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Rendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a thirty-mile-long cylindrical alien starship that passes through Earth's solar system on its way to somewhere else, and a group of human explorers sent to examine it. The story is told from the point of view of the humans, and the nature and purpose of the starship and its creators remains enigmatic.

A movie based on this novel, starring Morgan Freeman, is said to be in development.

The "Rama" of the title is the starship, which is initially mistaken for a comet and named after the Hindu deity. (By the 22nd century, we are told, scientists have run out of Roman mythological figures to name astronomical bodies after.)

The book was meant to be a stand-alone, but the final sentence of the book convinced almost everyone who read it that there would be at least two more sequels:

And on far-off Earth, Dr Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one how he had woken from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious still echoing in his brain: The Ramans do everything in threes.

Facing such enormous pressure, Clarke paired up with Gentry Lee for the remainder of the series, but some fans consider these sequels as inferior to the original.

1 Books in the series

• Rendezvous with Rama ( 1972)
• Rama II ( 1989See also 1988 in literature, other events of 1989, 1990 in literature, list of years in literature. Events February 24 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini places a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie. New Books " Geek Lov)
• Garden of Rama ( 1991See also 1990 in literature, other events of 1991, 1992 in literature, list of years in literature. Events New Books American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis As the Crow Flies Jeffrey Archer The Bourne Ultimatum Robert Ludlum Damage Josephine Hart Dead Certainti)
• Rama RevealedRama Revealed ( 1993) is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. It is the last of three sequels to Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama by these authors, and as the title suggests reveals the mysteries behind the enigmatic Rama spacecraft. ( 1993See also 1992 in literature, other events of 1993, 1994 in literature, list of years in literature. Events Professor Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time becomes the longest running book on the bestseller list of The Sunday Times''. November 17)

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

• Bright Messengers ( 1996See also 1995 in literature, other events of 1996, 1997 in literature, list of years in literature. Events Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with t)
• Double Full Moon Night ( 2000See also 1999 in literature, other events of 2000, 2001 in literature, list of years in literature. Events January 3 Final original Peanuts comic strip is published New Books The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: A Novel Michael Chabon The Amber Spyg)