- MP3 CD
- Publisher: Brilliance Corporation; MP3 Una edition (15 Nov 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 142339500X
- ISBN-13: 978-1423395003
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 13.5 x 0.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 506,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Rendezvous With Rama (Sf Masterworks)
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Product Description
NEW YORKER
'Arthur C. Clarke is one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age ... The colossus of science fiction'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
'Quite memorable and at times magical. . . We glimpse our own future in this technological artifact - a future as magical as it is mysterious' Brian W. Aldiss
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd almost forgotten what 'hard' SF was really like until I read Rendezvous with Rama. It was wonderful to have a story where physics is integral to everything, where speed of light limitations are woven into the story, where the alien artefact has a design that takes physics into account (I'm still pleased that I managed to predict one minor plot element by recalling one of the physical properties of water.)
And how can I fail to love a story that actually takes Coriolis force into account?
The strong grounding in reality makes the whole story feel so much more real. You believe in the characters and in the dangers they encounter, because you know that no 'magic' will be used to rescue them if they get into a tight corner.
Another good point about the focus on hard science is that the book hasn't dated. There were only two small moments when I realise how long ago the book was written. One was when the shape of Rama was compared to a domestic boiler, and the other was a reference to the steady state theory. Apart from those two minor points, the book could have been written yesterday. The laws of physics don't change with fashion.
Clarke can't write in depth characters, but they work reasonably well in this book, and the setting of Rama itself makes the story live.
This was a 9/10 book for me and I'd happily recommend it to anyone.
And how can I fail to love a story that actually takes Coriolis force into account?
The strong grounding in reality makes the whole story feel so much more real. You believe in the characters and in the dangers they encounter, because you know that no 'magic' will be used to rescue them if they get into a tight corner.
Another good point about the focus on hard science is that the book hasn't dated. There were only two small moments when I realise how long ago the book was written. One was when the shape of Rama was compared to a domestic boiler, and the other was a reference to the steady state theory. Apart from those two minor points, the book could have been written yesterday. The laws of physics don't change with fashion.
Clarke can't write in depth characters, but they work reasonably well in this book, and the setting of Rama itself makes the story live.
This was a 9/10 book for me and I'd happily recommend it to anyone.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A giant cylinder is spotted entering the Solar System and a team of astronauts is sent out to investigate.
The cylinder is unfeasibly vast and (it is discovered) hollow with gravity on the inside of the cylinder produced by centrifugal force. The interior surface is lit by enormous lamps, covered with a variegated landscape and divided in two by a band of sea which exists in a circle around the inside.
Perhaps Clarke's best work, this succeeds (as did Niven's `Ringworld') by its sheer lack of explanation. In fact, the entire novel is, in some ways, an exercise in minimalist adventure, since despite the excitement of the exploration itself and having to rescue a crewmember who becomes stranded on the other side of the central sea, nothing really happens.
One cannot help, however, still being awed by Clarke's depiction of this magnificently vast alien mystery which appears in our Solar System and allows us inside her enormous shell before shortly afterward disappearing.
Again, like Niven's Ringworld, the novel was later lessened by inferior sequels (written in this case in collaboration) and which gradually eroded the awe and mystery which was an integral part of the original books. If you haven't read the Rama sequels you'd be best advised not to bother. The writing is far inferior to Clarke at his best and one suspects that his literary input was minimal.
However, getting back to the original, this is a novel which well deserves the title `classic' and still manages to evoke a sense of wonder set against a background of a universe vast and ultimately unknowable.
The cylinder is unfeasibly vast and (it is discovered) hollow with gravity on the inside of the cylinder produced by centrifugal force. The interior surface is lit by enormous lamps, covered with a variegated landscape and divided in two by a band of sea which exists in a circle around the inside.
Perhaps Clarke's best work, this succeeds (as did Niven's `Ringworld') by its sheer lack of explanation. In fact, the entire novel is, in some ways, an exercise in minimalist adventure, since despite the excitement of the exploration itself and having to rescue a crewmember who becomes stranded on the other side of the central sea, nothing really happens.
One cannot help, however, still being awed by Clarke's depiction of this magnificently vast alien mystery which appears in our Solar System and allows us inside her enormous shell before shortly afterward disappearing.
Again, like Niven's Ringworld, the novel was later lessened by inferior sequels (written in this case in collaboration) and which gradually eroded the awe and mystery which was an integral part of the original books. If you haven't read the Rama sequels you'd be best advised not to bother. The writing is far inferior to Clarke at his best and one suspects that his literary input was minimal.
However, getting back to the original, this is a novel which well deserves the title `classic' and still manages to evoke a sense of wonder set against a background of a universe vast and ultimately unknowable.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is difficult to overestimate the effect of this ground breaking novel on present day science fiction - hardly anything I read today by writers like Iain Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton et al escapes its brilliant influence. I read it when it first came out in the late seventies and was staggered by its vision. If many of its insights now seem trite, it is only because they have been re-used by other writers to such a degree that they have become almost commonplace. Like Niven's Ringworld, it has shaped modern day science fiction. That is why it is a classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Compelling and realistic account of an alien encounter
The star of this novel is the enormous spaceship with a design similar to the proposed o'Neill cylinder. Read more
Published 3 months ago by GJ_Reading
Awesome Sci-Fi from one of the Masters of the genre
Though I have the Rama series in 4 paperback books I also have the Kindle edition of the Rama Omnibus (Rama: The Omnibus), and it is from this I am making this review of the first... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Traffic
This is in my re-read pile
I started reading this last night and didn't put it down until I'd finished. That's about as strong as an endorsement I can give for a novel.
Published 7 months ago by Andrew Webb
first rate hard sci fi
Clarke wrote truly great concept scifi novels, in which the science is as important as the characters, if not more so. Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
Exploring the world of Rama
I had a real yearning for a good, old fashioned sci-fi story and recalled hearing about this book a while ago so thought I'd give it a whirl. Read more
Published 12 months ago by El Stevo
One of Clarkes best novels
Clarkes version of contact with alien civilization, this is probably one of the best books that was written on this topic. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Christian Wendt
Pack your things and run, because there's a cilinder coming your way!
When you are somewhat familiarised with sci-fi literature circles, you hear "Clarke this..." or "Clarke that...", and it makes you really want to read Clarke's books. Read more
Published 14 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
SF for adults
Unfortunately, one of the Amazon reviewers somewhat spoilt Rendezvous with Rama for me by revealing the ending in his / her review, but I still enjoyed it hugely. Read more
Published 17 months ago by reader 451
kinomac
Why has nobody made a film of this remarkable 'Rama' quadrilogy by Arthur C Clarke? It is easily in the same class as Star Wars, Star Trek, The Martian Chronicles and Lord of the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by kinomac
The best Sci-fi!!!
Rama, one of the best Sci-fi novels ever written.
Clarke is amazing in describing the descent, the feelings of the astronauts, the scenery. Its simply breath-taking!!! Read more
Clarke is amazing in describing the descent, the feelings of the astronauts, the scenery. Its simply breath-taking!!! Read more
Published 21 months ago by MidnightSummer
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