Rating: Not rated
Tags: Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Science Fiction, SF Masterworks, BSFA Award, Lang:en
Summary
Rendezvous with Rama (1973) Rama is a vast alien spacecraft that enters the Solar
System, a perfect cylinder some fifty kilometres long,
spinning rapidly, racing through space, Rama is a
technological marvel, a mysterious and deeply enigmatic alien
artifact. It is Mankind's first visitor from the stars and
must be investigated... 1974 Hugo Award
Rama II (1989) [with Gentry Lee] At the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is
discovered hurtling toward us. A crew of Earth's best and
brightest minds is assembled to rendezvous with the massive
vessel. They are armed with everything we know about Raman
technology and culture. But nothing can prepare them for what
they are about to encounter on board Rama II: cosmic secrets
that are startling, sensational - and perhaps even
deadly.
The Garden of Rama (1991) [with Gentry
Lee] Three human cosmonauts are trapped aboard a labyrinthine
Raman vessel, where it will take all of their physical and
mental resources to surviv. Only twelve years into their
journey do these intrepid travelers learn their destination
and face their ultimate challenge: a rendevous with a Raman
base - and the unseen architects of their galactic home. The
cosmonauts have given up family, friends, and possessions to
live a new kind of life. But the answers that await them at
the Raman Node will require an even greater sacrifice - if
humanity is indeed ready to learn the awe-inspiring
truth.
Rama Revealed (1994) [with Gentry Lee] On its mysterious voyage through interstellar space, a
massive, alien starship carries its passengers to the end of
a generations-long odyssey. For the great experiment
conceived by the Ramans has failed. Rama III, with its carefully designed Earth habitat, as
well as environments to house other intelligent species, has
become a battleground. Instead of creating a utopia, the
human contingent has brought forth a tyrant who seeks to
conquer the other sectors of the vast Raman ark. Cosmonaut
Nicole des Jardins, a lone voice for reason who is now jailed
and awaiting execution, is aided in a daring escape by two
tiny robots. On New York Island, the dark, brood deserted
city in the midst of Rama III's cylindrical sea, Nicole is
reunited with her long-lost husband, Richard Wakefield, whom
she'd given up for dead. Joined by their children and other
rebels from the Earth sector, Nicole and Richard enter New
York's labyrinthine underground aboard a ghostly subway
hoping to find the ship's secret inner workings. What they
find instead is the emerald-domed lair of the technologically
advanced species that rules this fabulous subraman world: the
octospiders. These arachnidlike creatures are luring Nicole
and the rebels into their domain, but the Earth group is
divided as to whether the octospiders are allies or enemies -
and anxious to discover the fate of two of their group
abducted by the enigmatic aliens. Yet even as this drama
unfolds, Rama III continues its inexorable course to its
final destination: the Node. To some, the Node is a vast
engineering station; to others, it is a place of wonder and
miracles. From here a powerful force has been monitoring all
of the lifeforms on Rama III, summoning the survivors to a
final judgment. And it is here that the stunning climax of
the Rama journey awaits: the shattering revelation of the
true identity of the beings behind this strange, glittering
trek across the cosmos.
Bright Messengers (1995) [by Gentry Lee] To Sister Beatrice, a priestess of the global Order of St.
Michael, the cloud of tiny white particles is a message from
God. To Johann Eberhardt, a German systems engineer, it is an
anomaly of physics. But to the Rama society, it may; be the
long-awaited proof of nonhuman intelligence. On Mars, Johann
and Beatrice will meet, drawn together by a fabulous account
of a vast city lost beneath the red planet's harsh landscape.
Joined by none Martian colonists, the mystic and the skeptic
will board a strange craft that will hurtle them toward the
truth behind the mysterious bright messergers and a startling
journey into the heart of the unknown.
Double Full Moon Night (1999) [by Gentry
Lee] On a tiny island paradise inside a vast alien sphere,
Johann Eberhardt and his daughter, Maria, live in virtual
isolation. Now their paradise has been invaded by a violent
and enigmatic life-form. Risking everything, Johann and Maria
begin a treacherous journey across the waters in search of
their fellow Martian colonists. But they have no idea what
awaits them on the other side - until a mystical vision of
Johann's beloved Beatrice appears to him with a dire warning
and the possibility of attaining an undreamed-of spiritual
evolution. Soon to be transported to an exotic planet, the
colonists must overcome their dissension and jealousy if they
are to survive the upcoming "double full moon night." If not,
they will all be destroyed... and the secrets of the universe
will remain forever unknown to mankind.
1974 Nebula Award
1973 BSFA Award
SF Masterworks #65