by Elton Gahr

Created on: April 16, 2009

"Rendezvous with Rama" is one of the best hard science fiction stories ever written, helping to prove that science fiction can tell stories that lie completely within the realms of plausible science. This type of hard fiction, which Arthur C. Clarke was known for hit it peak for many readers in the 1972 novel.

The story, set in the 22nd century begins on a world, that after being struck by asteroids set up an extensive system to watch the solar system. One of the interesting things for a modern reader in this section of the book is just how close to Arthur C. Clarke's vision our world has already come. We may not yet be able to see every rock in the solar system but we monitor many of them.

While watching for asteroids this system discovers something odd. It's angle of trajectory and speed easily prove that this is not an object from our solar system and with a closer inspection they discover that this asteroid is a perfect cylinder. This along with other clues make it clear that mankind has come into contact with its first alien space ship.

A manned ship is quickly sent to intersect the ship managing to Rendezvous with the ship one month after it was first seen by human eyes. With some effort the crew is able to get inside and begin to explore the ship. This is were the books diverges from more traditional science fiction again. Though there are odd things such as robots called biots on the ship. These creatures completely ignore the humans throughout the book.

It is this lack of traditional adventures that make this book compelling. The humans do not come into any real conflict with the aliens, just as they don't truly learn to understand them. The land on the ship, explore it and then due to its nearing of the sun they are forced to leave to return to earth with only a handful of cryptic clues about the ship that they explored.

This book was eventually followed up with "Rama II", "The Garden of Rama", and "Rama Revealed" and while these books continued in the same style of the first none ever gained the success of "Rendezvous with Rama" which is still often taken as a stand alone book.

This book is one of a select group of science fiction novels that won a Hugo, a Nebula and A Jupiter aware for best novel. These awards along with the success of other Arthur C. Clarke movie adaptions have led Hollywood to the consideration of making this story into a novel but due to financial difficulties it seems unlikely that the movie will be made at this time, but as with any of Arthur C. Clarke's novels those who love his work find little reason for an adaption to movie as the excellent descriptions and near flawless science draw a picture in your mind as real as anything a direction could put on screen.

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