Rama II (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Rama II
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket from the UK edition
author = Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Rama
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Gollancz
release_date = 1989
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 377 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-575-04545-0
preceded_by = Rendezvous with Rama
followed_by = The Garden of Rama

"Rama II" is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1989. It recounts humankind's further interaction with the Ramans, first introduced in "Rendezvous with Rama". Written primarily by Gentry Lee, "Rama II" has a distinctly different writing style than the original, with a more character driven narrative and a closer-to-contemporary mindset, ambience and human relations than the first novel's utopian social assumptions.

"Rama II" is the first novel of the "new" "Rama" series, as "Rendezvous with Rama" is not always counted as part of it. The "Rama" series comprises two more sequels: "The Garden of Rama" and "Rama Revealed".

Plot summary

70 years after the events of "Rendezvous with Rama", the second Raman vessel finally enters the solar system. This time its arrival is expected and an expedition is sent to unlock more of Rama's mysteries, but the crew are unprepared both for what they find and for the conflicts that arise between them. "Rama II" brings new characters into a new story and is mostly unrelated to the original and largely serves to set up its own sequels. It ends with three of the twelve astronauts stranded inside Rama as it travels out of the solar system,Nicole des Jardins Wakefield, Richard Wakefield and Michael O'Toole.(and 2 of the cosmonots die in RAMA)

Many readers have found a great contrast between "Rendezvous with Rama" and this novel. While the former depicted a utopian future and focused almost entirely on the hard science fiction elements regarding the scientific wonders of the alien spacecraft, "Rama II" and its sequels deconstruct Clarke's vision of human colonies throughout the solar system through a global economic crisis that forced their almost total deactivation. Then follows a very different storytelling that brings forward contemporary issues like abortion, racism, drug abuse and organized crime. Tension and violence escalate throughout the series — there are many deaths in the course of the novel — giving the reader a somewhat dystopic vision of the future, and a feel different from Clarke's style.

Characters in "Rama II"

Crew of the Newton
*Richard Wakefield
*Francesca Sabatini
*David Brown
*Shigeru Takagishi
*Janos Tabori
*Valeriy Borzov
*Nicole des Jardins
*Michael O'Toole
*Irina Turgenyev
*Hiro Yamanaka
*Reggie Wilson
*Otto Heilmann

Books in the series

*"Rendezvous with Rama" (1972)
*"Rama II" (1989)
*"The Garden of Rama" (1991)
*"Rama Revealed " (1993)

Gentry Lee also wrote two further novels set in the same Rama Universe.

*"Bright Messengers" (1996)
*"Double Full Moon Night" (2000)

References

*cite web
last = Brown
first = Charles N.
authorlink = Charles N. Brown
coauthors = William G. Contento
title = The Locus Index to Science Fiction
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.locusmag.com/index/b101.htm#A1271.128
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-12-07