Rama Revealed: The Ultimate Encounter [Hardcover]

Gentry Lee (Author), Arthur C. Clarke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1994 | Series: A Bantam Spectra book

In the conclusion to Rendezvous with Rama, Rama II, and The Garden of Rama, a massive alien starship carries its human passengers to the end of a generations-long odyssey. 115,000 first printing. $115,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This disappointing conclusion to the Rama series picks up at the point where the previous volume, The Garden of Rama , left its characters in peril. Cosmonaut Nicole Wakefield, the former governor of the human colony housed within the globe-shaped spaceship Rama III, is awaiting execution for opposing the fascistic powers that now run the colony. She is rescued from her cell by small robots sent by her husband Richard, whom she had thought dead; he had, however, escaped into the interstices of the Rama spacecraft. Along with friends and family from the Earth sector, they begin traveling through the different alien environments housed in the vast Raman world. As decades pass, the spaceship approaches the star system Tau Ceti, where many secrets are revealed to Nicole and her descendants. Unfortunately, the authors have neglected narrative drive in favor of exposition. Environments are described and philosophies expounded in great detail, but the action is delivered second-hand as characters tell each other about events instead of experiencing them directly. Despite some mildly intriguing revelations at the end, the story is slow and only mildly diverting.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Rama Revealed marks the fourth and final volume of the popular sf series begun with Rendezvous with Rama (1973). After a long interstellar voyage, an alien spacecraft and its human passengers arrive at their destination. On sale date: the week of January 31.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 466 pages
• Publisher: Spectra; 1ST edition (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553095366
• ISBN-13: 978-0553095364
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #884,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008) wrote the novel and co-authored the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he is the only science-fiction writer to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His fiction and nonfiction have sold more than one hundred million copies in print worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A very poor conclusion to an otherwise magnificient series, August 31, 2003

By 

"keith_ac" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rama Revealed: The Ultimate Encounter (Hardcover)

In the foreword for Rama II, Clarke explains that-in spite of what clearly appeared to be a lead-in to a sequel ("the Ramans always do things in threes", suggesting that there would be two similar craft to follow)-he never intended for the story to go beyond "Rendezvous with Rama." That allowed Clarke to do what he does best, to conjure fantastic worlds, and present compelling questions-without ever having to answer them. As I discovered with "2061" and "3001", the mysteries Clarke weaves and the questions his stories pose, are far more compelling than any answers he can present for them. Like 3001, the conclusion to the Odyssey series, this ending is simply abysmal. I'd have been better off letting my own imagination fill in the gaps, and ponder the unanswerable questions. Instead, characters that I had come to truly know and care about-having followed their entire adult lives-are led through situations that are both tedious and implausible. It left me feeling that the lives of the characters had been an absolute waste, that the hardships, struggles, even the joys of their unique odyssey were utterly pointless. That, for me, was even harder to swallow than the absolutely ludicrous suggestion that God would need spacecraft to shuttle people around. If you were captivated by the Rama universe as I was, do yourself a favor and stop with the third book ("Garden of Rama"). Discovering what happens to Nicole is not worth it (and her fate is quite possibly worse than you might imagine).

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very telling tale about the human race, July 1, 1998

By 

Gary King ([e-mail]) (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rama Revealed: The Ultimate Encounter (Hardcover)

With messages of duty, responsibility and the value of family, it's likely that this book will apeal to a more mature reader. While this last installment of the RAMA tales holds all the magic of the past 3 books, it also holds some very real, if disapointing truths about mankind. We are not the creators chosen race, indeed, we are simply an eliment in one universe of many by which the creator seeks a simplicity only a god may aspire to. Some refreshing ideas on the origins, purpose and existance of the universe and our place in it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expecting more and receiving less., August 24, 2004

By 

Lorina (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rama Revealed: The Ultimate Encounter (Hardcover)

That's pretty much how I felt after finishing the final installment of the Rama series. Sure, there were a lot of interesting ideas brought up in the end, but I was very disappointed with the theological aspect of the novel. As the character of Michael O'Toole had mentioned earlier, mankind cannot put restrictions on God, and yet that's exactly what happens. One would think that God doesn't need to experiment and tinker around before getting creation right. And why would nodes be required to collect his data? I was hoping the novel wouldn't end with the explanation being as it was. I was hoping for an alien face behind Rama, not the fantastical idea that stewed in Clarke's brain and seemed a little out of his grasp. I just believe that with such an emphasis on religion in the books, including the character of St. Michael, the theology aspect could have been handled better in the end.

As for Nicole's fate. . .I was disappointed. I kept feeling that there was something big about to happen in the end. A more plausible and yet astounding discovery that would explain Rama's purporse and origins. But that feeling was never satiated, and I was disappointed with Nicole's choice in the end. There were so many critical moments when Nicole had returned to the dreams of her grandfather, and yet that theme was never completed or touched upon in the end. Maybe I was hoping for the story to not end there, but for Nicole to go on and experience something after. Why pump so much into spirituality in the book if it doesn't pay off in the end? All what we're left with is a cold, machine-like termination.