama object is slowly heating up- what effects would this have？ All of the genuine considerations of long-term spaceflight are here， and it makes the wonders of the alien technology even more magnificent。The characters are somewhat rudimentary but not so bad they they detract from the story- there's enough diversity in the cast and difference of opinions to keep things interesting， but this is very much a book that's focused on concept rather than character。 I was also tempted to remove a star for the one page where a character is thinking "women shouldn't be allowed on spaceships coz dem tiddies be jigglin in zero-g an distractin me" [paraphrased， but that is the genuine gist]， which is a weird moment to include but it is fairly clearly presented as an eccentricity of the character in question， and it's less than half a page， so I'm letting it slide。 The world-building around the Rama object is also delightful; Clarke presents a very believable near future of solar system colonisation， and the tidbits we get about the developments there are juicy and delicious。One of the original Big Dumb Object stories， this book is a joy to read that draws you in to its myriad mysteries and wonders。 。。。more
Nicoletta - Mrs Hats
，
Un libro ben strutturato， sufficientemente avvincente， solido， ma secondo me narrativamente senza vette elevate。 E' cesellato molto bene nella descrizione della vicenda， ma mi manca qualcosa come profondità。。。。 Mi è comunque piaciuto Un libro ben strutturato， sufficientemente avvincente， solido， ma secondo me narrativamente senza vette elevate。 E' cesellato molto bene nella descrizione della vicenda， ma mi manca qualcosa come profondità。。。。 Mi è comunque piaciuto 。。。more
Chris Greensmith
，
"Absence of noise is not a natural condition; all human senses require some input。 If they are deprived of it， the mind manufactures its own substitutes。" "Absence of noise is not a natural condition; all human senses require some input。 If they are deprived of it， the mind manufactures its own substitutes。" 。。。more
Jesse Field
，
I was hesitant to pick up a book of “hard sci fi” from 1973， just because I thought it would be full of dated ideas on technology and likely a cast of hackneyed white male scientists and spacemen。 Well， I was proven wrong on both counts。 The chapters and scenes are indeed driven by science and technology concepts first and foremost， but they read as well in 2021 as they did in 1973， because they serve the epic-dramatic purpose of the story， a quest into a huge space ark that enters the solar sys I was hesitant to pick up a book of “hard sci fi” from 1973， just because I thought it would be full of dated ideas on technology and likely a cast of hackneyed white male scientists and spacemen。 Well， I was proven wrong on both counts。 The chapters and scenes are indeed driven by science and technology concepts first and foremost， but they read as well in 2021 as they did in 1973， because they serve the epic-dramatic purpose of the story， a quest into a huge space ark that enters the solar system and plunges toward the sun。 This simple， yet propulsive plot is addictive -- I finished the book in just a few hours over two busy workdays。 And while there are plenty of white male scientists and spacemen， they were a surprisingly sensitive and progressive lot， with Commander Bill Norton every bit as inspiring as Jean-Luc Picard on SNG。 I’d have to check on Goodreads to find the last time I read such a fun and suspenseful novel。（Ah， just checked， it would have been World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War in December 2020。 I deserve to read these more than once a quarter！） 。。。more
Richard Joseph
，
Excellent Science Fiction！
Stephen Politzer-Ahles
，
This is an excellent and emblematic example of "hard science fiction"， as it has pretty much everything that's great and everything that's not so great about classic hard SF。 There's little in the way of plot， and almost all the drama that happens comes from sciencey stuff -- like great SF does， this book starts off with an interesting concept （what it would be like inside a spinning generation ship） and imagines all the weird and interesting situations that would cause。 That is very enjoyable。 This is an excellent and emblematic example of "hard science fiction"， as it has pretty much everything that's great and everything that's not so great about classic hard SF。 There's little in the way of plot， and almost all the drama that happens comes from sciencey stuff -- like great SF does， this book starts off with an interesting concept （what it would be like inside a spinning generation ship） and imagines all the weird and interesting situations that would cause。 That is very enjoyable。 On the other hand， very little attention is paid to social aspects of the story; there's some political plot stuff going on but it's very underdeveloped， and character is basically nonexistent in the story， any character is pretty much interchangeable with any other character。 That's not necessarily bad （one story can't and shouldn't need to have everything）。 Oh and also， the handling of women characters is generally cringey， as usual for mid-20th-century sci-fi written by white dudes。 。。。more
Matt
，
I discovered Rendezvous With Rama by searching for a list of the world's best hard science fiction （i。e。 real science fiction--in which the science， real or fictional， plays an important role beyond simply begin a plot device--as opposed to fantasy with a science fiction flavor， like Star Wars）。 It was at the very top of the list。 So I read it。Rendezvous With Rama is the story of a group of astronaut-explorers who are tasked with investigating an unknown artificial object that has entered the So I discovered Rendezvous With Rama by searching for a list of the world's best hard science fiction （i。e。 real science fiction--in which the science， real or fictional， plays an important role beyond simply begin a plot device--as opposed to fantasy with a science fiction flavor， like Star Wars）。 It was at the very top of the list。 So I read it。Rendezvous With Rama is the story of a group of astronaut-explorers who are tasked with investigating an unknown artificial object that has entered the Solar System moving at very high speed。 They only have a few weeks to carry out their investigations before the object， called by astronomers Rama， reaches a point in its trajectory where they will not be able to follow。 When they arrive they discover how to access the interior of Rama and find what appears to be an entire world。 They believe the world to be dead， thinking that all life there present must have died thousands of years in the past。 However， as they explore， Rama begins to awaken， and they see the works of alien hands move their mysterious purpose forward。I really enjoyed the book。 It was engaging and easy to read， and you can tell that Arthur Clarke really knew his stuff。 I didn't go through the trouble of writing out the equations myself， but I don't doubt Clarke did （according to the About the Author section at the back， we was a "real" scientist， and studied math and physics）。 From my own background in math and physics， I greatly appreciate his attention to such details as the time delay involved in interplanetary communication， the energy required to change one's attitude and orbit in space， the effect of Rama's spin on the explorers' movement， and the effect of Rama's spin and its approach to the Sun on its internal weather patters。 I don't believe that another author would have considered， or even known that they ought to consider， such details without really knowing the science。Another aspect of the story that made it very interesting was the fact that all the humans' assumptions turn out to be wrong。 Rama is detected， and assumptions are made （it must be an asteroid）。 Those assumptions turn out to be wrong。 So more investigation is done。 More is learned， and more assumptions are made （it must be dead）。 Those assumptions also turn out to be wrong。 More investigation is done， more is learned， and more assumptions are made （Rama is going to change its orbit to remain in the Solar System）。 Those assumptions also turn out to be wrong。 I really love this。 It draws attention to how little we really understand about the universe， despite how much we believe we know。 It also draws attention to just how different an alien intelligence could be from our own， and how difficult it may be to really understand its motives from our own frame of reference。 I recommend Rendezvous With Rama to anyone wanting a good example of "real" （and high quality） science fiction writing。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Rendezvous with Rama
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Rendezvous with Rama&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Rendezvous with Rama&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0