The only other book by Arthur C. Clarke I’ve read was 2001: A Space Odyssey, and after Kubrick’s film I found that disappointing. More than most sci-fi writers, Clarke’s style is remarkably matter-of-fact, and for me, that just didn’t work with the trippy, existential stuff towards the end of 2001. I enjoyed Rendezvous with Rama a lot more, although it has exactly the same problems. But it has the same virtues too, and in Rendezvous they compliment the material much better.
Clarke clearly has a fondness for big subjects. In this case it’s a vast, cylindrical alien vessel that enters our solar system, and the story of the team that are sent out to investigate it. Ship appears, team go to investigate, that’s really all there is, and the fun is in discovering what’s inside the vessel christened Rama, through the perspectives of Clarke’s cast of characters.
Like us they know next to nothing at the beginning, and the novel is basically a series of revelations as the vast ship unfolds a few of its many secrets. There’s a great sense of boys-own style adventure - Clarke’s style is eminently readable, in places even a touch simplistic, and this is a book that you can and will plough through simply because there’s always something happening and its hard to put aside. Compared with most classic sci-fi it’s an easy read. In other hands the material might be mind-bending, but Clarke’s descriptions are clear and precise, yet still evocative, particularly in portraying a sense of enormous scale.
Clarke tells his story with the deftness of a card dealer, throwing out impressive ideas with regularity and perfect timing. And there are really only two major problems, although they’re both pretty big ones. First, there’s the fact that - despite a fair amount of wordage devoted to setting them up - there are absolutely no involving or well-rounded characters. It’s not such a big deal, because it’s hardly character driven work, but it does limit how involved you can get.
More important, though, is the fact that Rendezvous is the first in a series of four books, and as such, you’re basically getting a quarter of a story here. It’s self-contained up to a point but there’s a lot left hanging and it makes for a fairly unsatisfying conclusion. Not only that, but there are plot elements introduced that serve no purpose in this book. The super-intelligent chimps accompanying the crew, for example, are a neat idea but they receive a chapter to themselves and serve no function in the plot.
For all that, Rendezvous is definitely enjoyable. There’s no denying Clarke’s credentials as a giant of the genre, and one of the reasons for that is how accessible his writing is, without stinting on the grandness and sense of wonder. Personally I expect my sci-fi to stand alone, and I’d have liked to see more wrapped up in the conclusion, but as frustrating as the lack of proper ending was, it didn’t really spoil a fun and occasionally awe-inspiring read.