by Josh Komon

Created on: July 31, 2010

Arthur C. Clarke is best known for writing, "2001: A Space Odyssey."  And many who know him beyond that, generally know him for the three sequels to that, 2010, 2061, and 3001.  (Two out of the three were excellent.)  However, Clarke has submitted many other excellent pieces to the literary world, including one fascinating story, "Rendezvous with Rama."

As would be expected from anyone familiar with Arthur C. Clarke's work, "Rendezvous with Rama" is all about the future in outer space.  It begins with a simple explanation of how man has evolved, colonized other planets and moons in the solar system, and became fully aware of the threat giant asteroids could be to the Earth, and really, any of the other solar colonies.  A massive network is put into play in order to keep tabs on all known asteroids, so when one heads off toward any of those planets or moons, man would have time to react, and hopefully destroy or deflect said asteroid.  While searching, the network discovers an anomaly.  There is a giant asteroid, which is perfectly cylindrical, rotating quickly, and hollow.  It does not take long for the astronauts to discover that this is no asteroid.  Rather, it is an alien ship, and it is given the name, Rama.

In the human spirit, the closest capable spacecraft is given orders to rendezvous with this alien craft.  Of course, by then, any means of contact have failed, and it is expected that this craft contains no living beings.  The men and women of the spaceship, Endeavor, make contact, find a way inside, and discover a gigantic hollow world.  At first, it seems mostly uninteresting, but as the crew explores, and as the vessel gets closer to the sun, things get a heck of a lot more interesting.

The thing that makes this story great is the very idea of what is happening.  There are plenty of interesting plot twists, and a lot more action than Clarke fans might be used to reading in his stories.  His style of writing is similar to his other works, which should satisfy most readers.  And of course, he uses the word, "presently," multiple times.  Astute readers will also note similarities to his other works in his views of human sexuality, and of religion.

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