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ingrids's review against another edition
2.75
I really didn't like this book, yet I couldn't stop reading....The way the female characters are written is so so bad, and it is obvious that they are written by men. Especially the dialogue around the women. I also didn't like how the novel was so much more dramatic and relation-focused, compared to the first novel. I really appreciated the very black-and-white, matter-of-fact tone in the first book, which I missed in this second one. However, I was still so intruiged about the secrets of Rama that I couldn't stop reading, and am considering continuing the series, much to the surprise of myself!
breckenridge's review against another edition
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
4.0
ryanwhitley's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is hard but I want to rate this book only on its own merit and not in comparison to RENDEZVOUS, as it would not be a fair comparison.
There are parts of RAMA II I really enjoyed, but much more of it I found uninteresting. It took far too long for the book to get us to space. The character focus didn’t work for me. I found some of the exploration scenes tense and exciting, and the ending sequence was very interesting. But the rest bloated what is really a fairly simple story.
I think my biggest mistake was reading this immediately after RENDEZVOUS. Don’t do that if you can help it. All in all this was a serviceable but ultimately forgettable sci fi novel. RENDEZVOUS, however, will always stick with me.
There are parts of RAMA II I really enjoyed, but much more of it I found uninteresting. It took far too long for the book to get us to space. The character focus didn’t work for me. I found some of the exploration scenes tense and exciting, and the ending sequence was very interesting. But the rest bloated what is really a fairly simple story.
I think my biggest mistake was reading this immediately after RENDEZVOUS. Don’t do that if you can help it. All in all this was a serviceable but ultimately forgettable sci fi novel. RENDEZVOUS, however, will always stick with me.
mfeezell's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely a different kind of book from the first one, and I can see why fans of the first wouldn't like this, especially when the first third is such a slog. I thought it was fun though, and answered enough of my questions from the first book to keep me engaged and interested in reading more of the series.
areaderheart's review against another edition
Stopping at chapter 16.
This books has been melodramatic and racist so far. It’s spent 110 pages setting up the characters and unfortunately all of them suck. And the science hasn’t been enough to keep my attention. Might come back to it, might not. We will see.
This books has been melodramatic and racist so far. It’s spent 110 pages setting up the characters and unfortunately all of them suck. And the science hasn’t been enough to keep my attention. Might come back to it, might not. We will see.
agentnk_'s review against another edition
5.0
This series explores humans reactions to alien spacecraft flying near to earth. Story takes place 70 years after the arrival of the first Raman spacecraft into our solar system. This time, a second Rama spacecraft (identical to the first) arrives and the human race is more prepared. They send a more structured team in to investigate this craft and find that this spaceship is not exactly the same as the first.
warrenl's review against another edition
2.0
Rendezvous With Rama isn't without its faults. But its strengths penetrate Clarke's somewhat pedestrian prose and interchangeable characters and deposit it on the top shelf of 20th century sci-fi. Visions of the enigmatic, fascinating Rama remain with you forever. Thus we approach Rama II with great anticipation, eager to learn answers to the tantalising mysteries of the first book.
Well, I suppose we learn a teensy bit more about Rama. But we learn a whole lot more - a WHOLE lot more - about a bunch of one-dimensional, hackneyed, stereotyped walking cliches. Excruciating detail. Useless detail. Unless they're the Russian scientist or the Japanese crew members. They lurk around like useless shadows. And everybody communicates in stilted, clumsy dialogue. And they have perfunctory, pointless sex. The prose is awful. Like, how many times is Francesca referred to as the "Italian journalist"? Aarrgh. There are strange gaps in the narrative, something I thought was down to my own deteriorating memory until I confirmed them with my son, who'd read the book just before me. To describe them would be too much detail in a review such as this, but read the book and you will see what I mean. You'll have the odd "what the...?" or "how did...? moment as the story proceeds. Entirely missed by all the friends and colleagues who supposedly gave their feedback on the manuscript...
Inexplicably, the big technological and scientific concepts are glossed over. The mechanics of the Newton craft, the helicopters, the drones and even Rama itself are barely touched upon or entirely neglected. But we know all about Nicole ordering an airline meal from her seat and buying a bus ticket or something, whilst learning nothing about the plane she's on. And apparently she was able to load the text of five (yes, FIVE!) books into the discretionary memory in her personal computer. C'mon! You could already fit five books on a floppy disc in 1989! Surely by 2200 we'd squeeze a few more into a personal computer? And what's with Francesca shooting on FILM? The digital still camera had been around since the mid-70s - was it so hard to imagine a digital video camera by 2200?
I think it's clear from the available evidence that Gentry Lee had a lot more to do with this book than Arthur C. Clarke, despite the billing on the cover. So it's Gentry at whom the raspberries and brickbats should be aimed. There was enormous promise in the prospect of a Rama sequel, none of it realised. In this turgid tome Gentry has greatly amplified Clarke's weaknesses as a writer, and entirely buried his strengths. Clarke never needed to collaborate, and in doing so his legacy was damaged.
Well, I suppose we learn a teensy bit more about Rama. But we learn a whole lot more - a WHOLE lot more - about a bunch of one-dimensional, hackneyed, stereotyped walking cliches. Excruciating detail. Useless detail. Unless they're the Russian scientist or the Japanese crew members. They lurk around like useless shadows. And everybody communicates in stilted, clumsy dialogue. And they have perfunctory, pointless sex. The prose is awful. Like, how many times is Francesca referred to as the "Italian journalist"? Aarrgh. There are strange gaps in the narrative, something I thought was down to my own deteriorating memory until I confirmed them with my son, who'd read the book just before me. To describe them would be too much detail in a review such as this, but read the book and you will see what I mean. You'll have the odd "what the...?" or "how did...? moment as the story proceeds. Entirely missed by all the friends and colleagues who supposedly gave their feedback on the manuscript...
Inexplicably, the big technological and scientific concepts are glossed over. The mechanics of the Newton craft, the helicopters, the drones and even Rama itself are barely touched upon or entirely neglected. But we know all about Nicole ordering an airline meal from her seat and buying a bus ticket or something, whilst learning nothing about the plane she's on. And apparently she was able to load the text of five (yes, FIVE!) books into the discretionary memory in her personal computer. C'mon! You could already fit five books on a floppy disc in 1989! Surely by 2200 we'd squeeze a few more into a personal computer? And what's with Francesca shooting on FILM? The digital still camera had been around since the mid-70s - was it so hard to imagine a digital video camera by 2200?
I think it's clear from the available evidence that Gentry Lee had a lot more to do with this book than Arthur C. Clarke, despite the billing on the cover. So it's Gentry at whom the raspberries and brickbats should be aimed. There was enormous promise in the prospect of a Rama sequel, none of it realised. In this turgid tome Gentry has greatly amplified Clarke's weaknesses as a writer, and entirely buried his strengths. Clarke never needed to collaborate, and in doing so his legacy was damaged.
booleancat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
8ekka's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0