Rendezvous with Rama by Author C. Clarke

A picture from the book Rendezvous with Rama. In it, an astronaut floats in a space suit. A cylindrical world surrounds him and spans off to the distance.

It all starts with an innocuous blip on a radar screen. An interstellar asteroid has entered the solar system on a trajectory that takes it around the sun.

Yet, upon closer inspection, the rock appears to be anything but ordinary. It rotates at a high rate of speed. It reflects light. Then there’s the long cylindrical shape.

The answer is obvious. The asteroid isn’t an asteroid, but actually an alien spacecraft, passing through the solar system.

Humanity will never be the same again.

The book

Rendezvous with Rama is a book written by Arthur C. Clarke that details the nature of an encounter with such a craft. It’s a story of high adventure as a team boards the alien spacecraft and discovers a world within a world that defies logic and comprehension.

Rama is one of the best science fiction adventure stories written in the past fifty years. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and visit your local library. You won’t be disappointed.

The story takes place in the near-distant future. Humans have grown beyond Earth, and now, most of the planets have their own cultures and politics. Space travel is routine so when the alien spacecraft – nicknamed Rama – enters the solar system, the survey ship named Endeavor is assigned to the rendezvous with it. Commander Norton leads the expedition. He’s kind of the Australian version of Captain Kirk.

Norton leads the ship to the enormous cylinder. There are no hailing messages or any communications at all. The massive ship is silent looking almost like a ghost ship. Norton manages to dock with it, and then arranges an exploration party to enter the massive ship.

The crew enters the ship through a series of three airlocks. They notice that this repeating pattern of threes is everywhere throughout the ship. The Ramans almost appear to think in threes as everything follows the pattern. This is a pattern that exists throughout the whole book and provides an amazing “punch” of an ending.

This ship itself is a massive cylinder. At first, the world is dark and void, but in time, the world of Rama “wakes up” as it nears the sun. Massive lights illuminate the world, revealing derelict cities along with great patches of what appears to be farmland dotting the cylinder. A massive frozen sea forms a ring in the cylinder. Far on the other side, they see massive spires that almost look like alien cathedrals.

This book details their short exploration of the alien world and how they deal with the ship slowly coming to life from its long journey. Yet amid their discoveries, international tensions break out with Rama and the Endeavor caught in the crosshairs.

This is a book of exploration and discovery. Because of this, I’m being deliberately vague. The book slowly unfolds the world and the mysteries contained within. If you love science fiction, do yourself a favor and read this story.

What’s the catch?

This is an amazing book, written by an incredibly talented author. Unfortunately, the book leaves you wanting more. This is great, but the problem is Arthur C Clarke and Gentry Lee actually do write three sequels to the book. These books are pretty bad.

In fact, I don’t even consider them in the same universe as this one. As far as I’m concerned, Rendezvous with Rama makes a promise that will never be fulfilled and that is incredibly depressing. That’s how good this book is.

The good news is that this book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. It’s quite satisfying.

The verdict

5 out of 5 Ramans
5 out of 5 Ramans

This book is incredible. I’ve listened to two different audiobooks of this book. Both were great and well done. Unfortunately, I don’t have the credits or fact sheets for either of them.

That said, regardless of the Audiobook, this is an amazing story that you can find at your local library. It’s one of those stories you’ll be surprised isn’t a Hollywood movie by now (although producers have tried).


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By Brian Moakley

Brian Moakley is a writer and editor who lives amongst the quiet hills in New England. When not reading tales of high adventure, he is often telling such stories to all who will listen.

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