Rating: 
Summary: A terrible waste of time
Review: Waste of an afternoon
Rating:
Summary: Better Left Alone
Review: When I read Rendezvous With Rama, I walked around for days with a lightheaded feeling that I couldn't shake, and didn't want to. There were just enough unanswered questions at the end to keep my imagination working overtime on "what ifs" and surprisingly few "whys"? When I heard there were more Ramas in the works I was a pest at my bookstore, wanting to know when the next one would be out, and given the time between releases, this went on over several years. Through Rama II, Garden Of Rama, and Rama Revealed, my sense of wonder steadily deteriorated as the atmosphere became one of voilence and conflict, with the characters living in a bad soap opera. Gentry Lee is a fine writer, but a bit too keyed into everyday problems and politics in a collaboration with Arthur C. Clark for my tastes. After reading All of the Rama novels several times, I am convinced that I would have a better taste in my mouth if it had just ended with... "They do everything in threes".
Rating: 
Summary: Not Great, Especially When Re-read
Review: While reading Bright Messengers, the predecessor to Double Full Moon Night, I couldn't decide what to make of all the Rama series parallels. Did they reflect an inability to write a different story, or were they intentional? That question still hindered Double Full Moon Night until near the end, when I was genuinely surprised by a fully logical direct tie-in to the Rama story. Mr. Lee does well with action sequences and character development, but all the philosophical points that get raised are left up in the air. Perhaps he feels they were already (beautifully) answered in the Rama series, which I consider to be a true masterpiece of science fiction, fantasy, and literature in general. He would be right if this is why he didn't re-answer those questions of purpose, in that they were answered there, but he should have re-answered them so that these two books could stand on their own. For someone who did not read the Rama series, or does not read it soon after reading Bright Messengers and Double Full Moon Night, the ending to Mr. Lee's two books will be confusing and almost meaningless. Overall, this is a well-written book, but much of the Rama magic is missing. I have read the entire Rama series three times, and had more enthusiasm for it on the third reading than I had for Double Full Moon Night upon the first reading. I never re-read Double Full Moon Night; I sold it auction.
Rating: 
Summary: No more sequels please Gentry!
Review: While this book is well written and the characters and their relationships are well expored, that is really all there is to the book. Also, large amounts of the novel are spent on detailed descriptions of the fauna of the worldlet even where these were not really relevant to the story (eg, the Maskets). There are too many discontinuous jumps, that leave the reader floundering. Only right near the end do we get into some real hard science fiction, where we are suddenly transported to Rama space, with the assumption that the reader has read the Rama series. The most frustrating thing for me was that, despite Maria having been fitted out with sub-atomic detectors and recorders, for when she enters the particle being's ship, we never discover what was found -- is this another long-awaited sequel Gentry? This novel is not a patch on Bright Messengers. If a novel needs to be lengthy and complex then do what Donaldson did in the "Gap Series" and warn everyone that they are in for five separate novels. Sorry to be so negative Gentry. But you are a fine writer and could do much better.Peter J
Rating:
Summary: No more sequels please Gentry!
Review: While this book is well written and the characters and their relationships are well expored, that is really all there is to the book. Also, large amounts of the novel are spent on detailed descriptions of the fauna of the worldlet even where these were not really relevant to the story (eg, the Maskets). There are too many discontinuous jumps, that leave the reader floundering. Only right near the end do we get into some real hard science fiction, where we are suddenly transported to Rama space, with the assumption that the reader has read the Rama series. The most frustrating thing for me was that, despite Maria having been fitted out with sub-atomic detectors and recorders, for when she enters the particle being's ship, we never discover what was found -- is this another long-awaited sequel Gentry? This novel is not a patch on Bright Messengers. If a novel needs to be lengthy and complex then do what Donaldson did in the "Gap Series" and warn everyone that they are in for five separate novels. Sorry to be so negative Gentry. But you are a fine writer and could do much better. Peter J
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