Conference noted::sf

    Yes, 2001 and 2010 are a good example of sequels not matching up
    to the originals.  I thought 2010 was much better.  (Certainly as
    far as the movies went.  The novels were closer together in quality.)
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    	Ugh, I don't think I could disagree more (.1). I have been a great
    fan of Arthur C. Clarke for some time but I was greatlt disappointed
    with both the book and film. Both were respectable works of science
    fiction but not a patch on the original 2001 (which was fantastic).
    	However, that dosn't mean to say that I don't want to see a
    sequel to RWR. RWR was, I think Clarke at his very best. Even a
    poor sequel has got to be good.
    

Path: muscat!decwrl!decvax!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ames!oliveb!sun!plaid!chuq
From: chuq%plaid@Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Clarke signs $4m book deal
Message-ID: <29202@sun.uucp>
Date: 26 Sep 87 16:07:20 GMT
References: <28964@sun.uucp> <3020@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Organization: Fictional Reality, uLtd
Lines: 17
 
>> The main book of the contract is Rendevous with Rama II, which was sold to
>  ...
>> how they are going to resolve the cliffhanger ending of the first book.
>
>	Cliffhanger?  In RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA?
 
    Oh, let me clarify.  Cliffhanger was PUBLISHERS WEEKLY's word, not
mine.  I believe that what they mean by this is they have absolutely
no idea of what they are going to do other than write a sequel.  The
ending *does* leave things wide open, but at the same time it really
does not give any decent hook to start from, either.  We all know a
second of those things is going to show up, but then what?  [Perhaps
we will find out what happened to the inhabitants of RAMA, and/or
maybe the ones in this next starship/space city will be encountered
personally. - LK] 
 
>ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT and the hostess mentioned that Clarke was
>writing two more sequels to "2001", "2060", and something else which 
>I do not remember.
 
    2061: ODYSSEY III is due out from Del Rey in hardcover in January,
1988.  I believe the final book in the series is dated 20001 (any bets
on ODYSSEY IV?), and is probably going to come out between a year and
two after that, also in hardcover.  For paperback folks, Del Rey
normally schedules paperback editions between 10 and 14 months after
hardcover depending on sales. 
 
    These are being written under a separate contract.  Rights for
2061 were sold to Judy-Lynn Del Rey before her death for $1.00US
(Clarke's normal advance with the late editor), and 2061 is dedicated
in her memory. 
 
chuq
Chuq Von Rospach	chuq@sun.COM		Delphi: CHUQ
 

Path: muscat!decwrl!decvax!mcnc!rutgers!mit-eddie!tyg
From: tyg@eddie.MIT.EDU (Tom Galloway)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Clarke signs $4m book deal
Message-ID: <7023@eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: 27 Sep 87 20:49:04 GMT
References: <28964@sun.uucp> <1408@calvin.UUCP> <29205@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: tyg@eddie.MIT.EDU (Tom Galloway)
Organization: MIT, EE/CS Computer Facilities, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 8
  
    While the next book in the ODYSSEY series is supposed to titled
20001 (and in fact was supposed to have been the 3rd in the series),
Clarke is on record as saying he won't write it until the GALILEO
probe has reached Jupiter.  Therefore, I doubt it'll be out within the
next few years, and the way NASA is going, possibly not until 2001. 
[GALILEO is currently scheduled to reach Jupiter by 1995.  I wonder
what ever happened to the KEPLER Jovian moon landers Clarke mentions
in 2010? :^) - LK] 
 
tyg

    I had heard, *several* years ago, that PBS was planning on doing
    a made for TV movie of RWR.  Then that it was going to be a motion
    picture, then, nothing.
    
    Was any of this *real*?  RWR is a great read, just from the
    plausibility point of view, as well as suspensfull and very well
    written.  With today's special effects, it would make an awesome
    film!
    
    jim
    

    A second question.  I was told, once upon a time, that Bantam had
    published a book with artist sketches, blueprints and painting of
    the interior of Rama and other items from the book.
    
    	Any truth to this, and where could I get a copy?
    jim
    

    re:.5
    
    PBS had plans about 10 years ago to film a number of sf novels.
    The only one that actually got made was LeGuin's THE LATHE OF
    HEAVEN.
    
    re:.6
    
    No. No such blueprints/whatever exist, at least none were offered
    commercially.
    
    --- jerry

    Anyone have a copy of LATHE to borrow?
    

Path: muscat!decwrl!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!mnetor!utzoo!sq!msb
From: msb@sq.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Clarke signs $4m book deal
Message-ID: <1987Sep28.210251.27873@sq.uucp>
Date: 29 Sep 87 01:02:51 GMT
References: <28964@sun.uucp> <3020@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> <29202@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: msb@sq.UUCP (Mark Brader)
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto
Lines: 22
Checksum: 19998
  
[Spoiler of RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, as if it wasn't spoiled already]
 
Chuq Von Rospach (chuq@sun.UUCP) writes:
> > > The main book of the contract is RENDEVOUS WITH RAMA II,  ...
> > > ... cliffhanger ending of the first book.
 
> Oh, let me clarify. Cliffhanger was PUBLISHERS WEEKLY['s] word, not mine.
> ... We all know a second of those things is going to show up, but then what?
 
    Anthropocentrism alert!  Anthropocentrism alert!
 
    We all know that there are two more of those things *out there*,
but what makes it likely that they would be anywhere near us?  They
should have been launched to three *different* destinations.  The
first one had no interest in us, so why should we expect the others to
come this way? 
 
    Unless, of course, they felt the project was so important that
they did it by nines, launching three on each path... 
 
Mark Brader, SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com

			"The recent explosion of tourism has ruined the
			 planet Arrakis for me forever."  -- Spider Robinson

    re:.8
    
    That depends on where you're located and if you have a Betamax.
    
    --- jerry

    re .9
    
    I havn't read RWR in a while, but I seem to remember that in the
    beginning of the story the Earth is hit by something BIG.  I had
    assumed at the time that it was RAMA #1.  So the next one is #3!
    To coin a phrase, 'have I erred' ?

    	No, Earth was struck by a large asteroid in the Twenty-First
    Century, which wiped out a good deal of the Mediterranean.  After
    that incident, an asteroid watch program was initiated, in order
    to keep such a disaster from occuring again.  It was this intense
    watch which led to the discovery of RAMA.
    
    	Larry
    

    re .6, .7 - While no blueprints were published, there was a set
    of illustrations published in a hardbound volume called "Classics
    of Science Fiction" or something like that.  It included illustrations
    of Niven's Ringworld, Aldiss's Hothouse (The Long Afternoon of Earth?),
    and a few others.  I can get more complete information if anyone
    cares.                                                  
    
    len.
    

Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!agate!eos!ames!ncar!tank!uxc!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!
Subject: Re: Clarke info
Posted: 25 Oct 88 22:04:00 GMT
Organization: 
Nf-ID: #R:uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:118600006:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:53400007:000:1639
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!ahiggins    Oct 25 17:04:00 1988 
 
    From haskins@s.cs.uiuc.edu (Lloyd Haskins):

>    Since he seems to have succumbed to sequel-mania with 2001, any rumors
> or talk about his doing something with his earlier works, such as _The_City_
 
    Clarke is just finishing RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA II, with is
co-authored with Gentry Lee (one time head of NASA's Galileo Project
and producer of Carl Sagan's COSMOS).  They have also agreed to write
a third book in the series (remember,"The Ramans do everthing in threes"). 
 
    The latest issue of LOCUS contained a letter from Clarke in which
he says he is working on a television show based on "The Fall of Moondust". 
 
>   Also, before I go and spend money on them, what are the Venus Prime books?
> At first glance it seems that they're works commissioned by him from other
> authors (???).  Any common story line?
 
    The books are novelizations of some of Clarke's short stories. 
The two avaible now have been authored by Paul Preuss, and according
to LOCUS, he has agreed to write four more books in the series.  The
Venus Prime series shares a common story line, along with characters
and settings. 

 Andrew J. Higgins	             | 	Illini Space Development Society
 404 1/2 E. White St apt 3           |  a chapter of the National Space Society
 Champaign IL  61820                 |  at the University of Illinois
 phone:  (217) 359-0056              |  P.O. Box 2255 Station A
 e-mail:  ahiggins@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu  |  Champaign IL 61820
 
 "Someone once defined a crank as an enthusiast without a sense of humor, and
 I have always believed that nothing is so important that you cannot make
 fun of it." - Arthur C. Clarke 

    
    	Earth was hit by something big in Nivens(?) Lucifers_Hammer.
    
    Charlie

    In Niven/Pournelle's _Footfall_ there was only the threat of being
    hit with an asteroid.  In _Lucifer's Hammer_, booooom!

Re:< Note 528.17 by OASS::MDILLSON "I was better, but I got over it." >

>    In Niven/Pournelle's _Footfall_ there was only the threat of being
>    hit with an asteroid.  In _Lucifer's Hammer_, booooom!

Sorry, I distinctly remember that the snouts dropped an asteroid in the 
Indian Ocean.  There was some description by the congressman about the 
wave travelling over the sub-continent.

Tony

    re . last few
    
    In 'Lucifer's Hammer' Earth was devastated by a comet. In
    'Footfall' the snouts 'lowered the foot', ie. dropped a 
    small asteroid on Earth. The idea was used earlier by Heinlein
    in 'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'. 
    

    Re: .-1
    
>    In 'Lucifer's Hammer' Earth was devastated by a comet. In
>    'Footfall' the snouts 'lowered the foot', ie. dropped a 
>    small asteroid on Earth. The idea was used earlier by Heinlein
>    in 'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'. 
    
    Heinlein didn't know what a cometary impact would do do the global
    climate (Mike dropped a _lot_ of rocks, but there was no talk of comet
    weather). 
    
    Niven and Pournelle did. Therefore, so did the Traveler Fithp. The
    Foot was designed to make the humans give up. But they didn't
    understand humans...
    				- HBM
    

    I stand corrected. But you gotta wonder what all those rocks did.

   >    I stand corrected. But you gotta wonder what all those rocks did.


    Flattened NORAD headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain among other things.
    It's interesting that the folks in _Footfall_ saw the mountain as
    a safe refuge (especially with "Robert Anson" in the group).
    
    -dave

    Re: .-1
    
>    Flattened NORAD headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain among other things.
>    It's interesting that the folks in _Footfall_ saw the mountain as
>    a safe refuge (especially with "Robert Anson" in the group).
    
    Umm... dropping the Foot on the Hole probably would have been a
    bad idea -- the Traveler Fithp intended to *live* on Winterhome.
    Ruining the North American grainbelt would *not* have been in their
    plans.

    There's a big difference between a Dinosaur-killing asteroid and
    a 50-ton grain barge.
    				- HBM

    	The sequel to RWR 2 is due out in January or February of 1990,
    according to sources on SF-LOVERS.
    

    I heard the book is already out.
    
    Eugene

    re:.25
    
    It is out. I saw it last week. It's co-authored with Gentry Lee.
    However, what Larry was talking about is the sequel to it (i.e.
    RWR *3*).
    
    --- jerry

    RE: .24
    
    In addition to GARDENS OF RAMA, yet another rama book is due out
    before the end of 1990.  I beleive the working title is: THE ANSWER
    
    RAMA II is turning out to be a fairly good read, though there is
    more time spent on character definition than on Rama.  Not bad,
    but the opposite of RWR.
    
    I'm about half way through.  Will post my views when complete.
    
    jim
    

    Correction to .24
    
    The title of the 4th RAMA book is RAMA REVEILED, due out before
    the end of 1991.
    
    MILD SPOILER
    
    
    One thing that I happen to like about this book is that they are
    going into the second RAMA ship under the assumption, untill proven
    otherwise, that this ship is identical to the first RAMA.  Each
    time even the slightest things is different or new it is recorded
    and commented on.  As a result, this book *easily* follows the original
    to the T.
    
    more later,
    jim
    
    

    Just finished reading Rama II.  The following is a somewhat lengthy 
    review with possible spoilers:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
			A Review of Rama II


			By Eugene Z. Xia


	     If Rendezvous with Rama (Rama I) has succeeded as a 
	story of an alien spaceship that dazzles our minds and of 
	an alien race that shows utter disinterest at the presence 
	of humanity, then Rama II is a story of homocentricity both 
	in substance and in the style the story is told.  In the 
	process, Rama II destroys the wonderful personified imagery 
	Rama I created--that of a heroic figure that holds the 
	universe and even Gods in utter contempt as it dives directly 
    	into the sun, and treats it as a mere fuel dump.  The feeling 
	of awe and wonder that generated by that passage in Rama I 
	can only be matched by the image of Siegfried as he enters the 
	Rhine accompanied by Wagner's majestic music. In this respect 
	Rama II is a total disaster.

	     Rama II becomes a stage upon which a human drama unfolds.
	Clarke ends his Rama I with a brilliant stroke, but it is 
	clearly not intended as a hint for a sequel because the story 
	has depicted all that it can about the the alien race and 
	successfully expressed the philosophical view of the story.  
	Any further revelation of detail and purpose of the alien 
	spaceship will de-mystify the advanced alien race and destroy the 
	wondrous and almost religious visions the reader has accumulated 
	through out the book.  Mystery and wonder often go hand in hand.  
	In short, the main character, that of the alien spaceship, 
	has already exhausted its potential in Rama I.

	     This presents a fundamental obstacle to Clarke and Lee 
	in producing a sequel to Rama I.  They must choose between 
	creating a set of new characters and tell a completely 
	different story with the second Raman spaceship receding 
	into the background or fundamentally change the second 
	Raman ship's characteristics.  In the end, they did both.  
	If Rama I is set in the year 2130, then the human society of 
	Rama II is but a thinly disguised version of that of the 
	present world.  It is rather ironic to find that while people 
	in Rama I are comfortable with polygamy but Wakefield of Rama 
	II becomes violent when he discovers his wife's infidelity.  
	This reversal to the present world is in a sense unavoidable 
	if Clarke and Lee want to emphasize more on the human characters 
	because while it is relatively easy to create a detailed 
	character of a technological marvel such as that of the Raman 
	ship, it is very difficult if not impossible to create, 
	completely out of imagination, live human characters that we 
	can identify with.  Hence, the reference to our present world 
	is crucial.  

	     If it has destroyed the image of wonder of Rama I, then 
	Rama II has also risen from the ashes of Rama I with an 
	interesting human story, but the reincarnated phoenix is, 
	in my opinion, not up to the original one.  The self-confidence 
	of Rama I that is so elegantly portrayed by its altogether 
	ignoring the human presence is substituted with vulnerability 
	and benign intent of Rama II which itself needs saving by 
	humans.  When Rama I heads toward the sun, it laughs at the 
	human attempt of arming and disarming the bombs with contempt.  
	But in Rama II, the bombs raises serious concern, and it is 
	the human who holds the ultimate destiny of Rama II.

	     Unlike Rama I which is a complete story with a simple genre, 
	Rama II is made almost artificially complex with many loosen 
	ends untied so the authors can continue with Rama III.  It has 
	also left enough clues to the reader to construct some coherent 
	guesses as to what the story is about and how it will end in Rama 
	III or possibly in Rama IV.  With all the religious overtone, 
	Rama II is obviously a Noal's ark coming to Mercury to make 
	contact with human and to pick up some specimens.  After 
	discovering that humans no longer live on Mercury, it turns 
	around and heads for earth.  In order to make this premise work, 
	the original genre for Rama I must be changed from that of an 
	intrepid interstellar traveler who has no interest in humanity 
	or the solar system to a space probe like that of Voyger II 
	that collects and relays its information to Rama II.  The 
	avians and octospiders on board Rama II are obviously intended 
	to be sentient by Clarke and Lee, but they cannot possibly be 
	the races that build Rama II.  Hence, the most logical explanation 
	is that they are somehow picked up by the Ramans from other star 
	systems.  But why are there three lairs in New York, and only 
	three with the third lair built for humans?   But how come there 
	are exactly three species (including humans) the same number 
	with which Ramans are so famous for?  Well, my explanation is 
	that Rama created three species a long time ago....  Now if 
	Rama I is a probe, Rama II is a Noal's ark, it doesn't take a 
	genius to figure out what Rama III's purpose is.... 
	It is not very comforting to learn that there are only three 
	human-beings worthy of ... salvation?  Of course, these are all 
	speculations of Clarke and Lee's intent and somehow I cannot 
	believe Clarke would want to end the story with the destruction 
	of earth (not that he hadn't done it before in Childhood's End).

    I finished Rama II a few months ago and was utterly disappointed.
    It struck me mostly as a place holder, an excuse for writing another
    book.  It felt more like Lee than Clark, and I thought most of the
    extended diversions into the personalities of the players was a
    weakness rather than a strength; unlike Cherryh's or LeGuin's
    characters, these were not people I could get involved with.  With the
    exception of the "general with a conscience", they mostly bored me, and
    I really wasn't interested in their pasts.  I don't agree that RWR
    exhausted the potential for awe and thus Rama II *had* to rely on its
    characters to sustain it.  Were that to be the case, it failed miserably.
    There was, and remains, enormous unexploited potential in Rama as a world. 
    
    Nor do I buy the notion of Rama II as Noah's ark, there's just no basis
    for that conclusion.  Where's the threat of extinction?  And what
    justification for it?
    
    Sorry, this was just a crummy book.
    
    len.
      

    .30
    
    I utterly agree with your point of view. I am also badly disappointed
    with the other coop book by Clarke and Lee ("Cradle"). Well, back to
    the Asimovs and Nivens.
    
    hw :-(

    Anyone heard anything about Rama III?  Despite the disappointment of
    Rama II, I am waiting for the third one.  Just to rap up the thing and
    see if my predictions in .29 are right.  :-)
    
    Eugene

	If it's not out in the US now, it will be within the next few months.
	In US paperback publications of Rama II, they have excepts from "The
	Gardens of Rama" or some such, so it can't be far away ...

	I actually quite liked Rama II. The style was pretty different
	to RWR, and a lot of the action could have occurred ANYWHERE
	( most of the interactions between characters had nothing to
	  do with Rama, per se ), but I thought the characterisation
	was heaps better in this book than in the first.

	As a book, I thought it was great. As a sequel to RwR, I thought
	it was fair.

	Peter.

The Garden of Rama, by Arthur C Clarke with Gentry Lee, expected in the
US in September from Bantam in hardcover.  No UK information given. 
(From March '91 Locus)

re: 528.33             Clarke's  Rendezvous with Rama II               33 of 34
    OZROCK::HUNT "Peter Hunt, T&N Engineering."

>        If it's not out in the US now, it will be within the next few months.
>        In US paperback publications of Rama II, they have excepts from "The
>        Gardens of Rama" or some such, so it can't be far away ...

My copy of RAMA II has an excerpt from "The Fountains of Paradise" at the end
of it.  I bought mine abou christmas at Walden Books.  Publication info leads]
me to believe that this is the 10th printing of the first paperback edition(US)/.
What edition were you reading?

BobW

>	What edition were you reading?

Unfortunately, it's not my edition; I heard about the extract second-hand.
(So I guess I can't swear it exists, but the person involved claims to
have the copy with the extract).

	Peter.

re: where's the extract?

>My copy of RAMA II has an excerpt from "The Fountains of Paradise" at the
>end of it.  I bought mine abou christmas at Walden Books.  Publication
>info leads me to believe that this is the 10th printing of the first
>paperback edition(US).  What edition were you reading? 

Look again.  I believe I have the same one you have.  It has six extracts,
the *first* being from "The Fountains of Paradise", the second from "The
City and the Stars", the third from "Imperial Earth", the fourth from "The
Deep Range", the fifth from "Garden of Rama", and the last from "The Ghost
from the Grand Banks" (claimed availability November, 1990; but I haven't
seen it).  ISBN 0-553-28658-7.

Ray

>                                              and the last from "The Ghost
>from the Grand Banks" (claimed availability November, 1990; but I haven't
>seen it).  
    
    I think I saw it in hardback in some bookstore.
    
    --Simon
    

>Look again.  I believe I have the same one you have.  It has six extracts,
Looks like you're right.  Thanks!

>Ray
BobW

    	Moderator please feel free to move this reply to its own topic if
     you feel that would be more appropriate.


    	I was browsing through the new books in print the other day and
    came across a sequel to Rama II. The title is The Garden of Rama. It
    starts off with 3 astronauts still on the ship from Rama II headed out
    of the solar system. I paid $18.95 for the hardcover. I was very
    surprised to come across this book at the bookstore before seeing
    something in this conference.  I am just a  little ways into the book
    but it is good so far.

    			Jim

    	Well I have finished the Garden of Rama and one thing for sure
    I've got to believe there will be another book. GoR was very good
    and I would put it on the BUY list. I hesitate to put too much of a
    description of the plot because I don't want to give anything away. One
    hint though is that Earth's role is by no means finished. I think I
    like this one better than the first 2 however this one would not be as
    good without the support from Rama I or Rama II.

    I read Gardens of Rama during a roundtrip to Houston a few days ago.
    Definitely a cliffhanger ending.  IMHO it was better than Rama II but
    not as good as RwR; while it had much of the "SF as background" feel of
    Rama II, there was less of the "inside the heads" of the characters
    and more genuine Clarke "sense of wonder" technology extrapolation,
    though not as much as RwR.  Are my predispositions showing?
    
    len.
     

Most unsatisfactory.  I found myself reading the back flyleaf looking for even
a partial resolution of any one of the plot lines.  Arthur has forgotten, in
his sequel-mania that this is a novel and not a serial episode and, as such
needs to stand on its own, if only a little.  Hell, I've read chapters with 
better closure than this supposed novel!

-dave

    I agree it was not a great book.  I found the plot very
    transparent and lacking in curiosity and in the adventure that
    I would assume one would have.  The plot dealt more with
    the political and social issues of today rather then exploring
    the the possibilities of the GOR.   Maybe I am showing bias,
    but what would you think of a 'Ring World' novel that missed the
    adventure and curiosity of exploring the new world. 
    
    I would wait for the paperback edition, unless the next 
    sequel hits the books store first.  Then you will have to
    make up your mind as then ending of GOR is simular to the
    ending of the 'Perils of Pauline'.  
    
    john
    

As we all know, RWR III was written by Clarke and Lee -- but it seemed that
Clark wrote the first half and Lee wrote the second.  I liked the first half,
but the second was tedious and boring (except the part just before the end --
Clarke must have been called in for a few hours...), but I kept trudging through
it hoping that it'd get better, only to come upon an ending that defined the
lowest point in the 2nd half.

Unfortunately, I've had the same feeling toward RWR II and III as I had toward
"Lost in Space" as a kid -- I'd think it was terrible, but I might as well find
out what's going to happen next...

                            Roak

      I vote the colonies' name be changed to Peyton Place. Between the
    silly soapiness and the sillier preachiness (if I want a sermon on aids
    reseach funding, I'll write one myself), I had to check the cover to
    see if this book was science fiction. With the exception of a brief
    side trip to the other habitat that Clarke seems to have written, the
    entire rest of the book is a waste of trees. After being preached at
    about the environment, endangered species, aids, and war as a political
    tool of the establishment, I wanted the Ramans to Vacc the place. Even
    the sermens weren't anything more than the fashionable, politically
    correct, stuff you hear on any talk-show! Where's the sense of wonder?
    Where's the granduer of RWR? WHERE THE HELL IS CLARKE?!?
     Pardon me while I go chew nails and spit bullets...
    

I read GoR during an emotional low and I never thought that I could get
so depressed from a work of Clarke. While the preaching got on my nerves,
the overall constant failures (or was that "human nature"?) of every homo
"sapiens" in this book were a slap in my face. It's not that I wanted a
pathetic happy ending (although I could have used one back then), but
mishap after mishap while ignorance and the "bad boys" prevailed isn't my
cup of tea and doesn't look like Clarke. 
I also hoped for a Raman intervention, had it been pulling the plug of the
human habitat or something less drastic.
But the end of this book has been the most frustating thing in a long time.
It makes you want to buy the next one in an attempt to find out that a
(happier) ending is possible. But to wade through another ordeal like GoR
might be too much...

Skol,

<CB>

    
    	The 4th book in this series is now available in hardcover.
    According to the dust jacket it looks like this will be the last one.
    The title is :
    
    		Rama Revealed
    
    
    				Jim

    
    I picked up a copy late last week, but since it's been almost three
    years since I read The Garden of Rama, I went back to reread that one
    first.  Stay tuned...
    
    len.
    

    I'm on page 425 of 466. I think this one is MUCH better than the
    previous one. I'm not to the bit where all the questions are answered
    yet, but it looks like it'll all be tied up soon. I'll be glad to find
    out who the Ramans are. 
    
    - Russ

    
    Well, just finished it last night. 
    
    Is it an end to this series of books - Yes. It's possible more can be 
    written though, it wasn't completely closed out. 
    
    Was I satisified with the answers - No. It's like reading a mystery
    novel that's 2000 pages long, and then not agreeing with whodunit. 
    The answer is too BIG (you'll have to read it to see what I mean). 
    
    Good stuff in the middle though. I think the story ELEMENTS are strong
    here, but not the ultimate plot. Worth reading for the former.
    
    - Russ

    
    Yeah, I agree, I'm within ten pages of the end and I'm getting bored.
    I was very disappointed by the revelation (as it were).  It's just too
    glib, and it impressed me as relevant to all that everyone's been
    through in only the most tenuous of ways.
    
    len.
     

    I finished it last night.  OVerall I'd rate it as much better than
    book #2 in the series, maybe equal to book #3, and not as good as 
    the 1st book in the series.  I too was "let down" by the ending- it
    seems like a "cop-out" for an explanation of it all!
    
    	Jim
    
    P.s. some elements of this "saga" are such that I'd like to see a
    movie made about it . . . not an easy task though!	

    Just finished RR; disappointed with the 'revelation' (too glib and
    off-the-cuff, not enough depth) and too many loose ends (What was the
    point of introducing "Maria"?). Obviously they plan to do another book.
    
    Dave