As was foreshadowed in Rendezvous, there is indeed a second Rama spacecraft visiting the solar system. This time, the people of earth are somewhat more prepared, and a second rendezvous is carefully planned with a well-trained crew. The first part of the novel is spent getting to know the characters that make up this crew, which includes military, engineering and medical specialists. I think what threw the novel out of balance for me, however, was the inclusion of journalists, who really ended up dominating the priorities of the mission. In fact, I hated Francesca Sabatini, the rude, manipulating, self-absorbed model-turned-journalist so much that she nearly ruined the book for me.
Once the crew gets into the second Rama ship, there’s a whole new and fascinating story of technology and mystery. They’re starting with the knowledge gained from the exploration of the first Rama craft, and must face many of the same challenges as well as plenty of new ones. Unfortunately, the greatest challenges involve the people in the crew themselves. They don’t get along so well together, and aggressive, self-serving personal agendas drive the plot and the conflicts.
There are quite likeable characters, however, which saved the book for me. It wasn’t so much that I could relate to them (they’re all much, much smarter than me and have lived more interesting lives even before going into space), but I could understand how their lives and attitudes affected their motives and decisions. Also, for a “hard” science fiction novel, this one contains an especially kind and sympathetic treatment of the most devoutly religious character. Michael O’Toole, a Catholic, really is a good, wise, and fair guy, and does not behave as the unkind, stereotypically misguided and intolerant religious fanatics in many other science fiction stories. His actions are in contrast to those of the more fearful or financially driven characters and give us something to think about.
Overall, this is more a book about what drives people to particular actions and the way they work together, or don’t as the case may be, than it is about space travel or contact with sophisticated alien beings. As Nicole de Jardins, the character we probably get to know best in the novel, muses, “It’s a shame that we humans are never able to pull in the same direction. Not even when confronted by infinity.” Now, I loved Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre, which are also about the less positive aspects of human nature. Rama II, however, just didn’t seem to work as well as this kind of character study for me. It needed to be different than Rendezvous with Rama, I suppose, but I did not like it nearly as much.
As I said, it is a pretty good science fiction story, and I’m looking forward to reading the next sequel, The Garden of Rama….some day.
You might also like: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
A Year of Books I Should Have Read By Now
With regard to the depiction of Michael O'Toole, there are also a number of characters that seem to be the fictional ideals that the writers didn't see, but kinda hoped to have seen in the real world, like Brother Theo on Babylon 5 (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/048.html) or perhaps a couple of characters in the Dresden Files.
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