The Garden of Rama

Beautiful character development, wonderful science fiction, a lasting work. It might be a rehashed story of humanity messing up a fresh start but this one is set amongst a wonderful backdrop with great characters.

I have read and re-read all four Rama books. I loved them, hence the re-reading of them. I am currently reading them again and find they capture my interest and attention again and again. I know have them on my Kindle e-reader and will have them forever, you can be sure they will be read again.

20 years ago I read the first book of this four part series. I enjoyed it tremendously, and bought the next book Rama II, and enjoyed it also. Recently, I found my original copy of Rama II, but discovered that I had lost the original first volume.

I decided to read all of the four part series again, and discovered that I had lost another of the four books, Garden of Rama. So I purchased Rendezvous with Rama, and The garden of Rama from the store.com.

Now I have all four of the works, and have completed reading all 1826 pages of the series, which ends with Rama Revealed (the last volume of the series, that I had a 20 year old copy of).

This is science fiction at it's best!

Clarke, one of the top 3 sci-fi writers of all time IMO, had very little to do with this novel other than having written the original classic "Rendezvous with Rama". Instead, it's Gentry Lee who wrote it and his style is completely different than Clarke's. Once I got past the disenchantment however, I got caught up in the plot to some extent so I finished it. Lee ain't no Clarke and I doubt he'd crack the top 1000 list.

Have been waiting for this book series to come out in the Kindle edition. I love my physical books but it's great to be able to take all my favorite books where ever I go.....thank you the store and keep getting all books into Kindle editions.

I read Rendezvous with Rama when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and have never forgotten how it introduced me to the world of "Science Fiction". The Garden of Rama is not as good as Rendezvous with Rama or Rama II, but still great, and is probably really just the introduction to Rama Revealed. I can't wait to read Rama Revealed. Arthur C. Clarke is a genius, and like I said, he's the author who introduced me to the world of "Science Fiction, and I'm now 70 years old.

I was scarcely nineteen when I read rendezvous with Rama. Long before, in short stories and finally 2001, Clarke expounded his main thesis: We are not alone and we may even have been planted here by intelligence unknown. Well done.

This is the second book of the RAMA trilogy. This is where the family starts to form, some of the mysteries are solved, and many more mysteries present themselves. You'll be fascinated, and you'll need to keep a box of tissues handy. One of my favorite characters is General Michael O'Toole. Arthur C. Clarke manages to write him as a static character who is also very, very changed, too. Watch out for the octo-spiders!!!

I loved the book and the general story.

The extraterrestrials were so fascinating.

Arthur Clarke is an excellent writer.

It was a great sequel to Rama II.

However, I did not apprecaite the foul-languaged character from Arkansas, Max Puchett.

It was totally inapproprite in such a good book.

The original book in this series, Rendezvous with Rama, was an excellent read that left me wanting more. The second, Rama II, was a far weaker entry in the series but I still enjoyed it. Garden of Rama is a huge letdown by comparison even with Rama II. The first part of the book is written as journal entries from the character of Nicole des Jardins. Though the co-author thanks his wife for insight into the female mind it is not clear what, exactly, he did with said insight. It certainly didn't make it into this novel. Not only is the writing lackluster, the sexism is readily apparent. This novel was published in 1991 but it reads like it was published in the 1950s.

There is little here of worth, the exploration of the purpose of the Rama spacecraft is mediocre storytelling at best, and the whole thing is frustrating. Do yourself a favor and pass this one up. If you haven't read the original novel in the series do so and leave it at that.

I also am shocked by any good reviews for this awful book. But the terrible writing is not what I was really horrified by with Garden of Rama, and I am amazed and disturbed no one else has really addressed the venal nature of this tome.

It is the most truly amoral book I have ever read. I had high hopes for Arthur C. Clarke – but now I hardly have words to describe the horror I felt as the “plot” matured.

I am referring not just to the “planned incest” a few – precious few! – other critics have mentioned; I am referring to the nauseatingly inhuman approach Nicole Desjardins takes to parenting. This woman is hurtling through space, probably never to return to Earth. Fine, that was her choice as a presumably intelligent adult. But to decide in cold blood to bring children into that environment? I cannot understand why no one has taken exception to her massive ego in deciding to perpetuate the human race (more specifically, her gene pool) under these conditions. These children will never eat real food, play in the sunshine, have friends at school, or even ever meet another human – as far as she knows. But she just goes ahead and pops out kid after kid without once reflecting on the terrible life she’s choosing for them. And the reason I am not critiquing the men on Rama is that they are not the ones in control of the breeding. All along, these terrible decisions were made by Nicole ( and yes, the constant sex is nauseating to say the least.) She is cold, calculating and does not see her children as human beings at all.

Occasionally Nicole has a weeping fit or moons around thinking about her own life and beloved Prince (interestingly, she almost never refers to her first daughter back on Earth. This is a real departure from Rama II, where she had a strong bond with Genevieve and her grandfather.) Her selfishness is monstrous – she perceives everything, including the miracle of contact with ETs, in relation to herself, but doesn’t care about her children’s future. Oh, dear… that is not quite true. The thing that made me stop reading this disgusting book at last was the next sickening plot “development”: that her children would have to “mate” with each other to keep the species going. First: that is wrong. Second: it is cruel. She is “breeding” children to have sex with each other (not to mention the 72-year-old man who fathered some of them!).

Is this amorality typical of more contemporary SF? How can so few reviewers not take issue with the stupendous evil of her plans? Not only do these poor children (who have very little personality, surprise surprise) never see another person except each other, but they are going to be forced into incest by this Machiavellian tyrant.

I skipped to the end and was very glad to read that Nicole was executed. Sadly, it wasn’t for her real crimes.

I get the feeling that Arthur C. Clarke had very little to do with the actual wring of this book. Lee does the one thing here that Clarke was not gifted with as a writer: character development and plot development. The problem is that he has created a Soap Opera on a spaceship and it is PREDICTABLE. There is nothing "special" about this book. There was nothing special about "Rama II" also. I anticipated the sequel to "Rendevous With Rama" for a long time and "Rama II" failed. The whole subplot with the Sabatini woman and everything was lame. Lee and Clarke pick up in the same way with this book. Nicholle's character is burdened by her past and whines about it to herself through the whole book. Of course, the humans are mostly, disgusting, murdering brutes. You know what is going to happen as soon as the colony are introduced. "Garden" is not hard science fiction, rather science fiction romance ( and I mean the trite definition of the word here). Considering "II" and "Garden," I wish Clarke had left the whole thing alone. This is not what a Clarke fan would expect and both books are real letdowns.

Horribly predictable. Humans will ruin and kill whenever and whatever they can. Including themselves. The need for power, ownership and prestige still run strong in future humans sad to say.
One thing I found so anomalous it angered me a great deal. Living near Florida's NASA base and having read science fiction since I could read even I know man's greatest enemy in space is fire so why was an entire habitat developed and designed with fireplaces?
And when you have a chance at participating in what may be one of mankind's greatest adventures who do you send? The best and the brightest even the second best? No, you stock the space habitat with criminals, corrupt guards and the flotsam of society, just in case it's a trick.
Much of the story was easy to predict from the corruption to the invasion of the other nearby habitat. The ending was such a cliffhanger I literally had to start the next book 'Rama Revealed' even though i wanted, somewhat, to give up on the series. Here I go again. *sigh*

Before reading this and the subsequent sequels, I went back and reread the original novel in the series, which I had initially read maybe 15-20 years ago. I still greatly enjoyed it. This book and it's fellow sequels totally destroy the nature of wonderment and mystery that was present in the original novel. Basically, these three sequels have turned one of the greatest SF concepts of all time into a touchy/feely "chick flick", while simultaneously heavy-handedly presenting social and philosophical treatises on almost everything ranging from the treatment of HIV/AIDS sufferers to the Nature of Man and God. It is only in a few chapters of the last book that some of the greatness of the original novel squeaks through, almost by accident. And despite the last books title, RAMA is NOT Revealed; instead the books end with a supposed, but trite, "universal truth". To all who loved the original, don't bother with any of these books.

I loved the first book in the Rama series. It's interesting to see such varied opinions on the sequels but I must agree with those that found them straying from the spirit of the first book. There are already plenty of other plot summaries and reviews, so I'll just provide a quick overview of my thoughts:

Book 1: A great hard science fiction story. Well told and gripping if a bit clinical, full of wonder and mystery.
Book 2: Catholics in spaaaace!
Book 3: Catholic incest, in spaaace!

I can't comment on any of the other entries because that's where I quit. The series was clearly straying from the hard-sf of the outstanding original. As some others have noted, there is a lot of human drama and I added an extra star for those that might find that appealing though there's a good chance you will instead find it nauseating.

If you really like the Rama world, the sequels will indeed take you further into them and I suppose you can invest in them if you're a completist, but I decided to move on.

No século XXIII, a Terra já teve dois encontros com uma nave espacial misteriosa de além nosso sistema solar - a prova incontestável de uma tecnologia alienígena que ultrapassa a nossa de todas as formas, em Encontro com Rama e O Enigma de Rama.
Agora, três astronautas humanos estão presos a bordo da labiríntica nave ramaiana, onde durante 13 anos, terão de utilizar todas as suas habilidades físicas e mentais para sobreviver.
Os corajosos viajantes se deparam com um grande desafio: em encontro com a base ramaiana - e com os arquitetos invisíveis de sua terra galática.
Para isso, eles tiveram que abandonar suas famílias, amigos e casas, para viver uma nova vida.
Mas as respostas que os esperam em Rama vão necessitar um sacrifício ainda maior - se a humanidade está realmente pronta para entender a verdade.
A medida que os anos passam a bordo de Rama e as famílias se desenvolvem no meio ambiente ramaiano, o leitor começa a amar os personagens, como velhos amigos - sentir suas dores e alegrias.
Mais mistérios sobre Rama são revelados, e outros novos, criados.
Combinando o melhor das aventuras espaciais (os viajantes espaciais encontram novas formas de vida dentro da nave) e dramas humanos (crianças nascem e crescem neste ambiente hostil), esse terceiro livro da série Rama faz muitas perguntas, e nos dá respostas em número equivalente, quanto à verdadeira natureza do ser humano.
O livro é essencial para o fã da série e provocativo para qualquer ser inteligente e que se preocupa com seu papel na existência do universo.
Lembrando sempre que, a colaboração de Gentry Lee é que dá esse toque humano à estória.

As several others have already said about this and the last book in the series, they are huge letdowns after such a great start. The promising initial premise quickly devolves into a trite morality play attacking the Military Industrial Complex and human frailties like greed and corruption. Many characterizations are too over the top to be believable, and the decay of the infrastructure and humans social structure happen too quickly and completely to be plausible. Clarke deservedly occupies a spot at the very top of this genre's writers and this "collaboration" is both disappointing and bewildering. It doesn't feel like he actually did much if any, of the writing.

I managed to finish the previous book (Rama II) out of curiosity, although I kind of objected to having a 300 page soap opera merged into a 200 page sci-fi book with lots of political/social commentary rolled in for good measure. I only made it 10% of the way through this one, and with graphic sex rolled into the soap opera and very little sci-fi interest I gave up. Don't bother with this one. I have only read a few of Clarke's other books, and I realize he didn't actually write this one, but it's so opposite of what I want from a book that I'm hesitant to even try another of his books.

"Good in Places". Indeed. (**Warning - a few slight spoilers ahead**). The opening few chapters even recaptured for me some of the mind-bogglingly grandiose wonder of the original Rama, The interaction with the Eagle and the eel-like aliens made for inspired and compulsive reading. The decision of how to divide the extended family and the tearful goodbyes made for a dramatic and genuinely poignant moment. Once Nicole transmits her message however and the action switches to the Earth-side preparations for rendezvous, the book nose-dives into mediocrity. Putting aside ones disbelief that such vast expense would be devoted to sending such a dysfunctional band of ex-felons to Mars as representatives of homo sapiens, the less-than-subtle and often irritatingly obvious allegory of human prejudices will surely make most readers groan in disbelief. Come on Sir Arthur (or was Gentry Lee the chief culprit?). You can do a lot better than resorting to two-dimensional soap-opera style goodies and baddies in space! As soon as characters are introduced, it is obvious whether they will fall into the hero or villain pot. Life just ain't that black and white guys! Why couldn't Benjy, Richard, the Redneck farmer or the annoyingly saintly Nicole have at least dropped some litter or something? Surely Katie, the boring Scotsman and the Jap entrepreneur must have had some decent features? Rama III does redeem itself somewhat in the later stages, where exploration of the mysterious far end of the spacecraft produces some enthralling revelations. All too soon however, the authors invoke the feelbad factor once again to remind us what a bunch of rotters humans are. The pious sanctification of Nicole was a particularly irritating sub-plot and really strains the readers' credulity. Would this tough cookie heroine honestly choose martyrdom rather than continuing her struggle against an oppressive system? Ho hum. All things considered however, the Garden of Rama was a satisfactory read and, mug that I am, I have just acquired a copy of Rama Revealed. So watch this space in a couple of weeks for my views on the concluding episode. Fingers crossed that the saga finishes on a high eh?

Humans are confined to a spaceship. The ship is going somewhere. Meanwhile, the worst elements despoil large parts of the virgin structure. They hound those who exhibit curiosity for knowledge. There, you got the bones of it.
A quick tipoff to the writers' mental state is the kangaroo court trying one woman for 'acts of sedition'- the penalty being death. It screams paranoid. But there are humans trying to communicate with other species on the craft. Avians and sessiles they are called, being attacked by stereotypical human goons. The dialogue is stilted; people pleading with the martyr on trial.
Not to worry, though, the underground is working on her behalf.

Gentry really messed up a good franchise. Throws in a lot of mystical feminine feelings and fantasies.
Way too much time wasted discussing the protagonist's and her children's relationships. I really don't need a description of an episiotomy and bad sex in a SciFi story and certainly not polluting Clarke's name. I wound up skipping whole pages at a time hoping to get to some resolution to Clarke's original vision but the last pages just left you hanging with no desire to read yet another sequel. vapid and pointless.
I actually thought Gentry Lee was a woman from the writing style and gender of the protagonist but when I looked the author up to see what other books he/she wrote I found it was actually an old dude writing as a woman. That is just flat out creepy. I do not recommend any books by this author.

You can't NOT read this if you're reading the Rama series! Pretty far-fetched, but who's to say what may happen in the not-too-distant future? A great read as is typical of ACC and his helper Gentry Lee - great character development and insights into the human (and others) social problems and the science is, as always, accurate.

In my opinion, Rendezvous with Rama and Rama II are very good novels. This sequel though is dreadfully boring. I really wanted to read it and like it. I bought copies of Rama II, The Garden of Rama, and Rama Revealed at the same time planning to read them all. I have tried maybe five or six times to read this novel and I fail every time. The first half of this novel is 'Nicole's Journal' and I think it was a really bad style choice. There is nothing compelling about the journal. It reads like a diary, but that isn't up to the caliber of a novel with a novel having many characters, plot and subplots, story. Being trapped in the alien spaceship really isn't that exciting anyways. It should have been much better.

What I ended up doing is skimming this novel and its sequel, Rama Revealed. That way I found out what happened to the characters and was able to 'fast forward' through the dreary garbage. But I shouldn't have to do that.

When I first read R with Rama I got shocked , a giagiantic space craft of those magnitudes is simply fantastic. With Rama II the mistery once started in the original novel kept going. Some puzzles were solved wile others kept in mistery. So I couldn't wait to read GR. When I started it it was a cool experience , very good sci-fi. But then started the soap opera scenes. What the hell is that of Nicole having sex with Michael when Richard was his husband? It doesn't matter how necesarily it was , it just isn't right !. Then the human familly arrives to the Node. What a fantastic description of an alien Space Station , but what an awfull mistery. Aliens doing pan-cakes to the humans when they order them? Give me a break!. Then we have The Eagle. At first it looks like an amazing creature , but then it turns to be a damn biot who knows the language of the human visitors. I think that the aliens that built that Eagle could have done a better work , creating a more impressiv! ! e creature or I don't know !. Then we have the description of the technical cares taking place on the new Raman vessel , they are really cool. And then we have the horrible moment of revelation: The new ship it's going to be an used to carry 2000 humans on it , and some presence it's going to be monitoring their activities wile the ship it's hedding to it's unknown destination. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ?!?!. With that single argument all the mistery from R with Rama and Rama II simply vanished in the air.Then we have a 15 years old girl who marries an old 76 years old man , they got themselves locked in one room and have sex (And I can imagine that it wasn't to esciting for the 15 years old) How can a girl that age do that with a man old enough to be her grand dad ?. Then we have another journey 'till they get up in an awfull new Rama with localities with names as stupid as "Lake Shakespare". We have an argument promoting masturbation and then we are introduced to a who! ! le new line of flat and lacking of grace characters. Also w! e have what seems to be a bunch of dirty-diapers still not growed up problem makers drugs and sexualy obsessed adolescents who not only are doing sex all the time but also doing sex with people of their same gender , there is a very clear dialoge that states that. O.K to much sex was acceptable but homosexuality in a science fiction novel (is this sci-fi?) it's enough. Then we have a troubled 2000 people society that kills all of the avians and Richard for trying to prevent a war. I got so bored that I didn't finish the damn book. UnfortunatelI I feel compromised to read the next book I just hope it's better that this space based soap opera. Only because I have read other of Clarke's works I know he isn't a bad writer because this book is nothing but a pure failure.

This tremendous series continues with the third book in the Rama series. At the end of Rama II three astronauts we left trapped in a huge cylindrical spacecraft heading off towards one of our closest stars.
The first fifth of the novel is presented in the form of Nicole des Jardine's diary and is probably the highlight. It tells of their 12 year journey to "The Node" - a giant space station built by the creators of Rama. There are no warp-drive shortcuts here, Clarke and Lee brilliantly tell the story of how the astronauts start a family, not knowing how long their journey will last and their efforts (often painful) to create genetic diversity amongst their offspring.
As the returned and refitted Rama craft returns to pick up more human specimens, the book takes a breather for about 100 pages, delving you into the lives of many new characters through deep and often uninteresting characterisation. The completed colony accelerates off into space again, but 'New Eden' is not without it's problems as the des Jardine descendents and cross sections of global society struggle to integrate.
With an excellent plot, but pondering middle section "The Garden of Rama" succeeds overall, but you're left wondering about the sudden change in the colony with Nakamura takes power. We're back to full form in the last 100 pages with Wakefield investigating the other species on the ship while other events unfold in the human habitat. This is where the story picks up again but is rushed. The conclusion is pretty moving and makes you instantly want to pick up the final book "Rama Revealed."

Arthur C. Clarke and Lee Gentry combine their awesome talent to produce a quirky third volume to the Rama series. Told primarily in the first person it varies significantly from Clarke's typical style by delving deeply into the world of mysticism and stochastic quantum mechanics (if there is any difference). As is usual for middle or transition books in a multi-book series, plots and character become quite confusing to readers not intimately familiar with the series. This will probably distract significantly from the book The Garden of Rama for those who have not read the first three volumes in the series, but for those of us who have, this is a typical Arthur C. Clarke product, both riveting and well written. Mr. Clarke's venture with Lee Gentry appears to be working quite well. I hope they keep it up.

I really liked this book. It shows just how bad a decision to send several hundred convicts into a space ship can be. Every story has to have a bad guy. And the prisons provided that in this story. But in reality who in their right mind would send convicts to a space ship? Reading about the family and friend developments interested me more than any of the ex-con problems (which were many and only got worse). The clearer understanding of the 'alien' lifeforms and what motivated them was pretty interesting. The book is well written and has a lot of different angles to it. Worth the read.

Definitely a strange entry in Clarke's saga compared to the original. There's a reason the sequels aren't as fondly remembered as the timeless original, as anyone who reads this book can surely understand.

In the summer of `99, I walked into a book store with the intention of raking up as many books as I could carry, and being an aficionado of Clarke's works, among others, I picked out the third pillar of the Rama quadrology.
But after reading it, firstly, I feel as if I haven't missed out on much by reading the third chapter in the series to begin with. And secondly, I've marked the final chapter (Rama Revealed) for a rainy day, when there's nothing better around.
I wouldn't be so harsh in giving it a 2-star rating, were it not coming from the likes of none other than ACC (maybe 3-stars, were it some other, less-celebrated author).
It's acceptable upto halfway through the book. But the second half, where the whole New Eden concept is drawn up is very mundane. The entire plot (as someone has aptly remarked below) looks *exactly* like 20th century Earth. Same problems, same ecosystem, same attitudes, same sociology, same stimuli, even the technology does not at all look like what one might think would be 300 years from now! Not that I was expecting a utopia of some kind, but at least not 'Hey! This is us.' The references in the plot to humankind's past history consistently only refer to the 20th/21st century occurences. The one or two places where an attempt has been made to describe something 'futuristic' has become degenerated to that which is easily pin-pointed to something in our present time.
The character of Dr. Nicole des Jardin is too super-womanized and is only a hair short of being apocalyptic -- Olympic athlete, cosmonaut, lover to the King of England, judge, state governor, clairvoyant and the list goes on.
I had higher expectations than this, since I am forever mesmerized by the mystique and charisma of ACC's Space Odyssey series and many of his other works.

Not up to the standard set by Clarke's earlier works. I found the story to be tedious and uninspired. This may be due to the influence of the co author where a significant departure from Clarke's style is obvious. I have read all three Rama books and the original is vastly superior t0 the sequels. The amazing technology of Rama still comes through but the characters tend to blunt the story.

Thank you Mr Clarke. It is not your best, but I'll take your second best over most of the other stuff out there. Based on the reviews posted here I was sure that I would be disappointed (if you read carefully, many reviews are by people who DIDN'T EVEN READ THE WHOLE BOOK, OR EVEN THE BOOK AT ALL!!!???). I absolutely loved this book and it makes me appreciate the whole series much better. Scenes from the 1st two books that you thought meant little suddenly take on new meaning and urgency. If you were a fan of the 1st two books you will want to know where the Rama vehicle is heading and what happens next. Several of the neighbor species get better developed and they add to your overall sense of space exploration/adventure. War may be brewing with the Octospiders!! Granted, a chunk of the book written by Gentry Lee dealing with the colonists was skimmable at best, but the remaining 75% written by Clarke is amazing and kept me reading at a brisk pace. He saves some of his best stuff for last when he ends by thoroughly describing the biology of the aliens. Cant wait for the last book, "Rama Revealed".

I recommend this book to anyone who likes space exploration/adventure books with a healthy dose of aliens and mystery thrown in. If you are not expecting a top 10 best sci-fi book of all time, you will not be disappointed. I am so happy that I am not one of the people who didn't at least give it a chance and instead gave a bad review and couldn't understand the brilliant thinking of a sci-fi master.

The downhill slide of Arthur C. Clarke's brilliant `Rendezvous with Rama' continues with this third installment in the series written largely by Gentry Lee. There are so many problems with this novel that I don't know where to begin. The series starts just where `Rama II` left off with Nicole des Jardins and her companions trapped in the Rama spacecraft as it heads off into the unknown. The fundamental problem with this book is, in my view, that about 80% of it has nothing to do with advancing the story. There are definitely some good ideas, but roughly 4/5ths of this book is boilerplate, pure and simple. The overlying themes easily hold your attention: Who built Rama? Why? Where are Nicole and her comrades going? What will be their fate? There is so much irrelevant material wasted on character development of minor players, politics, sex, and family relationships that don't advance the story. Don't get me wrong, these are all fine topics for novels in their own right, but hard sci-fi novels should spend 80% of the story on these types of threads.

This book is divided up into 5 sections of about 10-12 chapters each. The tone and style of each section is very different, almost as if each was written by a different writer. The first section is written in journal format, as Nicole describes the intrepid adventurers life aboard Rama as it heads into the unknown. There is some interesting discussion and speculation about Rama, but large parts of this section are taken up describing how to make a stable civilization with only two men and one woman and how they have to breed to make genetically viable children. The second section is set several years later as Rama has arrived at its destination and there are now several children frolicking about. We learn a bit about the Ramas (enough to whet our appetite), but most of the discussion is about family relationships again. The third section is totally pointless. It is entirely about (new) character development for people who play insignificant roles for the rest of the book. You can completely skip the third section without any loss of continuity. I won't reveal much about the fourth and fifth section only to say that it is more of a political and familial story, very little sci-fi. That being said, the aliens encountered in the last 100 pages or so are definitely interesting.

There are definitely some good ideas in the book, but they are deeply buried amongst a mountain of chaff. If you liked `Rendezvous with Rama' you will almost certainly be disappointed with this book. Not a total waste of time, and I'm a glutton for punishment so I'll probably read `Rama Revealed'. Additionally, I get the sense that Gentry Lee was trying to make some profound statement about human nature in this story (about intellect over tribalism). Much of the best sci-fi of course explores timeless themes of human interest and offer some unique insights into human society. If this was in fact the case, I didn't find his moralizing particularly compelling. Bottom line - without the link to RWR, this book would not be worth reading. There is too little of merit in this 500+ page novel to justify spending the time to read it when you can easily find hundreds of more interesting works.

As people who might have read some of my reviews probably noticed - I have this really bad case against sequels - they always seem to have too many facts of the first book restricting them, and too much to live up to. This sequel is no different. I could give Rama 2 some credit for trying to fix some problems that were in the original book, and it did try to be different, as bad as the result was. This junk is even worse!
We are finally destined to meet the makers of Rama, and a bunch of other aliens besides, and are exposed to some REALLY advanced technology. Wow!
Then we head back to earth to pick up 200 other human 'specimen'. At first all goes well under Nicole's leadership, but since the human society is so diverse crime evolves, and the criminals take over the habitat, and Nicole's family is put in jeopardy. The last scene in this book is her escape from jail the morning beore her execution.
Why read this book? We do learn a little more about Rama, about the aliens we already know, and about the ones we don't know, and get quite a big helping of the blah blah I resented so much in Rama 2 (again - this is an unfimiliar theme in other AC Clarke books - so I guess it has something to do with Gentry Lee joining in?) This book was a waste of my time and money, and I think it is a waste of yours too.

What a let-down!!!
This is an unbelivably poor, hashed-together, novel with a few points of interest (hence 2 stars, instead of 1) but mostly pathetic and unbelivable. The first section of the book, containing extracts of "journal entries" from Nicole's journal (it's obvious now that Nicole is going to be the main character from here on out) which serve to send forward the plot about 13 years (and entangle the characters in some cloyingly obvious sexual "misunderstandings"). The remainder of the book is a description of the "colony" from Earth chosen to inhabit Rama, and the disastrous choices made by nearly everyone -- from the politicians on Earth, to most of the colonists.
To paraphrase B.B. King, "The Thrill of Rama is Gone". I'll give "Rama Revealed" a chance, just because so many loose ends are left hanging.
A real disappointment.

Ever so gently this series is starting to drift. GET BACK ON FOCUS!!! Much of the writing was about mundane people doing mundane things, petty conflicts, a lot of wondering and wandering and not much continuity. Once again, as he has done in the past over and over, Clarke comes up with a superlative idea but his literary talents - or lack thereof - are not up to the task. Only rarely does he succeed with character development and this is not an uncommon occurrence among scifi writers.
I found myself staring into space several times and even peeking ahead. The best parts were all the creatures in the Garden. It is an axiom that the really memorable science fiction stories do not center on the unworldly aspect but on unforgettable people - Contact, Stranger in a Strange Land, Dune. This series could have been really remarkable but it has been dithered away. What a waste of time and energy.

If you like lots of character development then check out the 5 sequels to Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama. Mr. Clark collaborated with Gentry Lee and produced 3 more books plus 2 without Mr. Clarke's input. Reviews are not outstanding like Rendezvous with Rama but Gentry Lee fills the books with well developed characters and complicated relationship, people you don't want to leave behind.

Instead of Arthur C. Clarke's brilliance, we are offered up into the hands of an engineer who obviously wishes he were a female. The intra-personal relationships that Clarke avoided for obvious reasons are visited over and over again in this waste of paper. When Lee started the soap opera style in Rama II, it was somewhat exciting and acceptable, because we were going back to Rama, and that was seen as a good thing. However, he goes overboard with the emotional drama in the Garden of Rama and anybody who has ever read anything by Clarke at all can see just how disconnected he became with the series. Honestly - religion, science and procreation mingle with the never-ending emotions of a woman as written by a man. Lee even has the hubris to write poetry that is supposed to have stemmed from the soul of a woman. What is this all about? This is the third time I have read this book, and even though I know where it all ends, I still find it to be pointless and meandering. Had Clarke put his talents to this on his own, we would be hit with the wonder and awe that Rendezvous first instilled in us. Garden of Rama is a bad joke and doesn't get any better.

The first book in the series, Rendezvous with Rama, is a classic and the sequel (Rama II - largely written by Gentry Lee rather than Clarke)is a pretty dire affair, but this one is even worse - thoroughly unenjoyable.

For reasons I won't go into, I had to read it - but would normally have tossed it away after about 50 pages.

Long-winded, rambling and disjointed. The major themes of coping with a limited gene pool and how humans will ruin a 'New Eden' have been dealt with far more competently (and concisely) by many other authors.

To me this book had a very nice blend of the classic SF elements with socio/political elements. I recommend it.

As human beings, how do we, or should we, behave as part of a larger society? Do we adopt the "every person for themselves/rugged individualist" mentality or the "we are all in this together" mentality"? And how would the answers to that question effect our interactions with another sentient species we may encounter in the future?

It is evident that the writers of this book are of the progressive persuasion, believing that the interests of society as a whole should be given a higher consideration than the interests of any one individual. It seems safe to say that they would reject Adam Smith's notion of the invisible hand guaranteeing that individuals relentless pursuit of self-interest will also produce the best result for society in general.

I suspect that this philosophical underpinning of the book may be the reason so many have given it bad reviews. We often do not appreciate an ideology that fundamentally disagree with our own.

Personally, I don't lean overly much one way or the other. But I did find the book thought provoking and believable. At least to the extent that any science fiction is believable: actions and events have logical consequences and build one upon the other in believable fashion.

This continues the continuation. It gives details of the ship, keeping its purpose a mystery and developing the personalities in depressingly predictable ways.
It is not bad, but it simply fails to meet the mark of Clarke's solo works, which means either that his powers are failing or the co-author is doing the work.
If you are a purist and serious sci-fi fan, don't bother with this. But if you are looking for a pretty good read that continues a story without surprises, this is OK. But it is only OK.
I was profoundly disappointed with this, as with all of Clarke's sequels (with the exception of 2010 Space Od.) It is simply an insipid logical extension and you feel contantly that the author(s) are groping to extend it in an interesting way. I wish they didn't write this. If you are after real quality, don't get it.

While still plagued with the Clarke/Lee incompatibility syndrome, it turns out that this book makes up for the general mediocrity of its predecessor, "Rama II". The first 200 or so pages of this book are among the best science fiction I have ever read. Unfortunately, as some other reviewers have pointed out, the last half of the book has an over-density of smut (thank you so much, Gentry Lee) and ridiculousness.I would recommend it. If you suffered through Rama II, you shall find this third installment in the Rama books to be somewhat more rewarding.Plus, the cover's cool! The scene depicted on the cover actually occurs in the book, precisely. That's a nice change...so many books in this genre have cover art without any real application to the text.

...pretty quick in this portion of the "trilogy." I call it a trilogy, even though there's four books in the series, because Gentry Lee wrote the latter three. Though Rama II held decently to the plot and original story, things started going downhill pretty quick in this book, with too much character drama and not enough gritty Science Fiction.

It's hard to overstate just how bad this book is. Thin plot? Check. Dimensionless, predictable and stereotypical characters? Check. Outlandish and hard to believe behavior? Check. What makes this even worse than your typical bad book is that Arthur C. Clarke's name is on the cover. Obviously Gentry Lee did most of the writing and story development (or lack thereof). One has to hope he's a better engineer than writer.

The tale trudges along. If only I had believed most of the other reviews urging me not to read this. But I had to see where it went.
It is a more depressing view of most of humanity than I have come to expect from Mr. Clarke.
Also, the most mundane details are expressed in such a roundabout, and utterly unnatural way. Real people do not express themselves the way the characters in this book do.

This goes into a completely different version of science fiction. From space to the concept of a corrupt closed society. Gripping and by far the best of the three books so far. I'm hooked. I can't wait to read the next one.

It's not that I thought this book was awful, it's just that it didn't have much in it that I found very good. The original Rendezvous with Rama is a classic, filled with an environment that makes you wonder about the alien intelligence and crave for more.
These sequels, on the contrary, are set in the same "universe" but center around some Jerry Springer-esque quarrels amongst all the various humans. The notion that this has anything to do with Rama or aliens is secondary (or even tertiary) to the plot. In this installment, there are fleeting bits of the original wonder as the characters visit the "Node" and again when Richard visits the mysterious other dome towards the end. Sadly, this doesn't constitute very much of the overall book itself.
There are also some references that hit the reader with all the subtlety of an anvil to the head: the AIDS-like RV41 virus, Nicole's impending martyrdom and the constant (and fleeting) references to her heroes Joan of Arc and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the groaner where someone confuses Richard with Jesus. Social and religious commentary are the main themes of this book (as they were in Rama II). Science fiction is merely (and IMHO unfortunately) a backdrop.

This series is a must read, I could say way's to improve it, but I come up blank it's a very realistic and well thought out book topping out the already perfect adventure...take time and read them all.

I decided to re-read the first three books about "Rama" and found the quality dropping with each book. Is this third book written by the same author as the first two?

I really wanted to see the exploration of Rama in this sequel, but Clarke (Genery Lee?) gets so much into politics and character interaction/conflicts that there is less and less science fiction as the story progresses. It seems like a different author has taken over who just likes conversations, social commentary and personality conflicts.

The first third of the book is in diary form. What a horrible literary vehicle to use for such a large chunk of the story! I felt like I couldn't make it through this dull section. I had a hard time following how much time (sometimes years) elapsed between entries. There was zero story line or plot when written this way. Even when the story returned to a narrative, I only made it halfway through the book and decided it was so horrible, I just quit reading. Why torture myself?

There is a shallowness to this story. It feels like little thought went into it beyond the story outline to fully flesh it out. It moves through the years so quickly in such a matter-of-fact manner that you feel there is no depth to this world. I don't like the characters and the mysterious Rama base is never explored. There is none of the wonder, suspense or surprise of the first two Rama novels.

If Rama II disappointed, avoid this one. The entire plot line is silly (as Nicole and Co. go back and forth between star systems, mostly asleep but aging) and at the end the reader is no where -- third-rate 'cliff-hanger' to get you to buy the next book. It will take another 400 pages in Rama Revealed to get to the so-called revelation. Fans of ACC will not recognize any of his ideas in this volume which basically assumes humans have learned nothing over the years: just plain ignorant, easily manipulated by political leaders, guided by superstition, and usually kill anything in sight. Most of the lead actors are mere caricatures, no personalities or redeeming features and you'll probably despise the heroine, Nicole, who is portrayed as perfect. You're more likely to be entertained by an old B-film from American International than this sludge.

Want to get ripped off? Buy this book.
The original book in this series was very good-close to a classic. One of the few criticisms one could make of it was it was so transparently commercially manipulative was clear more books were on the way and this was as much--if not more--a money making exercise as an artistic one. But the book was good and this trilogy thing has apparently become a (bad) habit in the sci-fi world, so you give people a little leeway.
Or I did till the second book, Rama II came out.
If you read the first book then read Rama II, one thing is brutally clear-the books were written by different people. Clearly this book should have read "By Gentry Lee, based on the ideas of Arthur C. Clark.
The 2nd book was awful-the worst sort of 4th rate pulp sci-fi fiction. Sex and sensationalism replaced sci-fi as the driving force of the book. It advanced the readers understanding of the Raman'-their form, ideas, intentions, etc.--not one whit.
So why did I venture into this book? I thought that Clarke might just possibly have been sufficiently chagrined by the harsh criticism Rama II got to try to get back on track and provide a sequel worthy of the first book.
Unbelievebly, this book is even worse than Rama II. Much, much worse.
I won't even bother with a plot or character analysis. I really don't want anyone to even remotely think that there's anything here worth reading.
It's sad to see a giant of the genre sell out but I can think of no other explanation for these recent abominations.
Save your money. This book is worse than trash.

Although the third book in the Rama exodus is very little like the first two, it is a good read. While I was reading it, it seemed too detailed about irrelevant matters. It all comes together by the end and becomes a scary commentary on humanity!

How is Arthur C. Clarke capable of writing crap like this?!?!?!? Too much sex, too much violence, too much junk. Please, anyone who is reading this, let me spare you from this awful book. Rama II gets to the node than is sent back for a colony of 2000 people. The colony dies, all the avians on board are killed, except 2 Richard Wakfield rescues and takes to New York. Also, Katie becomes a drug addict and Nicole goes to jail. This is NOT Sci-Fi. This is politics. This is sex. This is intense violence. This is terrible

I read the whole Rama series because I liked Rendezvous With Rama and am a Arthur C. Clarke fan. However, all books following the first book are written by Gentry Lee, not Arthur C Clarke. The text supposedly was checked by Sir Clarke. I know this from an online interview transcript I read.

The book focuses excessively on the emotions of the heroine Nicole. Her characterization seems to have little relation to any serious cosmological or theological issues or Science Fiction science. It becomes a drama, not a sci fi book.

I say, skip this book. Its a waste of time.

Allow me to be a little retrospective . The first book was a gem. Not often are there books which concentrate purely on the technological side and get away with little or no character development . The second was pleasing only towards the end although I found the need to explain life stories of characters profoundly irritating and often irrelevant . Who cares if Francesca is a slut ? I was hoping for a redemption of sorts in this third book but nope , didn't find it . If this book were set in an urban 20th century environment , it would be a mid-day soap opera with sex and drugs thrown in . As a science fiction novel , it somehow manages to discard most science . Maybe it was Lee's influence , maybe I just lost patience with the black and white characters . This book could have done with better characterisation , less politics , less pointless sex , less Shakespearen quotes and finally , a helluva lot more science fiction . Ultimately I was disappointed since I started reading this series with much enthusiasm and ended up flicking chapters just to see who would cark it next.

I read the first two books and liked them especially the first. This book is a waste of the series. Genuine mystery gets replaced by mundane explanations and deliberate omissions. All the characters seem to get stupider and one dimensional. Rama gets stupider and its motivations go from unfathomable to arbitrary and shallow. There are sloppy inconsistencies with the first two books. Overall, this book is not worth the read even if or especially if you liked the first two books. The Rama in this book does not exist in the same universe as the first two. On top of all this there is some vaguely nauseating sexual themes involving incest, polyandry, the extremely old and the extremely young.

There were a few interesting segments that touched on alien cultures. The rest is just tedious exposition on what a dreadful species we are. The original Rendezvous with Rama was a FAR better book. This sequel has only the name of the spaceship in common with the original story.

In this second sequel to Rendezvous with Rama Gentry Lee takes us to a hint of the origins of the Rama spacecraft. Unfortunately, the answers are not very satisfying. The "Rama Node" is said to be huge, but the characters never get a sense of it. And the existence of dozens of other Rama type vessels and an even larger space station diminishes the awe of the original Rama craft.

I read this, but I wouldn't ever again.

The first book was fantastic, I really loved it. In the second book there was too much "character" stuff and too little "tech" stuff. Clarke cannot write good characters anyway, not Lee either. This book is crap compared to the first one. No tech stuff at all, only a lot of really boring moral stuff about the decline of human society and stuff. The only interesting part is when Richard is admitted to the avian/myrmicat/sessile lair.

This particular run in the series is what many people would refer to as "soft sci-fi." That is to say it is a story that focuses less on the science and more on the human element that must interact with said science. Clarke often has a hard sci-fi bent, but it is not unusual for him to focus on the human aspect (for example, see the various Tales from the White Hart in which the stories are more about narrative than the science being narrated). Perhaps some of the soft influence was from Gentry Lee. Regardless, this story is not what one would originally expect after reading Rendezvous and Rama II. The scattered details about the happenings on Earth over the course of Rama I and II come to fruition to create the main story arc. The focus drops off of Rama and its technology very quickly.

This third story does have a way with villianizing society, governments, and people in general. This is a story about how unrestrained and abusive humankind might be even in paradise. A scientific-minded person living in a corporate nation might identify with the themes embedded in Garden of Rama. While nothing is completely villianized, those readers that have a more optimistic view of people and society might do well to skip this one.

I read this book several years ago and am now getting ready to read it's precursors. I must admit I'm a bit biased being a fan of Arthur C. Clarke, but only because I enjoy his thought provoking works.
To date Garden of Rama is my favorite book from Arthur C. Clarke. It is imaginitive and alien as it should be. I was disappointed to see others didn't feel the same. I found it quite enjoyable to read the tale about how these few humans would have the desire to explore and learn, no matter the consequences. Then the heart of the book about the birth of the universe and it's outcome and research provide the thought provoking stimulus I expect from Clarke. A wonderful book in typical Clarke fashion.

This is the third book of a series. It started slowly and I almost stopped reading. I am glad I didn't, as it vastly improved after the first quarter. The last three quarters moved quickly and the finish leaves one yearning for the next book as the ending is not the end of the tale.

In this, the 2nd sequel to the fine SF novel, "Rendevous with Rama," our herione, Nicole (from "Rama II") flys around the Milky Way having babies, then she leaves her oldest (14 yo) daughter to marry an old geezer at some triangle-shaped parking lot near another star because it would reduce inbreeding, then this eagle-headed biot dude wants to send the rest of them back to our Solar System so Nicole goes to sleep for 19 years (I about fell asleep, too) in order to find another 2000 losers from Earth to join this pathetic venture. (Remember, things are pretty sorry on Earth by then, after the great Chaos/depression, so it won't take much.) Oh yeah, her younger daughter learns how to masturbate while they enter orbit around Mars. If it sounds stupid, it is. I fought to preserve my memory of the beauty of the original story. But hey, its your time to waste.

Not Clarke's best work. Too much investment in characters that don't matter and too little of Clarke's brilliant imagination about what might be. This book points out the worst of human behavior and only teases us about the marvelous maturity and indifference of intelligences beyond our understanding...a topic far more interesting to me.

I liked - not loved - the entire Rama series. Unfortunately there were times when each of the four books became, in my opinion, unnecessarily tedious, so much do that I found myself quickly scanning the pages until the book became interesting once again.

This is quite possibly the most astonishing novel ever written. From the very first line of the very first page the reader is drawn into, and entangled within, the extraordinary lives of the three passengers marooned aboard the giant alien spaceship RAMA. The reader begins to feel almost as though they KNOW the characters, know what they're feeling and how they will react. But the uniqueness of their situation aboard Rama prevents them from becoming predictable. The descriptions of the mysteries uncovered both within and beyond Rama leave one literally gasping for breath in astonishment. This is a book that you will want, almost need, all of your friends to share.

This was a great story... It would have been nice if Benji would have been in it more - the same with Patrick & Simone. I liked watching Arthur C. Clarke's movies but I think that this series would have been more interesting on film.

Like many others who've reviewed this un-masterpiece, I expected big things from the sequels to Clarke's classic novel. Realizing that the three sequels were ghostwritten by someone named "Gentry Lee" only diminished my excitement slightly-- that is, until I read the first few pages of "Rama II". Still, I kept with it, hoping that things would pick up after Gentry got all the boring exposition out of the way. Didn't happen.

Now, after reading "Garden of Rama", I realize that I would rather have my fingernails plucked off with a rusty tweezers than suffer through the last installment.

Gentry Lee's writing style is the downfall of these books. It's hard to believe that Clarke would have allowed this hack to massacre one of his finest storylines, but it happened. Lee seems concerned more with creating cardboard cut-out, stereotypical characters, and tossing them into a cheap story to see how much sex he can make them all have. The two main characters, Richard and Nicole, seem to have sex several times a page. I can't figure out whether the spacecraft Rama is an alien experiment to observe humans or just to observe their sexual habits. Additionally, Lee goes waaaay overboard to try to make his non-European characters seem "authentic", e.g. the boring, endless Japanese cultural studies that prop up the character of Kenji Watanabe, who dies before he does anything important anyway; and of course, the accounts of Nicole's ridiculous "spirit journeys" with her tribal people, which I've learned to skim right over whenever they occur.

In all, terrible-- although if you want a manual for how NOT to write, "The Garden of Rama" works for that. I'm giving it two stars, though, because the parts that aren't straight soap opera, the ones that concentrate more on the aliens themselves and their technology, are at least interesting. Not enough to save this poor novel, though.

Just a couple of examples of how utterly worthless the science is in the Rama sequels:

The octospiders, we learn, are an underwater race. Fine. But Gentry Lee has them communicating by bands of colored light around their heads, because--get this--sound doesn't travel well under water, but light does. Uh huh. That's what he said. Apparently, he never heard of whales and dolphins.

So, the octospiders have no words for anything. Yet, later, Lee makes up octospider words for their system of measuring time (the smallest unit being about 20 seconds, as I recall). Yep. They have no speech, but they have names for things.

That's just for starters. As I forced myself to finish reading this dreck, I began to wonder if it was a hoax, a challenge to the readers to find as many inconsistencies as possible. It just made me feel angry and insulted.

In this sequel to Rama II the authors offer tremendous insight into the true nature of humankind. It is an exploration into values as well as a socio-political strife which has been at the core of human history. The book is essential reading for the "Rama"fan and provocative for the any intelligent being who ponders their existence in the universe.

I do not usually write a review, and this is not a review. The story is quite different from what you might expect, so few people liked it.

I enjoyed the previous Rama novels. If you did you may enjoy this book.

The last part of the book is a great example of the Human Animal. When we speak of the most dangerous beast, or the most poisonous, look into a mirror!

Your main characters evolve continuously into, mostly, a paradym of the best HUMANAS in our history because of there fabulous trip. Also, since they were a slice of the inteligent elite to go to Rama in the first. Ignorant and suspicious individuals who want power are not proper canadates for a space mission.

Many intelectul debates on a multitude of topics arise from this story.

With only one or two exceptions, everybody seems to agree that this follow-up series is the biggest waste of time of our lives!
Like another reviewer wrote: What I wouldn't do to get the time back!
If the setting were entirely different (ie. NOT a sci-fi novel, let alone a sequel to the original Rama by Clarke) then some of the characters and situations MIGHT be interesting.
Certainly not, however, when we're expecting sci-fi on the same level as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama.

I really enjoyed the science fiction of the first 2 novels much more than this edition. The focus of The Garden of Rama is much more on the problems of a human society in close quarters with other species and each other. I am looking forward to the final tale in this saga.

This story was fantastic. There were a few boring parts, like the second chapter in "Rendevous on Mars". The story starts off with Nicole de Jardin's point-of-view. During this time, she gives birth to five children: Simone, Katie, Benjy, Patrick and Ellie. The only humans are Nicole and the children and Richard Wakefield (Simone, Katie and Ellie's father) and Micheal O'Toole (Benjy and Patrick's father). As Rama speeds towards the constellation Sirrus, they encounter many hardships, including mental-breakdown and Octospiders. As a thirteen year old child, I was astounded. Arthur is an awesome writer. I'm going to read "Rama Revealed" next. I suggest you read the series and try the computer game.

I think that Gentry Lee has impeeded Clarke. I heard that he wrote most of the Rama books (Clarke made up the story line), which is why sometimes they're so boring and why there's less actual science fiction. There were of course some good parts in GOR, but when I read it the third time I didn't finish it. The problem with this is that GOR is quite necessary to completely understand Rama Revealed, the next book, which I have labelled as one of my two all-time favorites.

After being entranced by the first two entries in this series, I was severely disappointed by the third. Except for the very beginning of the book, the traditional sci-fi aspects fly right out the window. Instead, you're left with a socio-economic lesson and subtle-as-a-jackhammer comparisons to our current society. This was a snore and a disappointment.

Bah, some people say this book is rubbish, they obviously didn't read the same book I did.
The story of humanity's 3rd encounter with the RAMA spacecraft is an incredible tale of our race's inability to see beyond our selfish desires and accept that we may not be center of the universe. The story that unfolds is sometimes painfully believable, and makes ashamed of my own species because it follows the all too realistic patterns of human behavior.
My only complaint is that the story only ever follows one character, never switching back to other major characters, for the most part this works fine, but there is a long stretch near the end where we leave the main character and follow another major character at a point in the story when I really really wanted to know what was going on back with our main character. Nonetheless the story was brilliantly (if maddeningly) written and I highly recommend this book.

Seems to be a lot more "Lee" in this than "Clarke"; and that's very disappointing, frankly. The writer seems to be more obsessed with sex and violence at this point than the actual sci-fi, and the 'mature content' is delivered rather clumsily at times.

I was interested to note that a lot other of reviewers had a problem with the sex in this book. Geez, it would have been really dull without it. Originaly, Rama was the awesome subject (RWR), then it became the setting for a soap opera. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the odd human drama, I actually watch and enjoy Melrose Place, but at least it doesn't get all PREACHY like this book does! And another thing, Clarke and Lee were obviously feeling a little down on humanity when they wrote this. Two stars instead of one because the original was soooooo good.

The only good thing about this book is the sense of wonder you get through thinking, 'how can Clarke have let this happen?' and how Gentry Lee, possibly the most inept writer working in fiction today is allowed to be released from 3rd grade Eng. Lit classes long enough to write this monstrosity.
300 years is an astonishingly long time for nothing at all to happen. Nicole Des Jardins, sheesh, I half expected her to develop the powers of flight, and heat ray vision by the end of the book.
This book is really quite dreadful. Read it as an example of how Clarke's unwillingness to write more than a few scrawled words on the back of a napkin and then pass it over to someone else has transmuted this once 'master' into a name publishers feel will sell fourth rate tripe.

This book sullied my remembrances of Arthur C Clarke. Some of my fondest memories growing up were reading his books and the "sense of wonder" that they gave me. They made you look at the stars in a new light. This doesn't even feel like him. I wonder how much of it he wrote. Read his earlier stuff with only his name on it. This was character defamation.

There are so many flaws with this book it is difficult to know where to begin. First of all, it isn't a very good sci-fi book. It would make a better sermon, which is really what it is trying to be anyway. Second of all, it is difficult to get past all the dis-jointed story lines and obvious continuity flaws. I mean, if the folks who went into RAMA II had all this great medical equipment, then how come the folks in GARDEN, which takes place some 70 years LATER have such crappy medical equipment? Beyond the preaching, the confusing story lines and simple plot errors, this book reads like a studebaker: clunky and slow.

I enjoyed the first two Rama books. I was frustrated by the lack of completion on some of the characters of Rama II and after reading some of the reviews here, I almost didn't purchase Garden.
It was very different from the first 2. We learn a significant amount about the mission and technology of the creators. This book in particular makes you think about the significance of our actions and how they can play out over time. Also a lot of Karma is explored.
It gets a bit boaring near the middle with what seems like overly indepth character introductions but they turn out to be appropriate and important.
Enjoy

The first one was classic and the second one was entertaining. This one started off OK but the more I read, the more I missed Clarke's writing. I skipped a lot of the book, just to get to the end. It was strangely sexual. It lacked the excitement of the first but so did the second.

This is just one more fantastic work by one of the greatest science fiction writers ever. Clark's development of characters is legendary and TheGarden of Rama certanly continues to show his brilliance. Definitely a great read of classic scifi.

This is a terribly written, poor attempt at Sci-Fi. I barely managed to finish Rama II. I made it half way through this book and found myself skimming entire chapters of gibberish that had nothing to do with, well anything. This series was my first of Arthur C. Clarkes, and while Rendevous was a good read, the sequels have totally put me off him as writer.

Well thankfully, I didn't have to read the last and final part of the Rama series. I had "Rendezvous" ages ago and thought I would take a chance on the 3rd volume in the story. My mistake. I was able to read the reviews of the final "chapter". I realize that reading it would just prolong the situation of The Garden, i.e. mostly dead boring.

An okay read. So far neither of the Rama sequels have come close to the first book, "Rendevous with Rama". It is in interesting series at least and I am anxious to see where it is all heading in "Rama Revealed".

For those of us who do not analyze a book down to the ink on the page and who simply enjoy the book for what it is, this book is good, no great, no a masterpiece of science fiction. If you loved the first two, then your sure to love this one. ...a continuation of the first two...simple pure science fiction...like eating a 12 pound chocolate truffle, an indulgence for those who love the craft!

I truly do not understand the negative reviews for "The Garden of Rama." This is my favorite of the Rama series, by far. This novel has the right blend of science fiction, wonder, adventure, and human heart and soul. The idea of three humans stranded inside Rama appeals to my sense of adventure and the human drive to persevere. I highly recommend this sequel.

After reading the reviews on this book, I have to admit to being a little disappointed in the reviewers. Especially the reviewer from Mexico, whos gripes appear to be moralistic rather than based on the story at hand. Rendezvous with Rama was a great book, but it seems to me that everyone was expecting the following books to be exactly the same. I am glad to announce that the books are not like it. They are distinct and quite a pleasure to read once you stop expecting it to be just like the original.

I can not agree with the negative reviews. I actually found Rama (the first book) the weakest (and shortest) of them all. The one that caused my emotions to come out most was the last book. Gentry Lee writes very well, I could not put the books down. I read all 4 books of this series in one go and seen in context they really are one big story, so it is hard to judge them separately. As a whole they tell one fantastic story with a stunning and tragic (open) end.

OOOPS, I read the third book first. It caught my interest though, enough to get me to buy the 4th book anyway. I find his work to be imaginative and his writing style to be intense, yet the over description of certain scenery and surroundings detract from the story. All things considered this is a fair work to read on an airplane some time. Oh, and who else wants to know why he chose to call those things "Melons"?

I hate to say this, but a lot of you people have bad taste. I read this book last weekend and I must say that it was probably one of the better two in the series. I thought it was suspensful, provoking, and just a good book. I also think that drawing parelells to life today (the Aids like disease, the dictatorship, and the war) simply shows that human nature is about the same, time isn't neccesarilly going to improve it.

After reading the first Rama I wouldn't have bought the sequel:
I go this used. The reason for the large space ship and the aliens involved
is at least in part explained here as a cataloging of space going species.
In some ways the novel reminds me of "The City and the Stars" in a strange way. The aging of the characters and the development of the plot makes this a better science fiction novel about travel between stars than the
other was a first contact novel.

I agree with those that panned this book, and I also have to agree that I thought I was getting a book written by the esteemed Arthur C Clark. Either Sir Clark has lost it, or it was written by someone else. The book has a lot of promise but squanders it, and resolves nothing. Also, the plot (especially regarding the extreme stupidity of the colonists) is not believable.

I love this series. I look forward to Morgan Freedman's production company bringing this to film. I find the Rama books even more entertaining than the Odyssey books. Thank you Arthur C. Clark for bringing us such wonderful fiction. I recommend the Rama books to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, anyone who has never read sci-fi, anyone.. Well written, clever plot that takes you across the universe. The first book (Rendesvous with Rama) is just a taste of what lies ahead for you. Enjoy! :)

~Qabyss

What a major dissappointment ! The first half of the book is true A. C. Clarke in excellent form, atmospheric, gripping & with the imagination firing like the master he is. And then what happens? We get a an honest to goodness, old fashioned soap! I could live with a cliffhanger ending if I cared what happens next.

If I want a season ending cliff hangger, I'll watch prime time soaps. This book starts in one direction(good)in a RAMA tradition. It then turns into a morality play unworthy of the author, and then stops, as if it were a weekly serial. I love a good series, but each book should stand on its' own. This one just wants you to buy the next installment.

the trilogy written by Gentry Lee and Clarke is strikingly different from the original book. So what? there are so many haters here for no apparent reason. I don't think they read the books, just decided to join the hate bandwagon. These three books are an excellent epic of a family caught in incredible events.

This is a great series up to this book, with good character & plot development. However, life in New Eden (technology & amenities) evolved way too fast to be believable, and yes, the colonists were entirely too stupid.

I guess I am the exception to the rule, as I absolutely loved all 4 of the Rama books. I was so caught up in what had happened and would happen with Nicole and her family that I could hardly wait 'til the next book in the series was published! To let you know how much I was affected by the series: at the end of Rama Revealed, I was moved to tears at the death of Nicole and the realization that this was IT. But, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in what was and was not reavealed.

Who told Arthur Clarke that Gentry Lee could write? Why was Lee allowed to come near the master of science fiction, much less co-author a book with him? This book was disappointing in the extreme and I advise all sci-fi fans to veer away from any book with the name Gentry Lee on the cover

I thought this, the fourth and final book of the series, was one of the best, and perhaps THE best. All the way from beginning to end the humans are forced to deal with their humanity, and the ending shows such a deep level of emotion and feeling so rarely seen in modern science fiction. Clarke does a wonderful job of tying together science, religion, and many other facets of human comprehension to bring to a finale this, the end of the Rama series. If you haven't read the series yet, GO READ IT!! Then read this book. You will not be dissapointed.

Anyone who rates the Rama series badly has absolutly no imagination or curiosity. I'm an avid sci-fi reader and the Rama series is one of my favorites. If you want mystery and action along with great characters and and story telling than look no further.

Rama II and Rama III are awful. I'm embarrassed to see Mr. Clarke's name associated with these so-called sequels. They reflect nothing of the science fiction wonder and imagination seen in Rendezvous with Rama and most of his other stories. Rama II & III are completely polluted with political, sociological & religious nonsense and modern emotionalism. Not worth reading. Certainly not worth adding to a fine collection of Clarke books.

I have just reread the whole series, book one is a very good book but each book after is geometrically worse. Book two is bad, book three is horrible, I'm at a loss to describe book four. I recommend shoving needles under your finger nails which is less painful then this series. Read and keep book one, burn the rest.