book data
1,984 ratings,
3.47
average rating, 60 reviews
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published
November 1st 1989
by Spectra
(first published 1989)
details
Hardcover, 420 pages
isbn
0553057146
(isbn13: 9780553057140)
description
Decades have passed since Commander Norton and his crew met with the enormous alien ship dubbed Rama and declared it an intelligent robot with no inte…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,474)
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5 stars (61)
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4 stars (95)
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3 stars (132)
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2 stars (38)
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1 star (9)
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avg 3.47
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in August, 2008
Though not in the same league as Rendezvous with Rama, this was quite enjoyable. I was surprised that Lee, a scientist with JPL, made this a much more character focused novel. He didn't do a bad job at it or anything but that probably wasn't what most people wanted out of a Rama sequel.
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Read in May, 2009
recommends it for:
people who hate science fiction and just want to read about characters
I'm about 1/5 in and this book SUCKS. Nothing has happened, the pacing is at an absolute crawl, and all I'm getting in the way of story is far too much backstory on all the characters.
Oh, and some of the writing is bad. "She looked up at the lights and Francesca. The gold sequins on the front of the Italian journalist's dress had grouped into a pattern, or so it seemed to Nicole. She saw a head in the sequins, the head of a large cat, its eyes gleaming and its mouth with s...more
Oh, and some of the writing is bad. "She looked up at the lights and Francesca. The gold sequins on the front of the Italian journalist's dress had grouped into a pattern, or so it seemed to Nicole. She saw a head in the sequins, the head of a large cat, its eyes gleaming and its mouth with s...more
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4 comments
Read in July, 2007
I have a few mixed feelings about Clarke and Lee's tangential forays into the pasts of their characters. Although they add depth to the characters and the story, they also tend to be annoying distractions from the main plot. I wish the authors had spent more time building the characters in the early chapters and focused on interactions with the ship in the rest of the book. Other than this gripe, this is a solid book. There is more suspense than in its predecessor, and mystery of the ship al...more
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Read in September, 2009
recommends it for:
Those who want to see the mystery of Rendezvous with Rama run deeper.
A worthwhile book if you enjoyed "Rendezvous with Rama". First, the bad, and there's a fair bit: Rama II is not as good as Rendezvous with Rama, the society is bland, the technological speculation isn't as exciting and the mysteries don't appear until the decidedly more interesting last third (or half, or thereabouts) of the book. When the mysteries do come however, they are just as amazing as in the first book, maybe even more so as the first part of the book, while boring, did a grea...more
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Read in June, 2009
The mysterious spacecraft returns, a larger contingent of cosmonauts rendezvous with it, and thus more of the story line is focused on human intrigue. The first few chapters seem a tad laborious in that we spend a lot of time on Earth gathering contextual information. But once things unfold, it becomes clearer as to why so much detail was necessary.
In the end, the anatomization of Nicole des Jardins as a character was absolutely necessary. Her character is key to the rest of the s...more
In the end, the anatomization of Nicole des Jardins as a character was absolutely necessary. Her character is key to the rest of the s...more
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Read in November, 2009
Firstly let me say that, somewhere in this doorstop of a book is a good novella or short story.
The problem is that the small idea that would make a good short work has been padded with hundreds of pages of boring character background.
I wish that I could give it a better rating - but the extraneous pages (at least 200 or more!)make it drag. If you could get a scalpel and extract, the good bits you might have a 3.5 star book, and you'd definitely have a much more enjoyab...more
The problem is that the small idea that would make a good short work has been padded with hundreds of pages of boring character background.
I wish that I could give it a better rating - but the extraneous pages (at least 200 or more!)make it drag. If you could get a scalpel and extract, the good bits you might have a 3.5 star book, and you'd definitely have a much more enjoyab...more
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I am torn on this book. I want to give it a 5 star, because Clarke is still able to pull off the absolute wonder of exploring, the first 100 pages of this book are completly inane and character driven. Clarke is not a great character author, and I wish he would just realize this and stop writing them. He is a story guy and in the raw power of this story he once again amazes.
Also, I really am bother that all authors now have to have female lead characters.. I get it, women are em...more
Also, I really am bother that all authors now have to have female lead characters.. I get it, women are em...more
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Read in January, 1991
The Ramans do everything in threes, including sequels. The trilogy preceded by Rendezvous with Rama is disappointing to many Arthur C. Clarke fans. I happen to really like it. Beginning with Rama II, this saga introduces a cavalcade of alien life, a broad spectrum of exotic situations, and a scientist or two who hasn’t forsaken religion.
This book also introduces one of my favorite characters: Nicole Desjardins—doctor, mother, explorer, fulfiller of prophecy. Her mystical upbringi...more
This book also introduces one of my favorite characters: Nicole Desjardins—doctor, mother, explorer, fulfiller of prophecy. Her mystical upbringi...more
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Read in April, 2009
I am glad I came back to this adventure by Arthur C. Clarke. I have not read a Clarke novel in a very long time and reading this one reminded me what I had been missing. As usual, the science fiction element is really fascinating but it is just a backdrop for a very close examination of human nature, faith, love and betrayal. The novel reads almost like a philosophical treatise at times. Especially interesting for me were the complex implications for our concept of God if ever we discover intel...more
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Read in June, 2009
I found this sequel to Rendezvous with Rama to be good, but a bit too sensationalized and focused on the astronauts and their weird power plays. It reads like a business school case study about "managing in outerspace." What we all want to know about of course is the space ship known as Rama II. There are some wonderful descriptions, but I thought the text wandered too much and didn't have a reality feel to it. That's what I want, I guess, science fiction that doesn't feel fictiona...more
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Read in August, 2008
This book was quite different from the first one "Rendezvous." I'm not sure if it was becaue he co-wrote it with someone else or because it was part of an originally unplanned series. Anyway, this book is written to develop the characters upon whom the next two books of the series will focus. It is kind of slow in the beginning; located on earth, focused on the people who are going to make a second rendezvous with the enormous spaceship seen in the first book, and with a lengthy disc...more
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Read in December, 2009
If you liked Rendezvous with Rama, skip this unless you're the world's biggest fan of Gentry Lee. An almost completely unrelated book, this is filled with third-grade soap opera and constant, petty digressions from Clarke's fascinating ideas.
Clarke is not the world's greatest writer and the first Rama book was stilted and nerdy, but it was also ripe with enthusiasm and seriously awe-inspiring ideas. The addition of B-movie drama here doesn't deepen, humanize, or in any way improve Ra...more
Clarke is not the world's greatest writer and the first Rama book was stilted and nerdy, but it was also ripe with enthusiasm and seriously awe-inspiring ideas. The addition of B-movie drama here doesn't deepen, humanize, or in any way improve Ra...more
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Read in December, 2008
The second book in the Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke. The story takes place 70 years after the arrival of the first Raman spacecraft into our solar system. This time, a second Rama spacecraft (identical to the first) arrives and the human race is more prepared. They send a more structured team in to investigate this craft and find that this spaceship is not exactly the same as the first.
I really don't know how this book has not become a movie yet. There was a computer game (w...more
I really don't know how this book has not become a movie yet. There was a computer game (w...more
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The first book by Clarke that I thought was total crap. After six chapters of boring brain-dump backstory and completely contrived pseudo-history, I was introduced to a set of characters that I was hoping would die a horrible death. Even the kids.
Truly depressing after "Rendezvous With Rama" was so good.
Truly depressing after "Rendezvous With Rama" was so good.
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Read in July, 2009
recommended to Amanda by:
lb
2.5 stars, since it took me almost all of the book to get used to the combined writing styles of Clarke & Lee. I can't get over characters who are constantly referred to by both first/last names (or worse, as Cosmonaut So and So). Lee obviously tried to boost up the characterization effort -- though I'm not sure why they opted to have a scientist focus on the people aspect -- and it ends poorly and awkwardly. Again, Rama itself is incredible- hooking me for yet another book- and I really enjoy t...more
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This book had a lot more character development than the first book, but it didn't skimp on the action. There were times when the character flashbacks got a little slow, but it added dimension to the characters and made them more believable.
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Read in April, 2009
This series explores humans reactions to alien spacecraft flying near to earth. It is a topic on some level done to death but there is something about Arthur C. Clarke's painting of this picture that is engaging and unique and even at times surprising. First of all, he doesn't in the end make the humans smarter or better than the aliens, which I love. He places ambitious, curious, religious, driven and scared humans in a fascinating, unknown and unexplainable world. So, the book weaves thread...more
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Read in January, 1990
Very satisfying follow-up to Clarke's classic. This is a supremely enjoyable series of books. Exploration is the key ingredient and these authors know how to titillate the reader.
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Read in June, 2000
recommended to Robert by:
N/Arecommends it for: Everyone
This book was a great continuation to the Rama story, but in some ways had to many changes. Overall a page-turner though.
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I liked this quite a lot but I didn't think it was as good as Rendevous with Rama. Definitely interesting, though.
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