I read this book: Rendezvous with Rama
Project: The Total Library

While looking for our book club books at Counterpoint I came across Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke for $3. I really like this guy, Arthur C. Clarke. This is the third (fourth?) book I've read that he has written. Okay, the others were 2001: A Space Odyssey (obviously) and Islands in the Sky. I watched the film adaptation of 2010, but that doesn't count. Also, the film wasn't that good. Though it was made 16 years after 2001 the special effects are far more primitive. But that's not the point. I read Rendezvous with Rama and it was very good. I liked it very much. I read it in (essentially) two sittings. You should really read it.



This book has it all, all the elements. It's really the perfect representation for its genre. It has adventure (Wild at Heart hahahah), it has uncertainty, it has the unknown. That's one thing I really like about Arthur C. Clarke. It is a theme in all his works I've read. The uncertainty, the unknown. No matter how advanced and futuristic society becomes, we never know more than our Solar System firsthand. Our Solar System is quite large, and colonization of planets happens, but we still are always curious. There is always the infinite universe. It is pretty darn overwhelming.



To explain the plot briefly, Rama is a 31 mile long spacecraft. It has been traveling for perhaps millions of years. The closest it has been to any star was more than 200,000 years ago. It is an enigma. It is unknown. As it is traveling through our Solar System the crew of the Endeavour has 3 weeks to explore it. That process represents the core of this book. There are many surprises. If you read this book, keep in mind that the Ramans do everything in threes.

Sat, Mar 15, 2008  Permanent link
Categories: science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke, Rama, Rendezvous with Rama
Sent to project: The Total Library