The book is a different category of sci-fi from its first in this series. Here the authors are interested in the characters and their schemes, the pressure from the press, religion, military etc..

in a sense thjs is less original narrative, but in many others a new kind of sci-fi takes hold that is well suited for filming.

We are left at the end with many questions left unanswered, but also some amazing insights. The long beginning which is all background for the characters could be condensed but is useful reference for the politics of what emerges later.

I enjoy seeing how two authors collaborate on a novel like this, and it is fresh to actually be able to recognise their voices so clearly. ( )

The great mysterious of RAMA only expand in this second installment keeping you on the edge of your seat. ( )

The afterword makes it clear that, although Rendezvous with Rama ends with the most sequel baiting phrase imaginable, it was never intended to be a series. Clarke also makes it clear that he's working with a co-author here (who will go on to complete this series later). Perhaps because of this then, the usual pitfall of a Clarke novel in the lack of characters and characters with depth is here replaced by lots of character drama. Unfortunately it's to the detriment of the book, which despite having an extra 120 pages on the predecessor, feels like it's spinning its wheels through most of the book. Still, there are still some great moments of awe and exploration echoing the original. ( )

Ugghhh, this was a hard slog to finish. I will admit I am still wondering, "Who/what are the Ramans?" so this book has not *completely* lost me... but that is some incredibly faint praise. ( )

Rama 2 ( )

Very different from the the first book in the series, especially the first part of the book which if you are able to push through the character build up part you will be rewarded with a great story of the crews experiences on RAMA II.

Completely different book than the first one. To me, it doesn't feel like a sci fi book anymore, more like an adventures book. ( )

This book feels rather different from Rendezvous with Rama.

For the first half, I wasn't sure that I actually liked the difference. Rather than the almost sterile science fiction that Clarke is better known for, the sequel deals a lot more with characters, drama, and to some extent matters of faith. It's especially interesting in how long it takes them to even get to Rama, especially compared to the first book.

Through the next quarter though, it really started picking up. I started to actually care about the characters and couldn't put it down. The feel of the ship, especially with some of the new findings, is just different enough that I wanted to know more.

At first, I wasn't sure that I was going to read the other two sequels. After this, I'm not sure how I couldn't. ( )

Ah, now I remember this book. Contrary to what I said in my review of [b:Rendezvous with Rama|1930977|Rendezvous with Rama|Arthur C. Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1288718658s/1930977.jpg|1882772] I now recall that four years ago I actually read the first three books in this quadrilogy, not just the first two. This book is frightfully dull but not quite bad enough to warrant quitting the series.

One of the good things about this book's predecessor is how quickly it gets into the action. The cosmonauts are inside Rama within about ten pages. Here we get a hundred pages of inept character development before they finally reach the spacecraft. All of Gentry Lee's characters are one-dimensional stereotypes of fictional characters. Each of them has to be horrible or lovely, with their actions being over the top so we can't get the two groups muddled. Every other character was abused as a child and that's used either as an excuse for them growing up to be an immoral charlatan or as proof that they have lots of moral fortitude.

The book doesn't really add anything to its predecessor, I guess you have to read its two sequels for that. But since [b:The Garden of Rama|112518|The Garden of Rama (Rama, #3)|Arthur C. Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171659410s/112518.jpg|876293] was bad enough to lead me to stop reading the series three quarters of the way through, I'm not sure it's an experience that I'm going to enjoy. ( )

Ah, now I remember this book. Contrary to what I said in my review of [b:Rendezvous with Rama|1930977|Rendezvous with Rama|Arthur C. Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1288718658s/1930977.jpg|1882772] I now recall that four years ago I actually read the first three books in this quadrilogy, not just the first two. This book is frightfully dull but not quite bad enough to warrant quitting the series.

One of the good things about this book's predecessor is how quickly it gets into the action. The cosmonauts are inside Rama within about ten pages. Here we get a hundred pages of inept character development before they finally reach the spacecraft. All of Gentry Lee's characters are one-dimensional stereotypes of fictional characters. Each of them has to be horrible or lovely, with their actions being over the top so we can't get the two groups muddled. Every other character was abused as a child and that's used either as an excuse for them growing up to be an immoral charlatan or as proof that they have lots of moral fortitude.

The book doesn't really add anything to its predecessor, I guess you have to read its two sequels for that. But since [b:The Garden of Rama|112518|The Garden of Rama (Rama, #3)|Arthur C. Clarke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171659410s/112518.jpg|876293] was bad enough to lead me to stop reading the series three quarters of the way through, I'm not sure it's an experience that I'm going to enjoy. ( )

Not as strong as the first novel in this series... too much melodrama between cardboard characters. ( )

If you liked Rendezvous with Rama, skip this unless you're the world's biggest fan of Gentry Lee. An almost completely unrelated book, this is filled with third-grade soap opera and constant, petty digressions from Clarke's fascinating ideas.

Clarke is not the world's greatest writer and the first Rama book was stilted and nerdy, but it was also ripe with enthusiasm and seriously awe-inspiring ideas. The addition of B-movie drama here doesn't deepen, humanize, or in any way improve Rama; it just cheapens it. ( )

One of the best SF books that I read this year. Clarke, with Lee's input, writes a well rounded story. His early works were good but this is one of his best. It really provides a mix of hard SF and interesting characters.

My criteria for rating a book has much to do with holding my attention. For this book I always wanted to get back to it until the end. Is it a perfect book? No, the ending is a little weak and unfinished. There were missed opportunities for some bad characters to be discovered for whom they were.

This sequel to "Rendezvous With Rama", gives us more clues about the alien ships that are passing near our Sun. Great read. ( )

Less science, more fiction than Rendezvous with Rama, and weaker for it. Clarke diminishes when he writes of people matters. It could be the Gentry Lee influence, but I've been disappointed when Clarke writes these type stories. I did read this when it came out but it was not memorable. Not to spoil, but I thought the character psychologies and interactions were implausible given the nature of the mission, even when culturally extrapolated 150 years in the future.

Though I am less enthralled with his later works, I still plan to read at least the next two as I work through Clarke this year. ( )

This book was a miss for me. Somehow bringing a greater human element into the pure joy of discovery shown in the first book diluted my pleasure in this book. ( )

Wonderful! Characterizations were great and the story left you wanting more!!! ( )

This is a better written novel than the first one and has a better cast of characters. The Earth system revealed here has more flaws and we do get a cliff-hanger ending. I think the addition of Gentry Lee to the team was for the better. ( )

What a pile of crap! Gentry Lee took over what was an amazing hardcore science fiction novel in Rama and turned it into some crappy drama, with novice style intrigue, a bunch of ridiculous characters that having you going from indifferent to totally hating them. This is a afternoon soap opera with the background of space. I loved Rama, I loved the ideas brought up by Arthur Clarke, and I was so excited to learn more about the Ramans and their ship that the second encounter should have brought, instead I learned about a bunch of pathetic characters that have a ton of personal problems, the chicks are sluts, and the dudes are retarded. This was one of the worst piles of refuse I have ever struggled through and it makes it all the more painful because I loved Rama so much. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! It will destroy the good memories of the novel actually written by Clarke! ( )

Sequel to the now classic Rendezvous with Rama.... well, Rama II in my opinion is not a bad book but never'll be a classic like its predecessor. There's too little originality and uniqueness in it to be. The story itself is far away from bad, it's an interesting and exciting saga of a new expedition to the Rama II ship which seems to show a little more interest in the direction of humans and Earth.... ( )

Rama II is the second novel I picked up to read in English, I required a lot of courage to do this because of its size. But it was worth it - it was so good that I was very much engrossed during about 4 week's period while I was reading. My speed of reading was very slow because my English was not good at that time, frequently checking my dictionary for new vocabularies appearing in the book. I was very touched by the main character's (Nocole) courage and intelligence, awed by the alien technologies, and deeply satisfied by my growing understanding of the story and the book. This book gave me enough confidence in my English reading that the next book I picked was 1,000-paged book by Stephen King called 'It'. ( )

If you have read 'Rendezvous with Rama' and are left wanting more, please just savour that feeling and do not read this book. The sequels are bad enough to diminish the original. ( )

This was a book that surprised me. I had read the reviews and listened to the opinions of others, and avoided this sharecropped sequel like many other sf fans of quality and discernment. Then, three or four years after publication, I found the US paperback remaindered in a shop here in the UK. I had a pound burning a hole in my pocket (for that was the price, I think) and I thought "Why not? Let's see how bad it really is."

I was in for a surprise. About a quarter of the way into the book, the author (whichever one it was) killed off someone who I thought was going to be a major character. And I was upset and shocked! I had begun to care about the characters!

This happened later on as well, well into the third sequel. I'll reserve major comments for my review of that book. All I'll say here is that this is not a book to be written off without thought. ( )

Nowhere near as good as Rendezvous with Rama, nowhere near as bad as the books that came after this one. Rama 2 follows a team sent to study the second Rama spacecraft that enter the solar system. The first time this happened we explored the ship and learned almost nothing. This time around we actually learn something about the Raman’s while still leaving quite a bit clouded in mystery. Rama 2 has more action, more well-rounded characters, and more revelations. Rama 2 loses the intrigue in its predecessor. One of the best things about Rendezvous with Rama was that it had nothing to do with humanity, we were just randomly in the way of this gigantic spaceship. This book takes that away, making Rama specifically about humanity, something the later novels will explore in detail. Not as good as the original, but not as bad as it will get. ( )

i skipped the first 100 pages of this book, it was really bad and the flash backs ugh but i stuck with it because i had already bought garden with rama & rama revealed, i thought it was ok ( )

I read this soon after it came out and enjoyed it well enough as a basic science fiction story. It borrows the setting of the original Rama novel but otherwise has a completely different style and tone. The book was obviously written by Gentry Lee with little if any contribution by Clarke. The series declines much further in the next volume. ( )