Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke, a retro review
This books is a classic, it won five awards(including Hugo and Nebula) when it was published 1973. In my opinion it is very good example of Clarkes hard science fiction before he tried to write about things he didn’t really understand, like relationships or characters. This book is about exploration and wonder. I give it four stars out of five.
The novel starts by describing decentralized solar system in 22nd century, where Mars, Mercury and several moons are inhabited. Systems designed to detect asteroids detect one moving at huge speeds towards our solar system. Closer inspection shows that it isn’t what it seems.
The premise of the book is typical to science fiction: first encounter. This is explored through a panel of scientists who debate related issues and through the protagonist space captain Norton who leads the expedition to find out more about Rama, the mystical object that has arrived to the solar system.
Cold war issues occasionally show through the writing and there is similar tension described between certain planetary governments. Yet Clarke doesn’t explore the political side of the matter more than perfunctorily as he concentrates on the engineering and science side of things. He does manage to convey very well the wonder that explorers of complete unknown feel.
Characterization isn’t Clarke’s strong suit and it comes of as bit forced. You never feel anything for the characters, they don’t engage you in any way. This leads to rather distant reading experience where you can appreciate the imagination, but are not really sucked in. The plot offers quite a few nice twists, it isn’t predictable, for the most part.
Rendezvous with Rama is without a doubt a classic, but doesn’t necessarily engage modern reader. Nowadays I’ve come to except more than perfunctory characterization even in hard science fiction, which Rama definitely is. The strength of the book is, typically to some SF, the idea. Some have said that speculative fiction is literature of ideas and as such Rama shines bright.
If you liked this post, please consider buying me a cup of coffee Tags Arthur C. Clarke, Rama, retro review, review, science fictionRelated Posts:
- None
Subscribe (RSS)