Biots and a cylindrical sea!! (Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke)

Member Name: Kepler

Product:	Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
Date:	02/02/04 (587 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Full of mystery and suspense, Science is spot on, Not too technical

Disadvantages: Bit slow at times

In the 2077 the inevitable happened after many near misses an asteroid finally hits an inhabited area of the earth. In the hope that future strikes can be avoided Spaceguard is set up to detect and catalogue all the asteroids that pass through the solar system. Fifty years after its inception it proves its worth in an entirely different way when it detects what is assumed to be a giant 40 kilometre asteroid entering the solar system. Normally when asteroids are discovered they are given a name based on the year in which they are found but an asteroid of 31/439?s size deserves a name and that name is Rama. As the gargantuan rock heads ever closer to the sun it becomes apparent that the asteroid is not an asteroid at all. Rama is a cylindrical interstellar spaceship millions of years old and is making just a fleeting pass through the solar system. A team is immediately scrambled to rendezvous with the vessel and discover its secrets. Commander Norton, the Captain aboard the spaceship Endeavour is rerouted to Rama and his team are given the task of exploring the ship and discovering all they can in the time that is available.

This book has been a particular favourite of mine for many years now and it is the first in a series of four books. Even after many, many readings this book is still hugely enjoyable, I have just read it for the fifth time and it has lost none of its wonder and suspense. For anyone who had read a lot of Arthur C Clarke you will know what I mean. ACC?s style is very much plot driven and his story telling skills in the genre of Science Fiction are in my opinion matched by no other.

The story unfolds at a steady rate as the crew of Endeavour explore the spaceship uncovering many mysteries which they think will never be solved. There is enough action and suspense to keep you hooked throughout the course of the book and Clarke raises many questions which keep you reading in order to find out exactly what is going to happen or the re
asons behind certain events. Arthur C Clarke always delivers on this account and anything which is raised within the book is always resolved so you are never left thinking ?What was that about?? as with some other Sci-fi authors I have read.

The only drawback with Clarke?s writing is that his characters can be somewhat stereotypical, maybe that?s a bit harsh but if you read a lot of his books you will begin to notice certain characters which always seem to crop up in his writing. This is probably because of the way Clarke writes and his plot heavy stories sometimes pigeonhole his characters in order to satisfy the story. In my opinion this a minor aside and I would definitely recommended this book to anyone who reads Science fiction and to anyone who had read Clarke?s popular ?2001: A space odyssey?. This book will certainly not disappoint you and once you have started the series you will definitely want to go on and read the other three books in this series, which ACC co-wrote with Gentry Lee.

The book is fairly short at 252 pages and only took me about ten hours to read. If you haven?t read any Arthur C Clarke before then I would recommend this book as a great starting point. At the time of its release in 1975 it was hailed as one of the best Science fiction stories of all time:

?One of the best novels Clarke has written... packed with suspense and mystery? - Sunday Times

?There are perpetual surprises, constant evocation of the sense of wonder, and occasions of the most breathless suspense? - New York Times

?Quite masterly? - The Times

This initial reaction was proved correct and this is one of the most successful Science fiction books of all time and has won the five major science fiction awards including the Hugo, Nebula and the British SF Award. Coincidently this book is also being made into a film and is due for release sometime this year. It has been in production since 1997 and it stars Morgan Freeman (
Shawshank redemption, Seven & Deep Impact). The film was going to be the first to be shot entirely digitally but due to the length of time it has taken to get the film off the ground it has been beaten to this claim by the Star Wars episode II - The Attack of the Clones. The film is being released at the cinema and online (via a subscription) at the same time and is directed by Simon Fincher of Fight Club fame.

ISBN: 1857231589
Published by Orbit.

Available from www.amazon.co.uk for £5.99 (plus postage)

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