Arthur C Clarkes "Rama" Quadrilogy
The 4 "Rama" books by Arthur C Clarke and Gentry Lee;

Rendevous with Rama
Rama Returns
Garden of Rama
Rama Revealed

Are a fantastic reminder that in the grand scheme of the universe humanity is a small insignificant little prick and a blink of an eyelid before we're gone again.

Plus an interesting view that our main instinct is the take over and fuck up any environment we find ourselves in, to the total detriment of any other species that happens to be there.

Human race: insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
(golddust QOTW now revolves around being a cunt, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:22, 8 replies)

agree
they're great books

have you read Childhoods End?

EDIT: one of the best things about those books were those little robot Shakespeare characters
(The Goat www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:38, closed)

Interesting...
I found the Rama series to be a mixed blessing. Rendezvous With Rama was excellent, typically Clarke in the way the story is easy to visualize at the expense of the somewhat cardboard characters - Captain Norton himself should be singled out here as being a stereotypically bland astronaut, familiar to anyone who watched footage of the Apollo missions.

There were some masterful visionary elements though, the long staircase from the hub of Rama to the inner surface of the cylinder, the fragile human powered aircraft being used to traverse the central sea and the sense of utter bewilderment of Rama's purpose that's left hanging at the end of the novel.

Incidentally, I gather that a film adaptation starring Morgan Freeman is in the works.

The follow ups were much, much darker - indeed Clarke co-wrote these with Gentry Lee who has a very finely honed ability to add flesh to the bare bones of the characters.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Fri 16 May 2008, 14:45, closed)

Childhood's End
Yes, I've read it. Probably Clarke's darkest novel he penned himself.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Fri 16 May 2008, 14:46, closed)

Cradle with Gentry Lee wasn't bad either
I heard they were thinking about making a movie of it but 'Sphere' came out shortly afterwards
(The Goat www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:56, closed)

This got me thinking about that old arcade game
Ranma, anyone remember that?
( M3rx likes the Asian ladies, Fri 16 May 2008, 15:25, closed)

Quadrilogy?
Didn't the people promoting the Alien films make that word up? Do you mean Tetralogy? Or series?
(sabre-tooth monkey, Fri 16 May 2008, 15:26, closed)

Flogging a dead cylinder
I thought "Rendezvous" was brilliant and hoped I'd be getting more of the same with the rest of the series. It's not a bad stab at keeping the ball rolling, but it does feel like someone on high complained of a lack of "contemporary features" like plenty of sex and the occasional murder - oh, and a tie-in with an illicit romance with a member of the Royal Family?!
All you need are shoulder pads and you've got early 90s pop American culture. When did these sequels get written? Ah...
(Naughtius Maximus Stuck on the blog, desperate to log out., Fri 16 May 2008, 16:08, closed)

(wince) I'm not with you there alas.
Rama Returns is the only book that I've read once and then just got rid of.*

Rendevous I thought was wonderful, and an excellent example of decent Sci-Fi. Characterisation a little weak but the background and concepts are excellent. As with many of Clarke's novels it's a lot more Sci than Fi.

Rama Returns, written by Gentry Lee with A.C.Clarke stamped on the cover..

Awful, utter utter tripe from nose to tail. Poorly thought out, badly realised and with some horrible bits of "ooh that would _so_ cool" schoolboy rubbish tossed in because whoever did the editing was just phoning it in.

I refer you to the amazon entry on this piece of trash.


*Left it on a shelf at work with a sticker saying "Didn't enjoy this. Free to good home" It vanished, reappeared a week later with "nor did I" written on the sticker.
( DukeEuphoria Comes highly reccomended, Fri 16 May 2008, 17:31, closed)