Rendezvous with Rama
In 2131, humanity's early-warning network detects a fifty-kilometer-long cylinder entering the solar system on a trajectory that cannot be natural. Commander Bill Norton of the Endeavour is ordered to rendezvous with the object, designated Rama, and his crew has only a few weeks to enter, survey, and map what turns out to be an entire enclosed world: a hollow cylinder rotating for gravity, with a frozen sea at its equator, strange biomechanical creatures waking as the interior warms, and no sign of the builders at all. Arthur C. Clarke's 1973 Hugo and Nebula winner is a quiet, awe-driven novel of first contact by absence, working through exploration as careful measurement rather than conflict, and leaving its central mystery pointedly unsolved.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Rendezvous with Rama
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In 2131, an enormous cylindrical object enters the solar system on a fast trajectory. The crew of the Endeavour catches up, lands on it, and walks through what turns out to be an empty alien starship.
Yes. Rendezvous with Rama (1973) won the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, John W. Campbell Memorial, Locus, and Jupiter Awards, making it one of the most-decorated science fiction novels of all time.
Yes. Arthur C. Clarke co-wrote three sequels with Gentry Lee: Rama II, The Garden of Rama, and Rama Revealed. The sequels diverge significantly in tone from the original and reception is mixed.
Rendezvous with Rama was written by Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1973 by Nova.
Rendezvous with Rama is 256 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Rendezvous with Rama takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Rendezvous with Rama is a standalone novel by Arthur C. Clarke, not part of a series.
Rendezvous with Rama is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.