Rendezvous with Rama

By: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Robert J. Sawyer - introduction

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft.

Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence. It will kindle their wildest dreams...and fan their darkest fears. For no one knows who the Ramans are or why they have come. And now the moment of rendezvous awaits - just behind a Raman airlock door.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by Hugo Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer, who explains why Rendezvous with Rama will make the listener "feel both humbled and exhilarated at the same time".

©1973 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1974
Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1973
John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Best Novel, 1974

"A frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic tale...Clarke is a master." (Los Angeles Times)
"A first-rate tour de force." (The New York Times)

Great book and very believable

I hesitated to buy this book because of the date it was written/published. I thought it would be very dated, etc. But, I was wrong: although, you could get picky on some of the references. I imagine now, that the way the book describes the encounter is pretty close to accurate, if Rama was friendly. My only complaint is the narrator for a couple characters was pretty much mono-toned. Hope this helps, JWP

Great science fiction, but could use better characters

If you like hard scifi, this is definitely the book for you. The story was intriguing, and the pacing wonderful given the--ironically--down-to-earth nature of the story. (By which I mean, aside from the extra solar ship showing up, nothing else was really all that theatrical, and certainly I found no unnecessary theatrics.)

My only complaint were the characters. I really wish they were a bit more colorful. Certainly. The Rama Committee was more interesting than anyone on the ship.

The reading, though clean, was pretty stale, which my accentuated the lack of great character development.

It's easy to see why this is a classic, but it's also not unreasonable to point out its flaws, from an entertainment standpoint.

Alien contact without "take me to your leader"

Rendezvous with Rama is a classic by Arthur C Clarke that deals with alien first contact. Set in the future, when space flight has led to settlements throughout the solar system, a mysterious object arrives like an asteroid or comet, but clearly from well beyond the bounds of Sol. A manned mission is sent to investigate and the crew finds an artificial, but seemingly lifeless construct. While they have limited time due to orbital mechanics, the crew gradually uncovers evidence of alien lifeforms, but are never able to discern the true nature of the object.

Clarke was certainly exploring the bounds of "alien-ness" to such an extent that humanity lacked the ability to truly understand what lay before it. The "spaceship" seemed designed for long term interplanetary travel, but without a clear purpose. The aliens possessed quite advanced technology, both in terms of devices inside the craft as well as its unique propulsion system. While many suggestions are offered for the purpose of the ship, the possibility that it represents a type of roving pyramid seems most appropriate. Conceptually, the story is quite engaging and compelling, but Clarke really skimps on character development, although he seems to have accurately reflected the competitive nature of the scientific community.

The narration is quite good with a solid range of voices, with reasonable pacing.

A glimpse of fantastic.

Still mysterious 23 years after first reading. What power and supremacy might exist "out there"!

My six year old reads better

Would you try another book from Arthur C. Clarke and/or Peter Ganim and Robert J. Sawyer (Introduction) ?

Yes I like the way this book is written and it has a good story line.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rendezvous with Rama?

No real memorable moments the book in general was good. I just wanted to bash my brains out because of how slow the reader was.

How could the performance have been better?

The guy needs to learn to read a little better before trying a book that a lot of people listen to.

Was Rendezvous with Rama worth the listening time?

Not quite done yet but the story is definitely worth the slow moaning of the reader.

Great book, not-so-great narration

Rendezvous with Rama is truly one of the greats of the hard-core SF genre, and deserves each of the awards it won. If it has a weakness, it is that the characters are somewhat two-dimensional.

Sadly, the narrator does it a grave injustice. His voice is a near monotone, breathing no life whatsoever into the characters. And his pronunciation of "Rama" truly, truly, truly ANNOYS. I wish it could be re-done with a different narrator -- Scott Brick, perhaps, or James Marsters?

One of the Classics

What made the experience of listening to Rendezvous with Rama the most enjoyable?

I remember reading this as a young man and loving every chapter for the wonders it brought into my mind. I went on to read the others in the series but they just never held the magic Rama 1 had. The story is epic, the narrator unfortunately did not match my mental image of the voice of Rama, no fault of the performer! I'm giving it only 4 stars for performance because the narrator through out the entire book seemed distant and uninterested in the grand scale the story tells and a more dynamic reading would have added so much more depth!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rendezvous with Rama?

when Rama wakes up, the lights go on and the crew is stunned into almost falling off of the "stairway". I wonder what my reaction would have been?

What does Peter Ganim and Robert J. Sawyer (Introduction) bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A little background, but too self promoting for my taste. This book is Clarks, don't interject your own writings however accomplished.

Great in its Day

I finally got around to listening to this classic, and I must say - not bad. If I had read it years ago when I was younger, I probably would have been much more impressed. However, compared to today's knowledge and standards - where we constantly have to "one-up" everything else, the novel just doesn't quite feel ambitious enough. That it won so many awards back in its day is a testament to its quality, as well as the fact that it does hold up fairly okay compared to other contemporary sci fi novels, but I didn't find anything here that hasn't been redone by many other science fiction authors that, unfortunately, I've already read before this one.

Don’t listen to the haters.

So I saw a LOT of people saying the narration ruined it, and was bad and this that and the other thing. It aaaaalmost stopped me from picking this up, but I’m really glad I went for it anyways. Is it the best narration you’ll ever hear? No, it’s not. Does it ruin the book? Not even a little bit. It’s still and incredible book, the narration is steady, easy to listen to, and overall still a very enjoyable experience. If you have the time and inclination, you might consider reading a copy instead of listening, but for those limited on time, I would only ask that you try the sample, and form your own opinion. Personally, I think it’s well worth it.

This is the second arthur C. Clarke book I've read

I read this about a year after reading childhood's end. As someone who is under 40, its a little difficult simply because so many films have borrowed so many ideas from Arthur C. Clarke's works. But I still found this a very enjoyable book, much like Childhood's End. There was never a dull moment in it and I was 100% satisfied. Wasn't crazy about the narrator, but it wasn't bothersome- I just played it at x2 or 1.5 speed and it was fine.