garden of rama – arthur c clarke, gentry lee

right.
this happens to me a lot.
it’s not that book is necessarily bad, it’s just that i don’t like it. this book, much like rama II, is fantastic – but as for my tastes, it’s just not that interesting for me.

i’m sure i’m just far too caught up in the first book, rendezvouz with rama and its brilliance, but gentry lee’s tilt seems to take away from the science and wonder of the first book, and turn the series into dramas in space. all the character intrigue is almost (almost) totally unrelated to the science. i say almost because yes, the interactions with other lifeforms and the changes in patterns of human behaviour as a result of their space-faring situation are portrayed, but it’s more of a commentary on human behaviour. i really don’t need to read about re-creating human culture in space only to lo-and-behold, see it fail. well, perhaps i just don’t want to, but it was artfully done, very well written and in a way quite realistic. it is an excellent presentation of the stupidity of humans, i suppose i’m just sort-of sick of reading and hearing about it. having to live with humans is bad enough 😉 heh – humans aren’t relaly all that bad, they’re just a bit misguided (in real life), most of which stems from popular culture. garden of rama exaggerates things though, but in a good way. basically they (or he really, as i don’t think clarke himself had much to do with the book other than it was his original idea in the first place) portray humans as the same fearful ignorant beings they have been throughout history.

it might be saved though – i will read ‘rama revealed’, the fourth and final book, as i’m sure that the interaction with higher intelligence will be used to further commentate on the human condition.

*sigh* – i suppose i do sort-of enjoy reading these, but i just wish they were a little more like rendezvouz with rama – there was so much wonder in what the characters were discovering, and no useless bloody character intrigue. i’m not against character intrigue at all, but for goodness sake, we don’t have to travel half way across the galaxy to explore it.

one thing i will say is that in books i usually don’t enjoy, i tend to develop a burning hatred for the characters, usually because they are so mediocre. the characters of the rama universe though, tend to be strong and well developed, heroes and villains both… which is sort of another one of the little disappointing things about gentry lee’s additions – the first book (rendezvous) had nothing at all to do with such antiquated ideas of good and evil – actually it wasn’t about morality at all – it was purely about exploration and wonder in science, yet the characters remained subtly developed, and towards the end there was even warmth and love in great amounts – it was just perhaps a bit more subtle.

i think that was what i liked the most about the first book – it’s subtlety in all things. gentry lee’s books are a bit more rowdy, a bit more light and noise, but they’re good i suppose. i think i’m probably disoriented and peeved at the series’ foundation in such a different and far superior story.

hmmm – that’s long.

the end.

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Commentary
May 30, 2010

Of-course, these days I’m quite happy to state that Gentry Lee’s additions to Rama are absolutely rubbish.