Rama
Having read '2001' and '2010', and having thoroughly enjoyed them both, I was immediately intrigued when I saw 'Rendezvous with Rama' by the same author on the shelf of the local book shop. The cover was not very exciting, as you can see below, but the synopsis on the back cover more than made up for it.
The whole concept of the novel and how it unfolds is fascinating, very compelling and has that spark of believability about it that grabs you from the first page, a must-read for anyone interested in Science Fiction.
The remaining books, while still being enjoyable and having some interesting concepts, lacked the clarity of the first book, tending to be more concerned with the new characters which were introduced in the second and subsequent books, rather than the science fiction aspect. It's more a study of how these people cope and adapt to the situations they find themselves in, as well as general human behaviour and how as a species we might react and cope.
Rendezvous with Rama
At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama.
It is huge, weighing more than 10 trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at 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 darkest fears. For no one knows who the Ramans are or why they have come. And now the moment of rendezvous awaits - just behind a Raman airlock door.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
25th December 1983Retail Cost
£1.75Number of Pages
252Year Read
1984
Rama II
70 years after the events of Rendezvous with Rama, a second Raman vessel enters our solar system.
Its arrival is expected and an expedition is sent to unlock more of Rama's mysteries, but the crew are unprepared both for what they find and for the conflicts that arise between them.
Format
HardbackDate Acquired
6th November 1990Retail Cost
£10.90Number of Pages
377Year Read
1990
The Garden of Rama
In the year 2130 a mysterious spaceship, Rama, arrived in the solar system. It was huge - big enough to contain a city and a sea - and empty, apparently abandoned. By the time Rama departed for its next, unknown, destination many wonders had been uncovered, but few mysteries solved. Only one thing was clear: everything the enigmatic builders of Rama did, they did in threes.
Eighty years later the second alien craft arrived in the solar system. This time, Earth had been waiting. But all the years of preparation were not enough to unlock the Raman enigma.
Now Rama II is on its way out of the solar system. Aboard it are three humans, two men and a woman, left behind when the expedition departed. Ahead of them lies the unknown, a voyage no human has ever experienced. And at the end of it - and who could tell how many years away that might be? - may lie the truth about Rama...
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
3rd April 1993Retail Cost
£8.99Number of Pages
593Year Read
1993
Rama Revealed
On its mysterious voyage through interstellar space, a massive alien starship carries its human passengers to the end of a generations-long odyssey. But the great experiment designed by the Ramans has failed, and Rama III has become a battleground.
Fleeing a tyrant, a band of humans ventures into the nether regions of the ship, where they encounter an emerald-domed lair ruled by the fabulously advanced octospiders. As the octospiders lure the humans deeper into their domain, the humans must decide whether the creatures are their allies or enemies.
All the while, Rama III continues its inexplorable journey towards the node, where the climax of their voyage awaits the stunning revelation of the true identity of the beings behind this glittering trek across the cosmos.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
7th May 1995Retail Cost
£9.99Number of Pages
624Year Read
1995