A review by inquiry_from_an_anti_library
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Overview:

After the Earth has been ravaged by meteorites, leading to a loss of cities, wealth, and knowledge, humans became determined to prevent more disasters.  Turning their energies from fighting each other, to unity in the goal.  By 2130, asteroids were easily discovered and their statistical movements calculated.  But then a mysterious asteroid was discovered, to be a lone wanderer from outside the solar system.  The asteroid was named Rama.  Although initially rejected an unimportant, turned out to be very important.  When images of Rama were taken, Rama was accepted as no mere asteroid, but a massive spaceship.  For information gathering, the ship Endeavour was selected, with its Commander Norton.  They need to find out the purpose of Rama.  This is a space adventure full of decisional uncertainty.  An adventure with plenty of planetary politics. 

Caveats?

The book takes a while to build the suspense, which contain repetitive activities.  What the activities do is create a consistent story, and explain decisional minutia.  Details that explain the complexity and sometimes monotony of the type of exploration they are undergoing.