Clarke wrote some great books and this one ranks towards the top, right along with Childhood’s End. Only Clarke could write a book with so much emphasis on exploration and so little an emphasis on action. I loved this book from the first to last page and found the Raman’s to be intriguing. I only wish that the rest of the series would have played out the same as this story had evolved. Unfortunately nothing could quite live up to the wonder and joy I experienced in this book. ( )

A truly wondrous novel. A cornerstone of science fiction. ( )

Just passing through, not at all interested in us.
It should have been left at that. ( )

This was a RL book group read for me. Unlike many in the group it wasn't a re-read. I never read this when I was younger. The book was first published in 1973. It is an old fashioned novel that has few women, and finds sexist remarks, and bigamy OK.

The premise is that in the future there is a large object seen entering the solar system. It is assumed to be a asteroid, but it turns out to be a giant manufactured hollow cylinder.

Humanity has spread out into the solar system and has a functioning space force. The representatives of humanity decide to send the closest ship to investigate. The cylinder is on track to pass close to the sun, and then pass out of the system. The human space ship has limited time to explore before it gets too close to the sun and too far too get back.

The story focuses on the human ship and the people who go and explore the object they have named Rama. It is interwoven with story of the human council who represent their home plants/habitats and are trying to decide what to do.

The story should have conflict, and tension and mystery - but it is actually pretty boring. Even when the space ship gets there and inside, it is pointless for quite a while. Nothing happens inside the ship. It is cold, dark, empty.

Meanwhile there is conflict on the council and it too is very tame and lacking in any drama or tension. The planet Mercury becomes anxious because the cylinder will pass very close to them, and they feel threatened. They take action that has consequences for the human ship exploring Rama.

Towards the end things do happen in Rama, and there are spills and what looks like a life or death incident. Still it is very low key, and problems are easily overcome. There is only minimal information/activity from Rama itself and really nothing from or about its creators.

The book can't seem to decide where to focus: on the humans in terms of their politics and social structure or on the alien artifact. It tires to do both, and it is superficial. The characterizations are pretty flat and the story is not constructed well enough to carry the book with the right amount of drama, tension, suspense, and mystery.

I have read [Titan] by John Varley and [Ringworld] by Larry Niven. Both are about exploring big alien objects. Frankly neither of the other 2 come close to [Ringworld].

The writing is smooth, and coherent. It was a quick read with little in the way of info-dumps. ( )

I only wish I had read this one years ago. ( )