Rendezvous With Rama

Rating:
Summary: The most realistic First Contact ever
Review: In the year 2130, a spacecraft of unknown origin - dubbed Rama - passes through our solar system, inaugurating a new era in the history of humankind - for the first time there is undeniable evidence that we are not alone. But rather than focus on the consequences and historical ramifications of so extraordinary an event, Clarke (with typical British reserve) chooses to keep our attention strictly on the event itself. The Space Advisory Committee (including representatives of all the populated planets) provides scientific insight, trying to advise across astronomical distances while Commander Norton of the space ship Endeavor (which is the only vessel close enough to intercept) has to worry about the safety of his crew. Perhaps the most interesting facet of the book is Clarke's decision to leave most of the critical questions unanswered (begging sequels). This very realistic approach to a first contact with another intelligence sends a strong message to a science fiction audience that had perhaps become too used to sensationalism: alien artifacts may be far more likely to reach us than actual aliens, and in either event, communications between the two may not be nearly as simple as it is in the movies.

Otherwise Clarke's 22nd century doesn't seem all that advanced. There are intelligent primates called simps that handle much of the drudgery on board ship, and the commander has two wives on two different planets, but otherwise neither the technology nor the society seems much different from the world of today. The ship's commanding surgeon is a woman, but that couldn't have seemed all that forward thinking even in 1973, when this book was written, and surely means nothing today. Wholly lacking is Clarke's mischievous sense of humor; there's nary a hint of human romance, and the plot is not heavy on surprises, either. Instead, what we have is a very dry, albeit perhaps very realistic prediction of what mankind's first contact with another intelligence might be like, and how circumstances could limit our ability to investigate it. Overall, it's a good, fast, easy read, with plenty of realism; little that's outrageously surprising, and nothing too absurdly far out. Recommended for younger readers and those who take their science fiction very seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Same ingredients as CHILDHOOD'S END, but better result
Review: RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA showcases a lot of things that must fascinate Arthur C. Clarke, or at least a lot of concepts that he likes revisiting in his fiction. Once again, we have mankind's first contact with extraterrestrials, human colonies on the moon and on other solar planets, academic and political in-fighting, and, of course, a healthy dose of science. But the ingredients do well together here. This is, as you surely already know, one of the so-called classic science fiction novels, yet I only just got around to reading it recently. I'm happy to say that it matched my expectations, both compared to other Clarke novels and to its own lofty reputation.

An unknown object has entered Earth's solar system in the year 2130, and a rocket ship is dispatched to study this alien artifact (dubbed Rama) and report back on its findings. That sentence is a summary of almost the entire plot. But RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA is not a story that is wholly concerned with plot. It's more a series of set pieces: the decision to explore, the examination of the immediate inside, the voyage across the interior's sea, etc. Each one is interesting on its own, but not all of them contribute much to the overall story.

The purpose these set pieces serve is to invoke a sense of wonder at this unknowable alien object. I'm reminded of Jules Verne's voyage-type stories, where his protagonist(s) would become engaged in a multitude of individual adventures. But instead of exploring (and inventing) Earth's wonders, Clarke is showing us a completely fictional environment. It's quite fun. Clarke put most of his effort into creating this landscape, and it becomes the focus and centerpiece of the whole novel. This entire endeavor would flop completely if Clarke had been unable to sustain the suspense for the full length of the novel. But he does it.

Character development is not one of this book's priorities. Too much time is spent developing the setting to provide us with people of any great depth. Clarke gets away with it here (while other science fiction novels have crashed and burned on this point) because he has set the book up as a mystery, with the setting as its question. Squandering time on the human characters would merely be a distraction, when all the reader is really interested in is Rama itself.

RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA is now over thirty years old, but this science fiction novel isn't showing its age (although some of the aside mentions of polygamous relationships are attempting to sound modern and forward-thinking, yet instead end up seeming rather quaint). I've heard mixed things about the sequels which follow on from the end of this book. Given how much I enjoyed the first in the series, I think I'll probably at least try one or two of them. Maybe I won't like them as much as I did RENDEZVOUS, but that's a high standard to reach.

Rating:
Summary: A book that proves why Arthur C. Clarke is still a Master!
Review: This book, even today, is as fresh and fascinating as it was when it was first published several years ago. And it masterfully handles the characterization of the astronauts sent out to enter and investigate the mysterious "Rama" with is interior bodies of water and a metallic island. The first in a great series! Definitely a must-have along with: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "2001", "2010", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.