You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the first book in the series, but this sequel, not so much. It was boring, it didn't have a whole lot to do with the storyline of the first book and it took me over three months to plod my way through it. I doubt I'll even bother reading the next two books in the series.
Some have said it was the use of the co-author that caused the dramatic shift in the tone of the stories and that could be the case. I never got interested in the story enough to even make that kind of judgment.
Some have said it was the use of the co-author that caused the dramatic shift in the tone of the stories and that could be the case. I never got interested in the story enough to even make that kind of judgment.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This wasn't as good as the original, but it wasn't as bad as I had heard in a few places.
A lot of the issue was that the first one was centered almost exclusively on the mystery of the ship. The characters were so very secondary that you got just enough information to keep them as individuals while reading, honestly. There wasn't really character growth or backstory--they were vehicles for the plot.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that's a bad thing when you have an interesting plot like this--in practice, I wanted to know about Rama much more than I wanted to know about the characters investigating it. I would have appreciated better-developed characters, but I didn't really *need* them.
This book goes too far in the other direction. I get better developed characters. I have a solid understanding of who is who and often why they are that way. I get lots of backstory. I get so much backstory that it takes up a huge chunk of the novel and causes serious pacing issues.
While I like to hear about characters and love making new book friends, I'm reading this because a strange spaceship has appeared in the sky and I want to know *why* that happened and what it is like. We don't even get to the actual ship until about a third of the way into the novel. I might be more accepting of this if it was a first novel in a series, but as the second, with an entirely new cast of people, it feels very strange.
I liked the explanation of what happened to the world between novels and how things are different, though I feel like it could have been conveyed a bit more naturally than in a big info-dump. Honestly, though, I wouldn't have minded the info-dump on that so much if it wasn't followed by a bunch of character-building info-dumping as well. Give me mysterious alien secrets earlier, please!
I was not super pleased with the ending, either. Without spoilers, I feel like parts of the story took a dip from sci-fi into fantasy, and while I adore me some fantasy, this felt very out of place and the ending was related to that dip. The last fourth of the book felt a little strange in general.
In the end, I feel like this might be a transition for the series into something different? It wasn't terribly done, necessarily, but I'm not sure I want to make the transition with the series, so unless it gets back to the "strange alien artifact!" storyline as the main one, I'm inclined to leave the rest of the series alone.
A lot of the issue was that the first one was centered almost exclusively on the mystery of the ship. The characters were so very secondary that you got just enough information to keep them as individuals while reading, honestly. There wasn't really character growth or backstory--they were vehicles for the plot.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that's a bad thing when you have an interesting plot like this--in practice, I wanted to know about Rama much more than I wanted to know about the characters investigating it. I would have appreciated better-developed characters, but I didn't really *need* them.
This book goes too far in the other direction. I get better developed characters. I have a solid understanding of who is who and often why they are that way. I get lots of backstory. I get so much backstory that it takes up a huge chunk of the novel and causes serious pacing issues.
While I like to hear about characters and love making new book friends, I'm reading this because a strange spaceship has appeared in the sky and I want to know *why* that happened and what it is like. We don't even get to the actual ship until about a third of the way into the novel. I might be more accepting of this if it was a first novel in a series, but as the second, with an entirely new cast of people, it feels very strange.
I liked the explanation of what happened to the world between novels and how things are different, though I feel like it could have been conveyed a bit more naturally than in a big info-dump. Honestly, though, I wouldn't have minded the info-dump on that so much if it wasn't followed by a bunch of character-building info-dumping as well. Give me mysterious alien secrets earlier, please!
I was not super pleased with the ending, either. Without spoilers, I feel like parts of the story took a dip from sci-fi into fantasy, and while I adore me some fantasy, this felt very out of place and the ending was related to that dip. The last fourth of the book felt a little strange in general.
In the end, I feel like this might be a transition for the series into something different? It wasn't terribly done, necessarily, but I'm not sure I want to make the transition with the series, so unless it gets back to the "strange alien artifact!" storyline as the main one, I'm inclined to leave the rest of the series alone.
I was surprised how much I loved the original Rendezvous with Rama so I was excited to see that there was a sequel (apparently 3) but I was a bit unsure of the fact that it's got a second author. And... yeah, I can't say I loved it as much as the original.
What I liked about the original is that there was very little interpersonal crap going on between the crew. They were professional and excited and... that was refreshing. With Rama II this isn't the case, there are a lot of interpersonal intrigues going on between the crew landing on Rama II, and to be honest they were kinda annoying. Luckily after a while that basically goes away and then it's back to just being amazed at Rama II and what it is.
I did like Nicole, Richard and Michael -especially Michael retaining his deep Catholicism and not being mocked for it. I'm not religious at all, but I don't like it when SF acts like religion is the dumbest thing in the universe, it's immature.
If you break the book into four parts, I would say that part two kinda sags, but 3 and 4 perk up again and are much more interesting.
I'll probably give the other two sequels a go, I just want to know more about Rama damnit!
What I liked about the original is that there was very little interpersonal crap going on between the crew. They were professional and excited and... that was refreshing. With Rama II this isn't the case, there are a lot of interpersonal intrigues going on between the crew landing on Rama II, and to be honest they were kinda annoying. Luckily after a while that basically goes away and then it's back to just being amazed at Rama II and what it is.
I did like Nicole, Richard and Michael -especially Michael retaining his deep Catholicism and not being mocked for it. I'm not religious at all, but I don't like it when SF acts like religion is the dumbest thing in the universe, it's immature.
If you break the book into four parts, I would say that part two kinda sags, but 3 and 4 perk up again and are much more interesting.
I'll probably give the other two sequels a go, I just want to know more about Rama damnit!
В „Рама II” имаше това, което ми липсваше в „Среща с Рама“ – хората, и по-точно човешкото. В първата част действието сякаш се развиваше в един утопичен свят, където единствената задача на хората е събирането на информация относно космическия кораб „Рама“.
Във втората част се повтаря същото действие. Космически кораб пристига в близост до Земята, и група учени са изпратени да съберат информация. Къде е разликата? Разликата не е в „Рама“, тя е в хората. Във втората част Земята е по-скоро дистопичен свят поради кризата, в която се намира. Тази криза се отразява и на начина на възприемане на „Рама“. Докато в „Среща с Рама“ човечеството е изпълнено с любопитство спрямо този обект, то в „Рама II“ хората се страхуват от него. Другата съществена разлика е екипажът, на който му е възложена задача събере информация от кораба. В първата част екипажът работи в екип, и следва една обща цел. Но по съвсем различен начин стоят нещата в продължението. Членовете на второто посещение на „Рама“ са много по-себични. Те се водят от собствени цели, които нямат нищо общо с мисията, която трябва да изпълнят.
Това, което на мен ми направи впечатление е, че как при едно и също явление, нагласите в хората са движещия фактор при взимане на решение за това, как да се реши проблемът.
Във втората част се повтаря същото действие. Космически кораб пристига в близост до Земята, и група учени са изпратени да съберат информация. Къде е разликата? Разликата не е в „Рама“, тя е в хората. Във втората част Земята е по-скоро дистопичен свят поради кризата, в която се намира. Тази криза се отразява и на начина на възприемане на „Рама“. Докато в „Среща с Рама“ човечеството е изпълнено с любопитство спрямо този обект, то в „Рама II“ хората се страхуват от него. Другата съществена разлика е екипажът, на който му е възложена задача събере информация от кораба. В първата част екипажът работи в екип, и следва една обща цел. Но по съвсем различен начин стоят нещата в продължението. Членовете на второто посещение на „Рама“ са много по-себични. Те се водят от собствени цели, които нямат нищо общо с мисията, която трябва да изпълнят.
Това, което на мен ми направи впечатление е, че как при едно и също явление, нагласите в хората са движещия фактор при взимане на решение за това, как да се реши проблемът.
If you liked Rendezvous with Rama, skip this unless you're the world's biggest fan of Gentry Lee. An almost completely unrelated book, this is filled with third-grade soap opera and constant, petty digressions from Clarke's fascinating ideas.
Clarke is not the world's greatest writer and the first Rama book was stilted and nerdy, but it was also ripe with enthusiasm and seriously awe-inspiring ideas. The addition of B-movie drama here doesn't deepen, humanize, or in any way improve Rama; it just cheapens it.
Clarke is not the world's greatest writer and the first Rama book was stilted and nerdy, but it was also ripe with enthusiasm and seriously awe-inspiring ideas. The addition of B-movie drama here doesn't deepen, humanize, or in any way improve Rama; it just cheapens it.
I found the first half frustrating (humans are aggravating when they are myopic and destructively self-serving), one sixth suspenseful transition, and the last third redeeming, philosophically interesting and refreshing.
No where near as good as the first book, mainly due to another author being the main contributor. However, it was still a good read/listen and I am glad i did.
It does end on a cliffhanger, and i am not certain i will leap to read the next book. I think i will leave it until i have a lull in books to read.
It does end on a cliffhanger, and i am not certain i will leap to read the next book. I think i will leave it until i have a lull in books to read.
I haven't given up on a book in a long time, but oh boy does this deserve it.
The first book (Rendezvous with Rama) was great. I loved that, read through it in a couple of days, but this is in no way a worthy continuation.
Most of the problems are mentioned in this review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/419229899 with which I wholeheartedly agree.
I suggest if you want to read a good classic 20th century sci-fi, read the first one and just read reviews and spoilers for the rest because wasting time on this one.
The first book (Rendezvous with Rama) was great. I loved that, read through it in a couple of days, but this is in no way a worthy continuation.
Most of the problems are mentioned in this review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/419229899 with which I wholeheartedly agree.
I suggest if you want to read a good classic 20th century sci-fi, read the first one and just read reviews and spoilers for the rest because wasting time on this one.