This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I am absolutely willing to agree that, basically, nothing happens in it.
A weird thing shows up, some guys go look at it, they don’t really know what it is and then it goes away.
I’ve always been drawn to books about exploration, and what Arthur C. Clarke does here is treat Captain Norton and the Endeavor’s look at the giant thingamabob as if was a story about Captain Cook on a Pacific Island.
What’s so great is that once Clarke nails down in his mind the few things that make Rama different from what we’ve got on Earth he presents it so incredibly realistically. This is what is meant by the phrase “Hard SF.” Luckily, Clarke is a dynamic writer, so descriptions of how centrifugal force would effect weather patterns can read like an incredible thriller.
The three quasi sequels are being ordered from Amazon soon.
