Not written by Arthur C Clarke

Don't be fooled- this isn't a book by Clarke, it's essentially fan fiction that Clarke agreed to put his name on. Not up to the standard of the genius Clarke and nothing like as good as the original Rama. Well read though.

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3 people found this helpful

Better than Rendezvous with Rama!

Review of Rama II, Arthur C Clarke

This was the best book I've listened to for a long time. I put it on at every opportunity because I wanted to know what happened next. The story is well-constructed and thought-provoking, and the characters are clearly and convincingly drawn. It combines mystery, intrigue, adventure and romance, and now that I have finished it I am keen to go on to the next one in the set.

Arthur C Clarke describes the interior of the Rama II spacecraft, but the concept is not easy to understand – if I were reading the book I would have paused to think, and made a drawing to help me! However, nothing is so outlandish as to be unbelievable, and I'm hoping that some things will be explained in the subsequent books. I would like to think that details have not been introduced only to be ignored or forgotten later.

Rama II is the second Rama book; the first was Rendezvous with Rama, which I had not read before reading Rama II. I have just listened to Rendezvous, for completeness, before writing this review, but it wasn't necessary for my understanding of the story.

The narration by Toby Longworth was good, with voices clearly fitting the description of the characters. Sometimes his pronunciation was not perfect and it should have been corrected (for example, the avians live underground and for some time I wasn't sure whether they lived in a layer or a lair). I noticed more editing errors than is usual in Audible books, with several sentences being read twice and one instance, I think, of a sentence being omitted. Even so, these did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

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Very slow start

I was looking forward to this after thoroughly enjoying Rendezvous but there were myriad times I felt like giving up on this one.
The amount of time spent detailing innocuous details about character back stories really was almost too much. But I am glad I stayed the course as the second half of the book talks less about the character back stories and much more about the Ramans, their tech a d what/who they might be!
I only discovered halfway through that it was a joint venture so I can only hope the addition of Gentry Lee doesn't have the same impact on book 3 which I will continue with given how strongly this book finished. More of the second half please (and Rendezvous) from this point on please!

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The Godfather of science fiction !

An excellent sequel with the usual incredible eye for believable plot's and an amazing ability to frame characters and their feelings.
His work is always so grounded in human personality that the science fiction can be as wild and imaginative as he likes it is still believable.

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Another Clarke classic

Loved this book. Good story and character buildup at the start, with more Rama mystery following.

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Good follow up setting scene for rest of story

A good story set some 70 years after the first Rama story so has completely different characters.
I wouldn't say this is a great story, but it is a good story with several parts that read more like Gentry Lee than typical Arthur C Clarke. A lot of background information, future history if you like trying to set the scene but padding it out more than adding to it.
So obviously a lead in story to Garden of Rama and Rama Revealed which compete the cycle.
Worth a listen though with good narration.
Not my favourite by any stretch of the imagination but one I could listen to again.

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7 people found this helpful

Very Enjoyable

Would you consider the audio edition of Rama II to be better than the print version?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Overall a great listen I especially enjoyed the different voices used by the narrator. My only complaint would be this; how wasn’t it discovered pre-flight that the crew were such a bunch of maladjusted misfits hardly the Right Stuff for a mission like this!

Can’t wait for the next book; The Garden of Rama

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2 people found this helpful

A poor sequel.

I cannot find fault with narration of Toby Longworth who as with Rendevous with Rama delivers the story with great style. It is just a pity that the story develops into a character driven long winded drawn out tale. It is common knowledge that Clarke came up with the basic idea for the story but it was Gentry Lee who wrote it and this change of author quickly became apparent. For me personally I began to loose interest in the story after the first third but I persevered until the end. The book lacks the suspense of the first novel. Sorely disappointed I would not recommend it and I will not be listening to the last two in the series.

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2 people found this helpful

Pants

Not a touch on the original Rendezvous with Rama book. too far fetched and not in a good way.

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Great stuff good characters, must for space nerds

Great stuff good characters, tense story, a must for space nerds and the like . enjoyed it

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