Bright Messengers: A New Novel Set in the Rama Universe

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
To Sister Beatrice, a priestess of the global Order of St. Michael, the cloud of tiny white particles is a message from God.To Johann Eberhardt, a German systems engineer, it is an anomaly of physics.But to the Rama society, it may; be the long-awaited proof of nonhuman intelligence.On Mars, Johann and Beatrice will meet, drawn together by a fabulous account of a vast city lost beneath the red planet's harsh landscape.Joined by none Martian colonists, the mystic and the skeptic will board a strange craft that will hurtle them toward the truth behind the mysterious bright messergers and a startling journey into the heart of the unknown.

Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

a good effort overshadowed by a masterpiece September 12, 1999
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

If I had not read the Rama series, I would have been tempted to give this book 5 stars, although I probably would have resisted that temptation. The characters are well-written and fairly deep, and the plot is complicated yet coherent enough. What kept bothering me, though were the frequent parallels to the Rama books - parallel characters, parallel themes, and even parallel scenes. I could never decide if these parallels were stylistic and simply reflected the fact that Mr. Lee co-wrote the last three Rama books, if he was intentionally creating these parallels, or if he was just not original enough to really create a different story from the Rama story. If you have not read this book or the Rama series, I would advise you to read this one first, to avoid the overshadowing effect. Also, maybe I was dense at the time (or always), but I didn't realize that I was reading Part 1 of a sequel until almost the end, when I realized that nothing could get resolved in the fifty or so pages I had left. I hope the sequel answers my questions.

1 out of 5 stars

Looks like Sci-Fi is too much for Lee Alone October 6, 2004
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

Up until page 212, this seems like an acceptable science fiction story. Tantalizing hints, solid science, and interesting characters. I admit, some of them are two dimensional, but at least they are interesting, and their firm viewpoint is well portrayed.

After that we have inexplicable aliens giving our main characters increasingly pointless tours, while removing carefully all the other characters from the situation, for no explicable reason. We have situations described as 'zero gravity' with: Walking, shuffling, floors, cielings, climbing (Even tiredness while climbing), a RIVER, a BOAT in the river, SEATS in the boat, Earthlike scenes with trees, and squirels, while our carefuly segregated main characters sitting and eating a picnic . . .. All still in a zero G setting, with no explanations, adaptation, nothing.

From the before mentioned page 212 on, this book continues downhill, into a train wreck. If you are serious about your Sci-fi, and care about motivations, I would reccomend skipping this one, and looking to Niven, or Clarke, or Heinlein, or, above all, Spider Robinson.

3 out of 5 stars

It's Just Not RAMA January 6, 2000
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This work is loosely based upon the RAMA series of novels Gentry Lee co-authored with Arthur C. Clarke. Lee has boldly attempted to achieve something new within the RAMA universe, but the reader familiar with the earlier books will not forgive. The time of the Great Chaos is a superb backdrop but it is not enough of a parellel for the books to be considered part of the RAMA Universe. We never see RAMA or any of its inhabitants, just something similar. There is, however, an extraordinary scene aboard the spacecraft where the main characters are forced to endure a simulation of the Hiroshima bomb blast. Yes, it is a wonderful book with some wonderful elements, but in the end it is simply a poor attempt to copy the breathtaking feel of the original RAMA story.

1 out of 5 stars

A frustrating waste of time and trees September 28, 2000
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book is ok during the first half. Interesting characters are facing mysterious happenings. Then the characters board a magic space shuttle to loonie-land, where bizarre and pointless (and eventually violent and sickening) things happen to them with no explanation whatsoever. And then... it ends abrubtly. Like the author was writing a high school term paper and just passed the minimum pages his teacher assigned, Lee throws a couple paragraphs of bizzarre happenings on the pile and says "To be continued..." I would read the sequel, but i have no hope that he will be any more likely to explain why the bizarre events happen than he was in this book.

1 out of 5 stars

Grossly Disappointing January 16, 2000
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Take all the best parts of this book and you end up with a c-grade short story, at best. Character development is 2-stars, sci-fi development is 1-star. Saddest of all, given the fact that Gentry Lee was so intimately involved in the Rama series, he absolutely dropped the ball. This was, without reservation, one of the worst books I have ever encountered.

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