Rendezvous with Rama
Rama Series, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Toby Longworth
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By:
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Arthur C. Clarke
About this listen
This audiobook was re-recorded with a new narrator, and the new product uploaded on 25th June 2014. Please note that written reviews prior to that date refer to a different narrator.
Winner of the 1973 Nebula and BSFA Awards and the 1974 Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards.
At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than 10 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’.
Arthur C. Clarke was born in Minehead in 1917. During the Second World War he served as an RAF radar instructor, rising to the rank of Flight-Lieutenant. After the war he won a BSc in physics and mathematics with first class honours from King's College, London.
One of the most respected of all science-fiction writers, he also won Kalinga Prize, The Aviation Space-Writers' Prize and The Westinghouse Science Writing Prize. He shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for the screenplay of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was based on his story, 'The Sentinel'. He lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 until his death in 2008.
©1973 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2013 Audible LtdCritic reviews
“Arthur C. Clarke is one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age ... The colossus of science fiction.” ( New Yorker)
“Quite memorable and at times magical… We glimpse our own future in this technological artifact - a future as magical as it is mysterious.” (Brian W Aldiss)
“For many readers Arthur C. Clarke is the very personification of science fiction.” ( The Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction)
The science behind the story is eminently believable and this gives the reader a unique and enjoyable listen. The author has woven his experience as a pilot and physist and this is reflected in the way the characters speak and act, conveying an understanding of the science without ever overloading the listener with technical jargon. It really is a very well-balanced read. It is wonderful.
The book does not give you all the answers which serves to build tension, and gives the plot an air of mystery, making it more interesting and open to interpretations. You can easily let your imagination fly.
Toby Longworth's narration is good and makes 'Rendezvous with Rama' a perfect listen, well worth the price of a credit.
Rendezvous with reading pleasure.
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This is a good story, with plenty of innovative ideas and a feeling of adventure. It is set in 2131, when a newly set up comet-monitoring programme called Safeguard detected the Rama spacecraft beyond Jupiter. The “world” inside a cylindrical spacecraft about 50km x 20km takes some time to picture and I still haven't fully grasped it yet.
An Earth spacecraft was sent to investigate Rama, and the crew were able to park on the hull of the ship and then enter through an airlock. They set up a base camp, from which they sent out exploration parties.
There are a number of “cities” in the cylinder, which the author did not spend much time exploring. The Earth astronauts who examined the space ship had limited time to find out what they could before the ship got too close to the Sun, and the whole thing was totally alien, so they explored what they could, in a rather haphazard way.
As a standalone book, written in 1972, Arthur C Clarke has used his imagination and knowledge to write a thought-provoking book which leaves the reader thinking about the implications of what has been described. The author left plenty of questions unanswered, so although he has stated that he did not intend to write a sequel, he certainly left himself plenty of scope for one. Rendezvous with Rama is a short book; I have also read Rama II which is twice the length and has much more space to develop characters and actions.
The narration of Rendezvous with Rama, by Toby Longworth, is good, with clearly different voices for each of the characters.
Thought-provoking
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What made the experience of listening to Rendezvous with Rama the most enjoyable?
I'm writing this review for all of the Rama series really as each is just as enthralling as the other. This series of books is an absolute tour de force from Clarke. Each of the books is masterfully written through the rich characters he creates and their explorations of these alien creations.What did you like best about this story?
As always Clarke puts normal people, that you can relate to, into a world where they are challenged in every way. Their intelligence, humanity, psychology, emotions are all under strain as they are forced to face and deal with the truth of where humans sit in the scheme of the universe. He also throws in social chaos, violence and a fair old smattering of the seven deadly sins for good measure.The basic premise of the series is that the level of human species technological development has been recognised and our observers would now like to add us to the catalogue of sentient life.Have you listened to any of Toby Longworth’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Toby is a good consistent reader whose vocal personality adds to the impact of the storyline.If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
We Were Never Alone!Any additional comments?
These are lengthy, absorbing books which cover a massive acreage of the human / alien experience, not all of it easy for humanity to accept. If you like Clarke, if you want to know what it would be like making and living after first contact and if you like epic tales with continuity of the main characters then this RAMA series is impossible to put down.Bigger than 2001 - His Best Series of Books
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High end science fiction, from one of it's masters
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One of my favourite listens ever. Couldn't wait to listen to the sequels.
Brilliant
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