While most hard SF seeks, like science itself, to explain phenomena, in this novel Clarke presents us with the astronomically inscrutable and the utterly alien. The nature of the Ramans themselves remains utterly shrouded in mystery, with each new discovery raising more questions than it appears to answer. Only guesses can be made as to the means of propulsion Rama uses. The bulk of the novel is given over to the myriad unexplained wonders lurking within Rama, and it is a fascinating choice on Clarke's part to leave much of what our explorers find just that: unexplained. The vast inner surfaces seem to house "cities," whose odd structures no one seems able to penetrate, and even a frozen "sea."
Its astronauts manage to penetrate the interior, to discover that Rama is some sort of "space ark," whose rotation provides gravity along the inner surface as well as a breathable atmosphere. As quickly as possible - as it is now apparent that Rama will speed past earth and back out of the solar system toward the unknown - an expedition is sent to investigate the amazing artifact. Christened Rama, the object is a massive cylinder, rotating rapidly on its central axis. What's more, close examination determines the anomaly could very well be artificial, a suspicion that is soon confirmed. In the 22nd century, an early warning system set up to protect the earth from devastating meteor strikes detects a large object hurtling our way at great speed. Written at a time when Clarke was still enjoying the rush of success from 2001: A Space Odyssey, this novel carries a similar, though markedly less metaphysical, sense of awe about the incalculable mysteries the human race will be confronted with amid the vastnesses of space.
Tweets by indisputable SF classic that took home no fewer than five awards (among them the Hugo, Nebula, Campbell, and Jupiter) as the best novel of its year, Rendezvous with Rama is hard science fiction at its most fundamentally pure. Book cover artwork is copyrighted by its respective artist and/or publisher.
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