Rendezvous with Rama

Rama Series, Book 1

By: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: Toby Longworth

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook was re-recorded with a new narrator, and the new product uploaded on 25th June 2014. Please note that written reviews prior to that date refer to a different narrator.

Winner of the 1973 Nebula and BSFA Awards and the 1974 Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards.

At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than 10 trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at 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 mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence. It will kindle their wildest dreams...and fan their darkest fears. For no one knows who the Ramans are or why they have come. And now the moment of rendezvous awaits - just behind a Raman airlock door.

Bonus Audio: Includes an exclusive introduction by Hugo Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer, who explains why Rendezvous with Rama will make the listener ‘feel both humbled and exhilarated at the same time’.

Arthur C. Clarke was born in Minehead in 1917. During the Second World War he served as an RAF radar instructor, rising to the rank of Flight-Lieutenant. After the war he won a BSc in physics and mathematics with first class honours from King's College, London.

One of the most respected of all science-fiction writers, he also won Kalinga Prize, The Aviation Space-Writers' Prize and The Westinghouse Science Writing Prize. He shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for the screenplay of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was based on his story, 'The Sentinel'. He lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 until his death in 2008.

©1973 Arthur C. Clarke (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

“Arthur C. Clarke is awesomely informed about physics and astronomy, and blessed with one of the most astounding imaginations ever encountered in print.” ( New York Times)
“Arthur C. Clarke is one of the truly prophetic figures of the space age ... The colossus of science fiction.” ( New Yorker)
“Quite memorable and at times magical… We glimpse our own future in this technological artifact - a future as magical as it is mysterious.” (Brian W Aldiss)
“For many readers Arthur C. Clarke is the very personification of science fiction.” ( The Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction)

Thoroughly enjoyable with enough detail to entice but not overwhelm

Splendid storyline that takes you out of this world, especially if you have a vivid imagination.

Would recommend to all as the balance of detail and simplicity it just nice for newbies and sci-if fans alike.

Revisiting my youth

I loved this book as a teenager and while some of the Sci-Fi has been surpassed, much is highly relevant to today’s technology and its challenges.

The story still inspires my imagination - great stuff.

A great book.

A true sci-fi classic. compelling and satisfying. Possible to finish in a day, it makes a great travelling book.

Well read

He does a good job with all the different accents. I read the books as a kid and really enjoyed this narration.

Fabulous book that was captured perfectly

If you could sum up Rendezvous with Rama in three words, what would they be?

Mystery,suspense, adventure

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rendezvous with Rama?

When they first opened the outer door i felt as though i was there, waiting in the cold vacum of space to see what lies within-gripping!

Which character – as performed by Toby Longworth – was your favorite?

None in particular as i liked them all.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If i could i would have!

Any additional comments?

Highly recomend this story as on of A.c.C's best. I can't wait to hear the other 3 parts once they are available.

One of the very best

I love Arthur C Clarke. Always have. I read these books when I was a teenager and revisit them every few years. They are the essence of what a classic Sci-Fi is meant to be about in my view. Revealing the secrets of RAMA and explaining the science and engineering in a way that makes it utterly conceivable. The first book sticks more to these principles but will, later in the series, develop each of the primary characters and start the real story of what RAMA is all about.
The narration is excellent. I think it has been mentioned in other reviews about how well the accents contribute to the telling of this amazing series.
Enjoy.