Rendezvous with Rama - Excellent Classic SciFi
Posted by: admin in Science Fiction Books, Arthur C. ClarkeHave you ever seen previews for a movie, heard lots of good things about it, and didn’t wind up seeing it in the theaters. Then it hits the DVD store, and you still didn’t pick it up for years. Finally, you realize that you should rent it, so you do, but it’s been 4 years since the movie came out, and you can’t exactly go in to work tomorrow and say, “Hey, that Karate Kid movie was pretty good, huh?”
Well, Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama is the book equivalent to me. After years of wandering past the Clarke section in the bookstore, I finally decided to see for myself what the big deal was, and picked up the first installment for this series. I have to admit, I was really amazed that I hadn’t caught on to Clarke earlier, and after reading the first few chapters I was absolutely hooked. Fortunately, my coworkers at the water cooler don’t have to hear about this because I’ve got this handy blog here.
In a nutshell, Rendezvous with Rama is the tale of our future in which a giant space ship approaches the solar system. Humans realize it’s en route just in time to throw a last-minute inspection together to dock with this craft and try to understand its secrets. The story further complicates as the interior of this vessel is revealed to be a complete artificial world, filled with “cities”, rivers, and creatures that the humans sent to research this phenomenon can only begin to understand. Within the entire story, one thing is revealed: The Ramans do everything in threes.
I’ll admit I’m already halfway through the third book of the 4 book series, so I’m probably going to post up another article after I wrap the whole series. In the meantime, I’ve also discovered that Rendezvous is in film production as well, starring Morgan Freeman. Hopefully this will be a great film adaptation just like Clarke & Stanley Kubric’s 2001: A Space Odyssey set the bar for realism in space-based movies.
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