Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama.

The Short of It

Plot: "I wonder if we’ll ever learn the answer to the two mysteries that have been haunting me ever since we got inside; who were they—and what went wrong?”

Page Count: 252

Award: 1973 Nebula and 1974 Hugo

Worth a read: Yes
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Fail
Technobabble: Moderate but plot relevant.
Review: This is just good, classic, easy reading SF. Excellent depiction of an alien spacecraft - enough answers to satisfy without getting ridiculous. Good building of tension. Engaging world - both Rama and the broader universe/human colonies. SF in its purest form. It won't blow your mind, but quite satisfying. And unlike many so far this project, Clarke nails the ending.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

It is a perfect palate cleanser after the last couple of books. It's a classic SF plot - exploring an alien spacecraft - but expertly executed. The writing is sharp; it is clear that Clarke is sharp without him trying to force feed the reader his intellect. This is particularly clear after To Your Scattered Bodies Go. One line stood out as near-perfect:

To act, or not to act—that was the question. Never before had Commander Norton felt such a close kinship with the Prince of Denmark.

Excellent characterization, a classic reference, and not over-written. Rendezvous with Rama is well crafted and carefully thought through without feeling slow and plodding.

Characters are engaging; we are given sufficient information about each to give them a bit of personality, to make them humans as opposed to caricatures. The ensemble cast, those actually exploring Rama, are both distinct and numerous. There were legitimate stakes involved in risky situations, and I was never sure if everything would turn out alright. 

Perhaps my favorite detail is (as we learn very early on) that the geometry of Rama is based upon thirds. Base two numbers are easy to grasp; at a glance you could distinguish a half, or a quarter, and probably take a moment longer for an eighth. Thirds don't come nearly as naturally, and there are exceptionally few things that we interact with that have base-three geometry. I can't think of any; I'm sure they exist, though. Nonetheless, the constant presence of thirds adds a constant alien feel to Rama, an undercurrent through everything. It's as clever as it is simple.

I found this one highly enjoyable. If you like your classic SF, you'll like this.

If you're inclined to pick it up, I'd be much obliged if you could use the link below! I'll get a few cents at no extra cost to you.

Zelda? No, Link!

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

Though I'd never heard of it, this is the book that I thought I would be reading when I decided to take on this challenge.

Let's talk world-building. Clarke does a good job of balancing the oddities of his world with the easy parallels to ours. Le Guin's approach in The Left Hand of Darkness is to have an outsider looking in - someone with ideas close to ours, who thus experiences a culture as alien, a reader-surrogate. Clarke, on the other hand, simply shows his world as it is; all of his characters are used to it - there is no one to whom it is shocking. Sure, there are human colonies, and we're spread across the Solar System. That just means that the usual difficulties of politics have different players, that distant delegates need to be projected instead of phoning in. Sure, Norton has two wives. Better make sure he doesn't send one a message meant for another. There are enough interesting things going on in the broader world that I was intrigued without them distracting from the interior of Rama.

Speaking of Rama, the notes on orientation and architectural confusion within the ship are well done. Exploration is exciting. It is also distinct from terrestrial exploration; the notes on spin, gravity, and so on keep the reader within the ship. I was also happy to never see one of the aliens; the suit is sufficient.

My one small qualm is that we spent a fair bit of time learning about Super Chimps for them to play no role in the story.

Also, what an ending. A perfect extension of the triplicate nature of the ship.

When Norton had glimpsed Rama for the last time, a tiny star hurtling outwards beyond Venus, he knew that part of his life was over. He was only fifty-five, but he felt he had left his youth down there on the curving plain, among mysteries and wonders now receding inexorably beyond the reach of man. Whatever honours and achievements the future brought him, for the rest of his life he would be haunted by a sense of anticlimax, and the knowledge of opportunities missed. 

So he told himself; but even then, he should have known better. 

And on far-off Earth, Dr. Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one how he had woken from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious still echoing in his brain: 

The Ramans do everything in threes. 

Boom! Sequel time! Though I actually love this as the ending - the suggestion that there is more to come, but keeping it a mystery. 

This one was just a lot of fun.

Let's you and me schedule a rendezvous sometime, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!