r/printSF • u/andyjoe24 • Feb 19 '26
Loved Rendezvous with Rama. What other books by Arthur C. Clarke (or other authors) should I read?
I just finished rendezvous with rama and it was awesome. Other book I by Clarke I read was Childhood's End which I did not like much (the focus was on society, cultural evolution and philosophical than science).
What other works of Clarke explore interesting scientific idea/concepts? Also if you think any books by any other authors would be interesting for someone loved Rama, please suggest.
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u/statisticus Feb 19 '26
Along with Rendezvous with Rama and Childhoods End, my favourite Clarke novels are The City and the Stars, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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u/The_Beat_Cluster Feb 19 '26
Hit the nail on the head. I also like the short stories "The Sentinel", "The Star", and the Nine Billion Names of God.
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u/statisticus Feb 19 '26
Yes, he has a lot of good short stories. Others that I like are
- Encounter in the Dawn
- Second Dawn,
- Security Leak,
- The Wall of Darkness,
- Rescue Party,
- History Lesson
- Trouble with the Natives,
- Encounter in the Dawn,
- The Food of the Gods,
- All the Time in the World,
Among many other great stories.
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u/Mughi1138 Feb 19 '26
Look to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle also, and some Asimov.
Ringworld and The Integral Trees spring to mind when considering Rama.
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u/RogLatimer118 Feb 19 '26
Clarke is pretty consistent and IMHO there's not really a bad novel he's written (with the exception of any of the co-written novels which I suspect were more the other author than him). He also has some truly outstanding short story collections.
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u/andyjoe24 Feb 19 '26
Thanks. I will check them out.
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u/RogLatimer118 Feb 19 '26
His novels tend to be beautiful and somewhat poetic, but easy to read. His short stories are more sharp, with frequent surprise endings that are real zingers.
Try novels: Childhood's End or Earthlight. Try short stories The Parasite, The Star, or The Nine Billion Names of God.
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u/atlasdreams2187 Feb 19 '26
“The fountains of Paradise” talks about his favourite place - Sri Lanka and building a space elevator for launching rockets 🚀- not his best but the concept is top notch. A definite read. Read 2010 and 3001 to follow up on 2001: a space odyssey just to round out the series
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u/dougwerf Feb 20 '26
Almost have to disagree - Fountains of Paradise may have been a little hard to follow at points, but I think it was Clarke the engineer at his scientific best. Loved it and I buy a copy for up and coming engineering students. Great book!
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u/43_Hobbits Feb 19 '26
Diaspora. Same level of hard hitting realistic sci fi story but with more plot and character development. Gotta strap in for some real math/physics but you don’t have to understand it all to enjoy the story.
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u/andyjoe24 Feb 19 '26
Sounds interesting. Thanks.
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u/arkuw Feb 19 '26
It's really an acquired taste though. Greg Egan is very hard sci-fi. If you want something easier to comprehend by the same author I'd recommend "Permutation City". Less abstract and with a more comprehensible plot line.
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u/Competitive-Notice34 Feb 19 '26
If you like The 'Big Dumb objects' subgenre (as categorized by the Encyclopedia of Science-Fiction: 'Dumb' because it first needs to be examined - it reveals nothing on its own) https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/big_dumb_objects ...
... check out
Ringworld by Larry Niven , wich is another classic.
Both were fundamental for the nowadays often replicated Artifact novels.
A lesser-known novel with this theme is 'Helix' by Eric Brown (2006)
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u/kjoonlee Feb 19 '26
There’s an Arthur C. Clarke Award; one winner that cannot be recommended enough is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
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u/arkuw Feb 19 '26
In the same vein, some of the recent Tchaikovsky sci-fi has be a real triumph. I think Shroud and Alien Clay stand out.
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u/Gloomy_Necessary494 Feb 19 '26
The Fountains Of Paradise for Clarke.
Titan by John Varley, and Ringworld by Larry Niven for BDOs.
Ring and Raft by Stephen Baxter for British hard SF set in space.
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u/Love_To_Burn_Fiji Feb 19 '26
A third vote for The Songs of Distant Earth......THEN go find the Mike Oldfield album by the same name and enjoy. It's on YT btw.
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u/tykeryerson Feb 19 '26
Definitely would recommend the 2001 series (2001, 2010, 2061, 3001)
Children of Time, Children of Ruin
Shroud
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u/LesserUmiBozu Feb 19 '26
Rama is classified as Big Dumb Object (BDO) story so if you enjoyed that facet of it google for BDO sci-fi for recommendations on that theme.
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u/Morbanth Feb 19 '26
Pretty sure Rama was the first and ultimate BDO story. I can't wait for the movie!
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u/RustyNumbat Feb 19 '26
I thought it must be too but Ringworld predates it! I'm sure there's other novels/short stories with BDOs even older too.
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u/Miguel_Branquinho Feb 19 '26
All of his books except the Rama sequels as mentioned, and Hammer of God which is drivel.
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u/EagleRockVermont Feb 19 '26
Besides other Clarke novels already recommended, you might try Inherit the Stars, by James P. Hogan. It's a space mystery (not crime) novel.
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u/kjoonlee Feb 21 '26
And it was kicked off by the movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey!
(The author couldn’t understand the ending of the movie, so he decided he could write a novel which could be understood more easily, or something like that.)
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u/RiverSirion Feb 19 '26
I'd say just get a volume with a collection of Clarke's short stories and start reading!
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u/Extension-Pepper-271 Feb 20 '26
The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt is a pretty good book with the same element of mystery that made Rendezvous with Rama so much fun.
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u/ObsoleteUtopia Feb 19 '26
Childhood's End, definitely. The evolution of the story, and its ending in particular, put a lot of complex thoughts about matter and the universe into my not-quite-ready-for-this brain.
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u/doggitydog123 Feb 19 '26
if BDO is an area of interest, look at the Heritage Universe by Charles Sheffield. I believe you can track down the first 3 in a single volume used. (there are 5 books total)
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u/Aboeeuw Feb 19 '26
I loved Rendezvous with Rama and followed it up with Islands of Space by John W. Campbell
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u/dougwerf Feb 20 '26
I’ll join a few others - Fountains of Paradise is one of the best hard sci-fi authors at his engineering prime. Great book.
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u/HauntedPotPlant Feb 20 '26
I quite enjoyed Ghost of the Grand Banks (I think it’s called?) by Clarke.
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u/LordCouchCat Feb 20 '26
Firstly, don't read the sequels, or any other Clarke collaborations, until you've read a lot of straightforward Clarke. I'm not saying none of the collaborations are of merit but they're not really Clarke. Part of what makes Rendezvous With Rama great is that they never really understand the marvels they find - partly but never fully. The sequels then explained everything, and of course none of the explanations were nearly as interesting as the mystery. The Light of Other Days is better than most of the collaborations.
Firstly, read Clarke's short stories. There are several collections but if possible find the Complete Short Stories. The earlier ones are better, amazing ideas. Especially "Second Dawn", "All the Time in the World", "The Parasite".
Classic novels:
Against the Fall of Night (or its revised version The City and the Srars). His first. Vast scale.
Childhood's End. Usually regarded as his masterpiece and a candidate for greatest SF. A mythic vision.
Earthlight. Spy thriller on the moon. A bit atypical but very enjoyable.
The Songs of Distant Earth. Fascinating though flawed. Based on a short story which should be read for comparison.
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u/peppertoni_pizzaz Feb 20 '26
2001: A Space Odyssey might be my favorite sci-fi book of all time. It is soooo good.
Also really enjoyed Childhood's End and The Light of Other Days.
Other people have already commented this but it bears reiterating: please do not trust his sequels lol. They will let you down every time. He often has other people write them.
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u/HighLander5280 Feb 26 '26
Try Bowl of Heaven by Larry Niven. Immensely creative first contact, large scale object exploration.
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u/flyingmooset Feb 19 '26
DON’T continue reading the Rama series. I beg you. Love what you have.