![]() The tone tends to be very objective - all tell and no show. Clarke remains dedicated to trying to explore the cylinder in a methodical and scientific way - which means that while his terminology is often badly dated, it's as much an exploration of scientific principles as much as anything else - though for dramatic effect, the astronauts sometimes seem unaware of these. When things do happen it verges on the fantastical, but nowhere near as much as later authors science fiction authors. What story there is is mainly about the exploration, but it still takes a while to get going - the first 40% of the book can be summarized as "people wander about in the dark". ![]() The basic premise is that a mysterious giant cylinder has entered the solar system - and is given the designation of Rama - before a group of astronauts reach it, explore it, then leave. ![]() It's a surprisingly short book, and in terms of plot and character it's pretty thin. ![]() Worse, the ideas they originate are easily absorbed into the genre mainstream, meaning they are no longer the surprise they once were.įirst published in 1973, Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke is a science fiction classic for all of these reasons. The trouble with science fiction classics is that they tend to be vehicles for new ideas for their time, but over the years can become dated. ![]()
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