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Addy · 6th June 2007, 06:05 PM

I just read Rama, and even though I enjoyed it to some extent, it just wasn't as good as I hoped. Here' s a review I just submitted somewhere else (just my humble opinion, of course, I don't mean to offend Clarke or anybody else):

I trully hoped that this novel would blow me away, what with all the praises it has received both here, and all over the internet. But I was honestly underwhelmed. It's well-written, obviously, and good as an exploration piece, in the sense that Orson Scott Card describes in his 'How to write science fiction and fantasy'. By Card's definition, it's clearly not an Event piece, neither a Character work, nor the exposition and defence of an Idea.

It does have nice moments though, and the environment within Rama is misterious enough to pull you in, but upon reaching the ending of the book, I was left unsatisfied. It's not a cliff-hanger, and there's no evidence that a sequel might ensue (though I obviously know there are sequels - that I don't intend to read), but it just ends anyway. There's no climax, no build up of expectation. It's a long mistery that keeps on being something of a mystery until the Endeavour crew can no longer investigate to a satisfactory conclusion. It's like when you are driving to a distant city, and on the way you pass by other cities without really getting to see them in detail. You get to see parts of them, but they don't really stay with you after you drive past them.

However unwilling, I'm inclined to agree with those who claim that in 'Rendezvous with Rama' nothing happens, and nothing continues to happen until page 288. Unfortunately that's exactly when the book ends. Of course, if you expect to read this as a true adventure in the sense that Jules Verne wrote adventures, you'll be just as disappointed as I was. Characters don't seem to profit all that much from the 'adventure' either. Cardboardish as they are, you'd expect something of a reaction or some kind of change from them - after all, this is humanity's first encounter with some form of alien inteligence-, but it doesn't really seem to ensue. Captain whathisname leaves the scene just as he entered, with his two wives, and a lover to boot. Quite a hero, right? Not only Clarke's attempts at giving more depth to some of the characters failed to a large extent, but some of them - like the descriptions of Endeavour's Captain's double life - actually managed to kill off any sympathy I had for him/them.

To sum it all up, I think the book would definitely profit from a little more emphasis on the fiction, and less on the science, and a more dramatic climax (or a climax, at least). As far as hard SF goes, of course, Clarke was perfect, but I can't really get satisfaction from that alone in a novel.

6th June 2007, 06:05 PM	#27 (permalink)
Addy Win awards! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: SOUTH AMERICA Posts: 352	Re: Rama I just read Rama, and even though I enjoyed it to some extent, it just wasn't as good as I hoped. Here' s a review I just submitted somewhere else (just my humble opinion, of course, I don't mean to offend Clarke or anybody else): I trully hoped that this novel would blow me away, what with all the praises it has received both here, and all over the internet. But I was honestly underwhelmed. It's well-written, obviously, and good as an exploration piece, in the sense that Orson Scott Card describes in his 'How to write science fiction and fantasy'. By Card's definition, it's clearly not an Event piece, neither a Character work, nor the exposition and defence of an Idea. It does have nice moments though, and the environment within Rama is misterious enough to pull you in, but upon reaching the ending of the book, I was left unsatisfied. It's not a cliff-hanger, and there's no evidence that a sequel might ensue (though I obviously know there are sequels - that I don't intend to read), but it just ends anyway. There's no climax, no build up of expectation. It's a long mistery that keeps on being something of a mystery until the Endeavour crew can no longer investigate to a satisfactory conclusion. It's like when you are driving to a distant city, and on the way you pass by other cities without really getting to see them in detail. You get to see parts of them, but they don't really stay with you after you drive past them. However unwilling, I'm inclined to agree with those who claim that in 'Rendezvous with Rama' nothing happens, and nothing continues to happen until page 288. Unfortunately that's exactly when the book ends. Of course, if you expect to read this as a true adventure in the sense that Jules Verne wrote adventures, you'll be just as disappointed as I was. Characters don't seem to profit all that much from the 'adventure' either. Cardboardish as they are, you'd expect something of a reaction or some kind of change from them - after all, this is humanity's first encounter with some form of alien inteligence-, but it doesn't really seem to ensue. Captain whathisname leaves the scene just as he entered, with his two wives, and a lover to boot. Quite a hero, right? Not only Clarke's attempts at giving more depth to some of the characters failed to a large extent, but some of them - like the descriptions of Endeavour's Captain's double life - actually managed to kill off any sympathy I had for him/them. To sum it all up, I think the book would definitely profit from a little more emphasis on the fiction, and less on the science, and a more dramatic climax (or a climax, at least). As far as hard SF goes, of course, Clarke was perfect, but I can't really get satisfaction from that alone in a novel.