#65. RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA By Arthur C Clarke

Published : 1973
Pages : 252
Overall Mark : 8/10

The enigmatic object christened Rama was detected while still outside the orbit of Jupiter, and a first radar contact at such a distance was unprecedented, indicating that Rama was of exceptional size. As it raced through the Solar System, it became apparent that Rama was a cylinder so geometrically perfect that it might have been turned on a gigantic lathe. Mankind was about to receive its first visitor from the stars.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008)
Born in Somerset in 1917, but a long-time resident of Sri Lanka, Sir Arthur Clarke is the world's most famous living SF writer. He wrote the scientific paper which established the principle of communications satellites and he collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Rendezvous With Rama is the only novel to have won all the major SF awards.

VERDICT
Similar in tone to '2001 : A Space Odyseey', this first in a series of books focussing on the mysterious space craft known only as Rama. The difference between this and Space Oddysey is that Rama actually has aliens in it, which does make it less mysterious in a way but also makes it more rewarding to read.