Customer Reviews

Garden of Rama

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I cannot understand the people who are putting down this third book in the Rama series.

I found it to be a great read. I enjoyed it so much that I read it again a few years later, and still loved it.

I'll continue to visit the series throughout my life because it's a wonderful space adventure.

All 4 books in the Rama series are superb. In fact, they are some of my favorite books by Arthur C Clarke, and in my opinion, some of his best writing.

I really don't know what these people were expecting, because The Garden of Rama is a beautiful science fiction book.

Brian D.

I guess I am the exception to the rule, as I absolutely loved all 4 of the Rama books. I was so caught up in what had happened and would happen with Nicole and her family that I could hardly wait 'til the next book in the series was published! To let you know how much I was affected by the series: at the end of Rama Revealed, I was moved to tears at the death of Nicole and the realization that this was IT. But, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in what was and was not reavealed.

Ever so gently this series is starting to drift. GET BACK ON FOCUS!!! Much of the writing was about mundane people doing mundane things, petty conflicts, a lot of wondering and wandering and not much continuity. Once again, as he has done in the past over and over, Clarke comes up with a superlative idea but his literary talents - or lack thereof - are not up to the task. Only rarely does he succeed with character development and this is not an uncommon occurrence among scifi writers.

I found myself staring into space several times and even peeking ahead. The best parts were all the creatures in the Garden. It is an axiom that the really memorable science fiction stories do not center on the unworldly aspect but on unforgettable people - Contact, Stranger in a Strange Land, Dune. This series could have been really remarkable but it has been dithered away. What a waste of time and energy.

What a let-down!!!

This is an unbelivably poor, hashed-together, novel with a few points of interest (hence 2 stars, instead of 1) but mostly pathetic and unbelivable. The first section of the book, containing extracts of "journal entries" from Nicole's journal (it's obvious now that Nicole is going to be the main character from here on out) which serve to send forward the plot about 13 years (and entangle the characters in some cloyingly obvious sexual "misunderstandings"). The remainder of the book is a description of the "colony" from Earth chosen to inhabit Rama, and the disastrous choices made by nearly everyone -- from the politicians on Earth, to most of the colonists.

To paraphrase B.B. King, "The Thrill of Rama is Gone". I'll give "Rama Revealed" a chance, just because so many loose ends are left hanging.

A real disappointment.

With only one or two exceptions, everybody seems to agree that this follow-up series is the biggest waste of time of our lives!

Like another reviewer wrote: What I wouldn't do to get the time back!

If the setting were entirely different (ie. NOT a sci-fi novel, let alone a sequel to the original Rama by Clarke) then some of the characters and situations MIGHT be interesting.

Certainly not, however, when we're expecting sci-fi on the same level as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama.

If Rama II disappointed, avoid this one. The entire plot line is silly (as Nicole and Co. go back and forth between star systems, mostly asleep but aging) and at the end the reader is no where -- third-rate 'cliff-hanger' to get you to buy the next book. It will take another 400 pages in Rama Revealed to get to the so-called revelation. Fans of ACC will not recognize any of his ideas in this volume which basically assumes humans have learned nothing over the years: just plain ignorant, easily manipulated by political leaders, guided by superstition, and usually kill anything in sight. Most of the lead actors are mere caricatures, no personalities or redeeming features and you'll probably despise the heroine, Nicole, who is portrayed as perfect. You're more likely to be entertained by an old B-film from American International than this sludge.

In this, the 2nd sequel to the fine SF novel, "Rendevous with Rama," our herione, Nicole (from "Rama II") flys around the Milky Way having babies, then she leaves her oldest (14 yo) daughter to marry an old geezer at some triangle-shaped parking lot near another star because it would reduce inbreeding, then this eagle-headed biot dude wants to send the rest of them back to our Solar System so Nicole goes to sleep for 19 years (I about fell asleep, too) in order to find another 2000 losers from Earth to join this pathetic venture. (Remember, things are pretty sorry on Earth by then, after the great Chaos/depression, so it won't take much.) Oh yeah, her younger daughter learns how to masturbate while they enter orbit around Mars. If it sounds stupid, it is. I fought to preserve my memory of the beauty of the original story. But hey, its your time to waste.

I read this book several years ago and am now getting ready to read it's precursors. I must admit I'm a bit biased being a fan of Arthur C. Clarke, but only because I enjoy his thought provoking works.
To date Garden of Rama is my favorite book from Arthur C. Clarke. It is imaginitive and alien as it should be. I was disappointed to see others didn't feel the same. I found it quite enjoyable to read the tale about how these few humans would have the desire to explore and learn, no matter the consequences. Then the heart of the book about the birth of the universe and it's outcome and research provide the thought provoking stimulus I expect from Clarke. A wonderful book in typical Clarke fashion.

It's not that I thought this book was awful, it's just that it didn't have much in it that I found very good. The original Rendezvous with Rama is a classic, filled with an environment that makes you wonder about the alien intelligence and crave for more.

These sequels, on the contrary, are set in the same "universe" but center around some Jerry Springer-esque quarrels amongst all the various humans. The notion that this has anything to do with Rama or aliens is secondary (or even tertiary) to the plot. In this installment, there are fleeting bits of the original wonder as the characters visit the "Node" and again when Richard visits the mysterious other dome towards the end. Sadly, this doesn't constitute very much of the overall book itself.

There are also some references that hit the reader with all the subtlety of an anvil to the head: the AIDS-like RV41 virus, Nicole's impending martyrdom and the constant (and fleeting) references to her heroes Joan of Arc and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the groaner where someone confuses Richard with Jesus. Social and religious commentary are the main themes of this book (as they were in Rama II). Science fiction is merely (and IMHO unfortunately) a backdrop.

Tedious, boring, endless. This book goes over and over the same agonizing territory, and it can do that easily because it is impossibly long.

Nicole, the heroine, is an impossible jerk. She gets an acute attack of hot pants while on board a 12(?) year space ship voyage. As far as I can figure out, that is ALL the book is about. It is torture. If you hate somebody give them this book.