“But at least we have answered one ancient question. We are not alone. The stars will never again be the same to us.”
I remember promising to read mo “But at least we have answered one ancient question. We are not alone. The stars will never again be the same to us.”
I remember promising to read more /classic/ SciFi books last 2014 and so far I've failed. I can only remember the Ender series (I haven't even read the last book of the original quintet) and The Martian being my /classic/ SciFi reads since 2014. I have a vast interest in space, aliens, space opera... well SciFi in general but I have to honest and say that I'm a but intimidated to tackle the hardcore ones. I always watch movies, documentaries, and TV series that are SciFi related (even hard SciFi) but reading has always been an issue. This time though I told myself, fuck it, it's been way too long since I made that promise and boy am I glad that I finally read one. Ridiculously good choice too, all thanks to amazon for having the $1.99 deal on the omnibus.
Rendezvous with Rama is all about a space exploration into Rama. An identified space object yet unidentified purpose for... existing. The plot is absolutely amazing. It's fun to read about how they slowly find out about Rama and what's inside. I like books that are heavy on the world building and character development, unfortunately this novel only had the world building. The book (for me) is way too short and deserves so much more, but there are 3 more books in the series so there's that. I admired the mysteriousness of Rama, and that helped me want to finish the novel faster. I didn't even expect to read the next novel right away because I have a pile of books waiting already, but I can't prolong it anymore. I've heard mixed reviews of the next 3 books (especially the second one) but I'm still willing to gamble considering I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead more than I did Ender's Game.
I heard the second one is a lot more political, and that got me even more excited! Even by the twenty-second century, no way had yet been discovered of keeping elderly and conservative scientists from occupying crucial administrative positions. Indeed, it was doubted if the problem ever would be solved.
It's weird how I didn't really expect an alien encounter or a space battle in this novel. No spoilers will be given though, so I won't dwell much on that matter anymore. (view spoiler)[ Well, there is no real encounter with an alien here, or even a space battle. Just a vague hint in the end though, and that made me really want to read the next novel right away. I'm hoping for aliens and space battles in the next ones but if there will be none, then I hope for world building just as splendid as this. (hide spoiler)]
I did have an issue with the novel, hence the 4 star rating. The character development is heavily lacking. I'm a type of reader that relies on character development as much as the plot development so it's a bit of an issue for me. Maybe hardcore SciFi novels have less character development? I'm honestly not sure but I will read this novel again in the future and hopefully I could turn that 4 star rating into a 5.
4.5/5 stars. Strongly recommended even for those who know nothing about space. It is NOT full of jargons and the author actually wrote it in layman's terms for the most part so it shouldn't be a much of a problem....more