Rama II

by Gentry Lee, Arthur C. Clarke, Gentry Clarke, Arthur C.; Lee

Book Overview

Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien??spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as??mind-boggling proof that life existed -- or??hadexisted -- elsewhere in the??universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century,??another ship is discovered hurtling toward us. A??crew of Earth's best and brightest minds is??assembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. They??are armed with everything we know about Raman??technology and culture...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553057146
• ISBN13: 9780553057140
• Release Date: November 1989
• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Better than the first

Much more character driven and focused ! Last one felt a bit confused , but this one is very clear ! The characters are wildly entertaining and I have come to genuinely care for them , despite the seemingly overly dramatic backstories …

Did I get ripped off?

I bought this book, Ramma 2, for $4.69. It arrived today with a price sticker on it for $1.00. . . I do believe 'I got took'

Wow, just wow.

I love Clarke's writing style. I love this story. The whole thing felt so real and believable. I felt like I was reading about a real mission, with real people in the real world. I can't wait to get into the third book in the series.

I couldn't stop reading

Several years ago I read Rendezvous with Rama and really enjoyed it. Just last week, I was poking around in my dad's large book collection and found Rama II and decided to give it a try. For the first 100 or so pages I couldn't seem to get into it because it was so different from the orriginal that I remembered. However, once I said to myself "This is a different kind of book", the problem was gone, and I found myself glued. I relised it was a charicter-driven book, unlike most of Clarke's, and I thought it was very well done. You get a selfish, sex-crazed villian Fransesca Sabatini, who you love to hate. You get the unassuming brilliant engineer Richard Wakefield, and most of all you get Nicole. I really loved the charicter of Nicole and enjoyed following her through her adventures. I was delighted when Richard came to find Nicole and they paired up. I remember being on the edge of my seat as I pleaded with Michael O'Toole not to agree to blow up Rama, and was happy when his own moral compass overcame the pressure he was getting from dang near everyone. I rooted for the three of them as they went against the will of their corrupt crew and politicians who left them to die, and was finally happy when they managed to save Rama and in awe as they were left stranded on the ship as it floated out of the solar system. I finished this entire book in two days and immediately went rooting around in the basement for the next book. I was a bit suprised that well over half of Arthur C. Clarke fans tend to hate this book and the other two. Indeed, Gentry Lee did write the book and Clarke only made minor revisions and suggestions. I very much love Arthur C. Clarke's work and I loved the orriginal very much. But Gentry Lee adds a different dimension to the book. Okay, there are a few stumbling blocks here and there, and there are a few chilches here and there. But he really creates charicters you can fall in love with. Many people also had a problem with the fact that the story centered more around the drama of the charicters than of Rama itself. I understand that can be a turn-off to many, but I thought the humanity of the story over the magnificent backdrop of Rama was a great way of looking at ourselves. A full five stars for this one. If your interest is in deep, hard science fiction alone then this book isn't for you and you should stick to the orriginal. But if you don't mind drama and humanity, then you will really enjoy this book.

Amazing

As some have pointed out, this is diffrent from the first Rama, but that does not make it a lesser book. There is much more character devlopment in it, and I've found it to be much more then just a good book. There is so much to this, I would recommed it to anyone.

Detailed Splendor of Technology and Humanity.

Rama II comes back to the same universe as depicted in Rendezvous With Rama about a hundred years later when a second cylindrical craft approaches the solar system. This time every detail is lovingly described and the characters are given in complete four dimensions. You can literally see the awesome power of Rama behind your eyelids when you blink while reading this and long after. Alien landscapes, and all-too-human beings. Masterpiece.

Rama II shines with the richness of great sci-fi & drama

Never have I read a book that includes both a rich and traditional style of sci-fi with stimulating human drama. Rama II far exceeeds "Rendezvous" in its plot and character development. Its reading was a joy.

This Book Rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is great. The charcter devopment is good, and so is the sci - fi. Gentry Lee ADDS to Arthur C. Clarke style (this is not true in cradle) anybody who doesn't like this book is, really, an idiot. And if you think this is good wait til you read Garden and Rama Revealed. There even better!!!!!!!