Rendezvous With Rama: Great Sci-Fi Books Explained

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

What are your thoughts on Rendezvous With Rama? Check out Rendezvous With Rama here (Amazon Link) 📖 shortlink.uk/P5Rh

[@John-tc9gp]

This is fundamentally a book about wonder, discovery and exploration of something mysterious. I want to read more books like that

[@alokinzna]

Too bad it's contaminated by all the stupid human drama nonsense introduced in the next books except Rama 1 . Gangsters taking control of the humans on Rama and making a town run by gambling , prostitution and etc ??? And I will never forget the subplot of the woman character having an illegitimate child with the king of England . Literally wtf was the writer smoking when thinking this nonsense up ?

[@juandiegovalverde1982]

Arthur C. Clarke wrote a lot of very good books. Have you read the Space Odyssey series?

[@railgap]

Try Alastair Reynolds and also James S. A. Corey (The Expanse) I've read all the SF classics, these two are my two new favorite hard-SF writers. I also read a lot of modern fantasy whose authors I could recommend, but that's not germaine here.

[@BillyAsWell]

So much of hard science fiction is just one scientist/author trying to out-science all the others. Boring. Not Clarke.

[@skibsteds]

Yay! - One of my favorite books of all time. Very nice presentation of the book, its themes and place in science fiction history. Also, great video production!

[@marjoriedonnett5467]

Rendezvous with Rama is my third-favorite sci-fi book (after Dune and The Martian Chronicles). I fell in love with it and Arthur C. Clarke when I read it! Thank you for another wonderful video!

[@juandiegovalverde1982]

Have you read the Foundation series?

[@marjoriedonnett5467]

@@juandiegovalverde1982 I read the first book several years ago, but was not impressed. I plan to try it again in the near future.

[@garyt1119]

One of the best sci fi books I have ever read. I have read it several times and find more each time

[@noahfecks7598]

I love the suspense and the pacing of this book. Easily my favorite Clarke book of the bunch.

[@andrevanderpluym4640]

Nice video on one of my all time favourite books, read many times. But a couple of observations. First, the nuclear weapon launched by the Hermians is disabled by Cmdr Nortons crew. So Rama didn't have to neutralize it. Second, I don't think I agree with your characterization of Rama as incomprehensible. Clarke sets up a scenario where Humanity has very little time to explore it thus preventing a full characterization and understanding. But Clarke, in my opinion, was an optimist by nature and by the end of the story, it seems a pretty good hypothesis can be/ is crafted based on the tidbits that Clarke reveals as the explorations are conducted: Rama is an automated ship, a pretty conventional space habitat in configuration (reminiscent of O'Neil habitats proposed back in the late 1970's) , rotating for gravity, just passing through the Sol system, where the crew, including Biots and possibly Ramans themselves, are stored as patterns which are activated as and when required. Yes the space drive and the biotechnology are advanced but not incomprehensible. Yes, it's characterized as a hypothesis, but anything provided by the author in this way has to be taken as truth, at least that's the way I see it. Cheers!

[@Duzon1602]

very intelligent comment

[@owen-trombone]

One of the things I loved about this novel was how it played against my expectations. As the astronauts were exploring the structure I was SURE that they would encounter some dangerous, probably lethal, beings of some sort. There was so much tension as they kept exploring, pushing deeper into the unknown, I kept expecting *something* to confront them. The almost total disregard for the explorers was mind-blowing and troubling in its own way.

[@mattwilson8298]

Haven't read this one in decades. Thanks for the refresher.

[@Antilenin111]

A very enjoyable video of one of my favorite books. Thank you, and keep up the great work. I hope to see many more videos like this!

[@steveg1961]

Yours is one of the best reviews I've seen. I'm so glad you captured what the novel is really about - and why the critiques regarding poor characterization of the humans were just beside the point. (Indeed, the main character of the novel is Rama itself.)

[@jamescambias9189]

The Hermian missile is not mysteriously destroyed by Rama, it's done heroically by one of the Endeavor crew. It's not clear if the bomb would have actually _worked_ against the unknown tech of Rama, but it was humans who stopped it.

[@dmitripopov8570]

Great choice! Thank you very much!

[@Lon_Suder]

Hey man. I'm new to the channel and just wanted to say how much I've been enjoying your content. Keep up the great work, sir.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Thanks so much! That’s great to hear 🙏

[@subraxas]

I do, do recognize your name, ... Mr. Suder! 😈

[@discobolos4227]

@@subraxas Played by excellent Brad Dourif. :)

[@ProtoType99468]

🤓 I had a wonderful paperback copy waay back that had the two page illustration inside the cover - I left it at work and someone lifted it

[@bkbland1626]

I actually LIKE the apparent indifference of the unknown others. Humanity is convinced of their own importance and I think it would be a good bit of humility for us

[@glenchapman3899]

I remember a great story a few years ago, this huge alien fleet arrives in the Solar System, completely ignores Earth, goes to Venus. Gets into a titanic battle with whatever was living on Venus. Wins the war, and leave. The rest of the story was Humans trying to learn to live with their egos are shattered lol

[@mcjim256]

That is my favorite part that only comes a while after reading the book.

[@owen-trombone]

@@glenchapman3899Do you remember the name or author of that story? Sounds like a good one.

[@XmadBear27]

Great first-contact book. Can't wait for the movie with Villeneuve too!

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Me too! I think it will be awesome!

[@KlingonCaptain]

I hope that he continues with all four books!

[@discobolos4227]

@@KlingonCaptain Wow! Good for you! Almost everyone in here states that the sequels were awful. Y'know, allegedly. I personally haven't read them, but I've found your comment tremendously contrasting, given "all" the other opinions.

[@KlingonCaptain]

@@discobolos4227 I think that anyone who likes 3001: The Final Odyssey and the Time Odyssey series will like the Rama sequels.

[@juandiegovalverde1982]

Villeneuve is an excellent sci-fi director.

[@mountainbiker8904]

Bravo, job well done! to be completely honest, I have no Deas ire nor plan to read the sequels, because I want the mystery and incomprehensibility of the alien craft to remain as such.

[@palantir135]

Marvelous novel. The first time I read it must be about 45 years ago.

[@discobolos4227]

Wow! That must have been before they invented cars and cigarette filters. :D :P

[@palantir135]

@ yes, but we had bicycle already

[@discobolos4227]

@@palantir135 With round wheels? :D :P

[@palantir135]

@ yes, wooden wheels

[@discobolos4227]

@@palantir135 😀 Thanks for playing along! 👍 Cheers!

[@RNemy509]

I loved this book when I read it as a kid. My mind and imagination really was captivated by the story.

[@lexloose2112]

I'm 60 now and remember the awe I felt reading this book as a young lad. Can't wait for the movie. Won't touch the book or my imagination but I live in hope .ha.

[@Gary-zq3pz]

The series is great! Won't tell ya what Rama is... wouldn't want to spoil the twist.

[@discobolos4227]

Rama is a brand of spreadable butter. :D "Rama butter", google it up! :)

[@azoriusmage]

I’m remember reading this as a kid and it blew my mind such a wonderful boom

[@TheRealPaulMarshall]

When I read it Jimmy's sky-bike, Dragonfly, was human-propelled. I can't say whether it had a jet engine strapped on when you read it. And that "central spine running along the axis" was only a spiky lightning maker thing stretching out just a bit from the "southern" hub with bitty buddies around it rather than the sort of thing along the axis of The Way in Eon.

[@cboy-ou2hr]

Just received my copy of eon in the mail yesterday night I heard both books are similar

[@lightlegion_]

You have something extraordinary here!

[@discobolos4227]

♥

[@angelica6645]

"Devoted servant..." Ha! Thankyou Mr Newberger, another excellent (& dare i say a little scary) vid

[@rodneymckay8860]

It’s Halloween month. No mention of good sci-fi horror stories? Just a recommendation, Stephen King’s The Jaunt from Skeleton Crew.

[@treefarm3288]

Thanks for the video. I must get a copy. I didn't mind the spoilers since its not an action novel.

[@erictaylor5462]

Jimmy's sky bike was not jet powered, it was human powered and was meant for racing competitions in the Lunar Olympics. Also, it was found that the "cities" of Rama were not actual cities, as the "buildings" were structures of unknown purpose with no doors or windows Late in the book they break into one of the buildings and inside it seems to be a library of sorts with holograms of varius equipment such as strange hand tools and what was seen as protective clothing.

[@merky6004]

Third book I ever read. Middle school. Excellent choice.

[@IRosamelia]

My favorite youtuber just posted a video about my favorite sci fi novel. I'm so happy, I tried searching for the extra grinning emoji, but instead of writing "smile" I wrote "darrel" by freudian mistake... turns out there's no emoji with that prompt, which of course is a terrible oversight if you ask me. Darrel, you unwitting and perhaps reluctant object of my lusty desires, will you believe it has taken me more than ten minutes to write this silly little message? and I still haven't gotten around to watch the video itself! My mind is in short circuit. Help. The prompt for the emoji was "beaming" btw 😁

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Haha! 🤣 Your comments always make me laugh!

[@jasperdoornbos8989]

@@Sci-FiOdysseyit almost reads like a marriage proposal 😅

[@subraxas]

@@jasperdoornbos8989 🙂

[@rachelthompson9324]

Good timing for me. I'm now drafting my tenth book with similar ideas. I read the Rama books years ago so perhaps they influence my subconscious. I didn't realize that connection until I saw your video. Where do stories come from? For me they come for the thousands of books I've read boiling under my surface.

[@KellicTiger]

I'm both excited as Villeneuve is a fantastic director and somewhat fearful as RWR on the surface is a boring story....note: on the surface. I mean ultimately when you boil it down the story is going to this structure, looking around, get into some jams, and leave. That does not make for a good movie. But when you add the exploration aspect of the book and the slow burn it makes for a fantastic story. I have hope though as Villeneuve knows how to condense a massive scale story into one that can be "consumed" in a few hours. I mean Dune? He also knows how to get complex concepts across from page to screen in a way that just works. So I have hope.

[@jackbedient]

You just have to look at Arrival. Slow burn. Tonally perfect for Rama.

[@discobolos4227]

@@jackbedient Agree!

[@Jewellerybybarrie]

An all time great book, that and 'the city and the stars' as well as many other Clarke books. I think I first read this in 1979 on the way to work when I was 17. Still have the paperback somewhere..

[@martinwesterstrand]

Top 3 best books ever according to me. Read it numerous times and Im DYING for the movie by Denis Villeneuve, who is my favorite director.

[@spookybuk]

Science fiction books I would like to see explained in better detail than I could understand: Biogenesis, by Tatsuaki Ishiguro. 10 Billion Days & 100 Billion Nights, by Ryu Mitsuse.

[@ryanyoder7573]

Great book report

[@discobolos4227]

Rama is a brand of spreadable butter. :D

[@railgap]

The thing about Clarke is, he would come up with an idea (good enough for a chapter, with most authors) and then wrap a whole novel around it, flogging the McGuffin on every page, and utterly failing to write a 3D character. Honestly, Clarke was about ideas and technology and speculative thinking, and that's fine as far as it goes, but a lot of people, myself included, are more interested in character-drive stories, and Clarke couldn't write a compelling, believable character to save his life. If you want some astonishing modern space opera and hard SF, I humbly suggest Alastair Reynolds first. Reynolds has more big ideas than an emperor. He tosses out big ideas just for local color, for scenery. It's breathtaking. And his characters matter. Also the now-well-known "James S.A. Corey" partnership which brought us The Expanse books, among others. Good science in both of these authors' science fiction too.

[@tj7870]

fantastic book!

[@LenCarl-vn5ys]

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.

[@discobolos4227]

Wow! That's deep! Like the oceans. :D

[@MrFomhor]

Peter Watts 'Firefall' is a modern, & dystopian, take on the "unintelligible aliens vs stupid humans" theme!🖖🏼

[@robertbrown3413]

I read this alongside Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Tolkien has the edge but this is still a good book, aside from the technology aspects being outdated.

[@dupplinmuir113]

I often think that if humanity ever gets out into the galaxy - something that is presently looking less-and-less likely - they will encounter things where they can't actually decide if they're alive or not, because they're just so different from us. The idea that there'll be such a thing as 'Alien DNA' will look pretty silly in hindsight!

[@Hermentotip]

This is one of my favorite books hands down, all genres included. ACC is the greatest. The thought provoking is just superb. I only wish the sequels with Gentry Lee had never been made. They absolutely kill the tone, and even worse, they are the kind of cheap soap opera material that will surely be used in future hypotethical adaptations.

[@yw1971]

16:47 - A decade later, 'Eon' by Greg Bear took clear inspiration & to me was far better. It deserves a mention or a clip. (Gentry - as Jentry)

[@deonbeswick8947]

Indeed , a personal fave that captures the wonder of meeting an alien artifact - which the Gentry Lee sequels totally misunderstood

[@davidwright5719]

Sequels are terrible

[@bf99ls]

The subsequent books were co-written with ACC. Lee worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab, and had a far better grasp of space technology. He was also much better at writing characters: not that Arthur’s writing suffered too much from his deficiency in that area. In the end, it’s a matter of taste. RWR was enigmatic, both in terms of the aliens spacecraft, the aliens who had built it, and the book itself. Personally, I liked all the books (for different reasons), and hope they all get made into movies by the likes of Villeneuve.

[@dougirvin2413]

Hi Darrel, great vid! So glad the algorithm gods brought me here! GOD bless those Hawaiians for letting us build observatories on top of every mountain they've got! But Oumuamua..."a messanger from afar arriving first"...come on guys! Might have just as well named it 'Pheidippides'! Everybody knows it's real name is RAMA! Keep up the good work, we're all counting on you!

[@wojciechczauderna8946]

Good review. But you made one mistake. Rama did not neutralize the mercurian missile. The astronauts did.

[@stephendoherty8291]

We'll never know if Oumuamua the cigar shaped asteroid that passed "near" earth at massive speed, what might have been underneath the asteroid surface. Don't recall RAMA getting that close to earth. There was no mention of the makers and if the ship has a destination vast light years ahead then there was no map or plan. Could it have been an ark that allowed any terminal species of a dieing planet to use it as a liferaft either with some sort of cryo preservation or DNA banks. The interior had all the functions to support life and maintain the ship in deep travel

[@pavo1394]

great novel! I wish he didn't write the sequels though.

[@John-tc9gp]

Oumouamoua - aliens, yes or no?

[@IRosamelia]

No, thank Thor, and let's keep it that way! I'd rather be a member of the top predator species in this godforsaken pale blue dot than shipped to a research facility in Chiron Beta Prime

[@subraxas]

"I want to believe!" - The X-Files 🙂

[@deanostanley8530]

Of course it isn't. It is future humans.

[@IRosamelia]

@@deanostanley8530 Occam's Razor says it's a rock 😝

[@subraxas]

Rendezvous with Dalai Lama; reminds me of the Whale Probe from Star Trek IV. 🙂

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Thank you!!!🙏

[@daxbashir6232]

The Whale Probe :)

[@jeffwalker7185]

This is one of my favourite novels. The sequels, not so much.

[@speaknice8078]

Rendezvous with Oumuamua

[@BradleyKetat]

He had reached the point where he was paranoid about being paranoid.

[@sebastiansochanski]

👌

[@NeilWard-c8m]

Oumuamua?

[@discobolos4227]

Lol!

[@FabianJim-o5q]

Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do.

[@pfkingb]

Ramans do everything in threes. There are 2 more Ramas coming.

[@stephentaylor356]

Only 1 and a half...Japan got the other half.

[@PrimoLynch]

Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.

[@haruruben]

We’re just the stray cats hanging around the dumpster behind the gas station where Rama was filling up its tanks before continuing its journey

[@subraxas]

😀 😀 👍 👍

[@GustaveJoseph-g8k]

If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

[@randomracki9453]

Isn't this being made into a movie

[@discobolos4227]

Yes, by Denis Villeneuve.

[@AnthonyRusso93]

Bunda Bunda Rama

[@jackkain7141]

The first one was so great. Then it became a terrible case of "You got your soap opera in my sci fi epic". Couldn't make it more than 1/2 way through book 3.

[@runningman5871]

Just read the first one and never ever rest the rest.

[@delavan9141]

I read a lot of science fiction, all the great writers past and present, but I thought Rama was one of most lamest and plot-less stories I've ever read.

[@discobolos4227]

Also an opinion. :)

[@mrhaag]

I despise the sequel books. They're so different that i feel like Clarke just put his name on it and Gentry Lee just straight up wrote them.

[@subraxas]

Salvador Dalí style. 🙂

[@hariseldon3786]

Humans - I apologise for my "frisbee equivalent" structure passing close to your planet. The writings in it were simply autographs from other galactic frisbee champions and may have been easily misinterpreted. In future we will use a different path for our sporting activities.

[@discobolos4227]

LOL!!!

[@MrRickstopher]

The mystery that will never be solved… Nope, there was only the one book… Imagine if there were three follow up novels with the most obnoxiously self righteous main characters in all of fiction? Also, imagine if those novels had some of the most uninspiring plots that completely demystifies the original? God, that would be awful.

[@meesalikeu]

i woner why pasty brit arthur c. clarke moved to sri lanka? hmm, of all places why could that be … ??? 🤔😮

[@Theoverthinker81]

I think he liked writing children's stories, and Sri Lanka was the perfect setting for it 😮

[@ChesterVincent-k8z]

Always be mindful of the kindness and not the faults of others.

[@discobolos4227]

One of the Sith teachings. :)

[@MerleBart]

Cursive writing is the best way to build a race track.

[@nikkirazelli3250]

Just dropped in to say.. if you need to explain books to people.. humanity is lost...

[@aliservan7188]

Can't stand Clarke, he bores me rigid, which is why I really appreciate you doing this as Ive tried reading it so many times

[@IRosamelia]

you must be an alien 👽

[@subraxas]

@@IRosamelia 'Illegal alien'? 🙂

[@aliservan7188]

@@IRosamelia I just find his prose dull. Great ideas, just not great writing. I'm more a Lem or Asimov fan

[@IRosamelia]

@@subraxas or an Englishman in New York

[@subraxas]

@@IRosamelia Sting 🙂

[@danielnigel6920]

Clark was very good in entangling and building the stories but very bad at untagling and ending them

[@terranceparsons5185]

I didnt enjoy the sequels nearly as much as the original. It's a pity ACC didnt write them on his own.

[@meesalikeu]

nigel mispronounces it MISS ISLES 😂🎉

[@andydee1304]

Clarke wasn't great with character development, but he wasn't trying to be.

[@yw1971]

He did better later on in '2010' & especially in '3001', his last great book

[@andydee1304]

@@yw1971 Reread 3001. It's a bit rubbish.

[@seanjoseph8637]

Your summation is inaccurate the Sky bike is a man powered propeller driven low gravity sports vehicle, Rama doesn't neutralise the nuke, one of the Endeavour's crew does, also no central spine! Have you read the book? A movie has been in production hell for at least a decade, I believe Morgan Freeman owns the film rights. As much as I would love to see a Rendezvous With Rama movie, they will mess it up with woke shite.

[@nomadyendig]

I hated the sequels!

[@jdriley24]

The sequels were absolute rubbish, don't recommend them personally

[@JosephClayThompson]

"'Jet-powered' sky bike?" No. Human-powered. Like, I dunno, a bike? There's even a long discussion about why jet propusion is impractical inside Rama. How carefully did you read the book?

[@discobolos4227]

If I remember one of his comments correctly, Darrel reads circa 10 to 15 novels per year, plus some other literary works (short stories, non-fiction,...). Meaning that he is "allowed" to forget some details here and there. No big deal. Also, he produces these videos almost weekly and he discusses therein dozens and dozens different books. I'm pretty sure that some of them he hasn't read for years and memories tend to gradually fade away. After all, we are "just" fallible Humans. :) God bless!

[@RhapsodyInBlaah]

AI thumbnails = don’t recommend channel.

[@jackbedient]

Just passing through on the gravity assist…