Mass Market Paperback, 243 pages
English language
Published Aug. 13, 1990 by Bantam Books.
"At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge. It weighs more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system as inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for man's first encounter with alien intelligence." P. [4] of cover.
A promising opening of mysterious object and dry elder academic panel bickering.... oh don't let this be just a cool exploration of the physical properties of this space... in space... with bonus tangential misogyny... oh, the physical properties and some cold-war-commentary at least accelerate... pity for the futuristic anachronisms, 1973 feels closer to Jules Verne than to us.
... that is, it's 50% description of a docking maneuver, and 50% setup for an exciting book.
I guess that makes it one of those books you should read once, but I didn't manage to enjoy it much.
the characters were a bit no-nonsense and technical, but the setting was immensely good
Great setting and a classic writing, I could understand why this could be called a classic hard science fiction, having gotten released in 1972. The story revolves around a mysterious space object that was previously thought out as an asteroid, is actually an alien space-craft. With a rapid rotation period of 4 minutes and incredibly big, the spacecraft presents as being a boring plain object to the cameras of Sita, a space probe launched from Phobos, until the manned vessel Endeavor reaches it for exploration.
Grand ideas, perfect setting for the series, although the text is philosophical and subtle looking into the nature of Humans, this is one book that should not be missed by a fan of fiction much less by a fan of sci-fi.
