Rating: 
Summary: Only one thing is good in this book...
Review: .. and it is the fact Nicole would NOT star (hopefully) in any of the future Rama books, if anyone would be stupid enough to try and revive it, that is...All the characters, that were tiresome and unbelievable about 2 pages after entering the scope of the series come to their predictable end. The human race is of course destructive to everyone including itself, and is certainly not as enlightened as much as most species, especially the wonderfull octospiders, except for a sacred few humans, such as Nicole, most of her family, and most their closest friends. It seems that the co authors 'fell in love' with the octospiders, and made them all they thought the human race should aspire to... This book stretches the ideas of the previous 2 books in the collection TOO far, and is by far the worst of the series. The plot continues to deteriorate, and so do the characters - especially the ones introduced earliest in the series. The 'total understanding' we are supposed to reach through Nicole is quite useless and over dramatic - by this stage, no one needs THAT much understanding of what's behind Rama. All the original questions behind the original Rama ship were given the most predictable and banal answers, which is to badconsidering they were excellent questions to start with.
Rating: 
Summary: Very trippy, very long winded.
Review: I picked up this novel at the airport at LaGuardia Airport, after just reading the back (and being in need of something to read on the plane)..I had no idea it was the conclusion to the four part series.
Apparently, from what I've read, this book doesn't live up to the other three volumes (which i have no desire to read, actually, since i know the ending), but reading the book alone was enjoyable, especially the first 2/3rds.
The premise of this novel, and the world created is absolutley fantastic, imho. It's incredibly trippy and just bizarre, but in a good way. The alien speices in the novel are very memorable, and unique -- (ie the Octospiders with their speech through colors, and the Sessiles and Avians, the Biots) and Clarke/Lee's descriptiveness when describing the enviornment on Rama is unmistakeable, and very vivid).
The plot was interesting, and it took some unexpected twists and turns in it--things didn't work out the "predictable" way, which was rather nice. The character development in this novel was mediocre, at best though. I didn't really care to much about any of the characters one way or another, and there were some interesting characters who were left severely undeveloped. Too much time was spent on the Octospiders without giving them seperate personalities, as well.
The end of the book gets kind of strange, as do so many science-fiction novels. All of the author's theories and obscure scientific thoughts come pouring out in the form of dialogue (the old Ayn Rand trap)..and there are lots of things that didn't make any sense whatsoever (lots of rhetorical questions that any semi-intelligent person could figure out, also). All in all, the novel was enjoyable to read, and there were definitly parts of it that grabbed a hold of me...but i think much more could have been done.
Rating: 
Summary: A science fiction book fan
Review: I've read many books by Arthur C. Clarke, all of them were very good, clear, and right to the point. The Rama series (only the ones written with Gentry Lee. Rendezvous With Rama is an exception), on the other hand, are not written by our beloved scifi master. RamaII, Garden of Rama, and Rama Revealed are all written by Gentry Lee, LITERALLY. I have read their online interview, and Gentry Lee said that ALL THE TEXT IS WRITTEN BY HIM, and that ACC only reads it and points out the corrections. I believe we all see what's going on here. The idea presented in Rendezvous With Rama is no longer of any significance in the book. Your eyes must endure the burden of reading BORING descriptions of main character's lives , feelings, memories, mystic visions of Nicole, and all that nonsense. The writing style is absolutely not consistent with Sir Clarke. Everything is so slow, so indirect, so allusive. The whole book seems like an unbelievable fantasy story. I am purposefully not commenting on what it is about, because you wouldn't want to read it. Many vocabulary words in the book are repeated much too often, it even seems that he(who wrote this) was sitting there in his study browsing in the dictionary, looking for words to put in. The plot at the core is very simple, it would interest many people, teens, and young adults. However, although there is nothing unknown for them in here, this book is not appropriate for younger readers, and even some of the more traditional adults. There are too many unnecessary scenes of sex, which you will never find in any of the other REAL books of ACC. Dillemmas about reproduction and human line preservation which the heroine has to face, are also too inapropriate for a book with Arthur C. Clarke's name on it. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting book to read, it's a real page turner at SOME parts. I sometimes got very involved in the story and was reading it late at night. In the end I was not happy, ending was disappointing. I even wish I didn't read this book at all, so that I'd still be guessing Rama's purpose. Please don't forget to rate my review.
Rating:
Summary: 100% Disappointing
Review: There is no Arthur Clarke book which would get less than 3 stars from me. There is no Clarke collaboration with Lee Gentry that gets more than 1 star (because that is the minimum). Read "Rendezvous with Rama" and stop there. Well, if you think that an SF book is automatically great and has a "human" element because it frequently involves women, or troubled relations, or bad things happening to family members, than maybe you will like the Gentry-Clarke collaboration of Rama books. Even then, you should be disgusted by the unending series of contrived situations which substitute for a plotline. There is nothing in these books which does not happen in order to set up another stupid or unpleasant situation, and they are totally boring - nothing like the greatly interesting "Rendezvous with Rama." What can I say specifically about "Rama Revealed," since the authors had nothing to say? I've been spoiled by the Clarke books which were not messed up by Lee Gentry. Compared to any other Clarke book, in "Rama Revealed" nothing special is revealed. They had to whip up a conclusion and they may as well have published a 1-page book which said "The End," it would have been as logical and satisfying as this mess and saved everyone a lot of time
Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Finale
Review: Following the marvellous first book, parts of the subsequent plot in this massive series have been something of an ordeal to plough through. In particular, the ponderous characterisation, politicising and moralising which dominated much of Rama II and sizeable chunks of III, detracted from, rather than augmented Clarke's brilliant vision. I am, however, very glad to have persevered to the end, for Rama Revealed contains more of what ACC does best. The sense of wonder builds through the exploration of never before discovered sections of the intriguing Rama world. Interaction with a wholly alien species is explored in great depth. The theme of human bigotry and xenophobia is dwelt on somewhat, but does not detract from the growing sense of momentum and expectation. The final section bombards the reader with profoundly philosophical and spiritual revelations. The brief transience of life in the great scheme of things has rarely been depicted with such clarity. Surely only the most hardened sceptic would find the conclusion anything less than deeply moving? Read those last words, close the book, put it down, feel that delicious shiver run down your spine as you gaze into infinity just thinking "wow!".
Rating:
Summary: This book is such a suckers bet!
Review: Oh my! How terribly this book ended! You have to wade through numerous longueurs in the middle of this story where absolutely nothing happens! But you still keep reading to see if it ever reaches a frution that is satisfying. But, alas, it never does! A question: Why, if there were a God, would this God need giant ships traveling through space to perfect Their universe? If you are a God, then you should be able to complete the perfection without doing experiments! I read and read and fought through the boring waiting as the characters simply sat and did nothing during their long trips. Hoping that the benevolent race would make themselves apparent. That it would be sort of like Close Encounters. Not some completely preposterous idea that ACC seemed to pop out at the end! RIDICULOUS! If this was the plan of some all mighty God, then it was seriously flawed and I don't think I would want to live in their universe! I wanted to meet some aliens! I wanted to meet some higher beings who created all of this! I wanted MORE! That had to be the most let down ending of any book I have ever read in the history of ever! Save your nickel and go get some chewing gum. You will enjoy it more. Mr. Clarke, I don't believe I can read your books any longer. The first RAMA book was awesome. I was completely intrigued. But when you tried to explain what was behind the ships, your explanations were less than acceptable.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the best series endings ever
Review: Arthur C. Clarke is not only a science fiction genius, but can actually end a series well-- a feat I have rarely seen done. This series keeps you guessing until the very end. It was a sad day when I finished the Rama series.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning finale to the best series ever
Review: Have your hankies handy! Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee finish up the greatest SF book series ever in "Rama Revealed". They do this by simply explaining the nature of God and the Universe. The characters remain real and engaging and, despite a few slower spots, I wouldn't edit anything out. Some of my fellow reviewers complain that this conclusion is inconclusive. Well, life is inconclusive, and this book, for all its marvels and wonders, is very life-like. I know these characters, and I mourn the losses that are necessary parts of this story. P.S.: Please hurry up with the movie series. It would be stunning!
Rating:
Summary: are you serious?
Review: Well I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed. The great buildup which the first three books implied did not come to fruition with a real sense of closure. I WANT TO MEET SOME OF THESE VAST INTELLIGENCES THAT YOU'RE ALWAYS TEASING US WITH MR.CLARKE! THIS WAS THE GOLDEN OPPURTUNITY AND YOU LET US DOWN WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER SAYING,"I UNDERSTAND". WELL THATS GREAT FOR HER BUT AFTER FOUR NOVELS I WANT THE WHOLE SMASH! WRITE ANOTHER ONE...I'M SURE YOU CAN...(or can you?) AND PUT US RIGHT IN THEIR LAPS! I'M GONNA HOLD MY BREATH UNTIL YOU DO...OK HERE I GO.....
Rating:
Summary: Huh - utter dross
Review: I'm sorry I wasted my money on this book. I hadn't read ACC since I was a teenager, then I had to almost turn myself off SF again by choosing this piece of trash. I cannot understand how it has been given so many five star reviews. I have to try and reduce the average star rating. The writing is flat, wandering, tedious - the book is full of one-dimensional characters, unbelievable aliens, and seemingly endless descriptions of the landscapes, or how the octospiders (stupid name for aliens) communicate. Some might say that sets the scene - it just sent me to sleep. Some SF writers can create a universe in which I can feel its history as almost an extra character - but I had no sense of this in "Rama Revealed." The story exists in a vacuum. But what it misses most is a sense of wonder. Considering how prosaic the prose is, that isn't surprising. I can only blame Gentry Lee. I've read short stories by ACC since reading this and know that he can write believable characters combined with interesting plots - so I don't believe he had much if any input into the writing. But what made him lend his name to this? Didn't he read it before publication? It may not be the worst book I've ever come across, but it's close. It's the only one I've thrown out after finishing. If this is typical of Gentry Lee's writing, then he should not be allowed near a wordprocessor ever again. Don't read anything by Gentry Lee. If you're interested in fine writing, thought-provoking plots and futures, universe-building, wow!-factors, and characters that will produce more emotional response than a shrug, read for example Iain M Banks, or Ken MacLeod, or Dan Simmons' Hyperion or Peter F Hamilton.
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