Reading order
Rama reading order
1
2
3
4- 4 volumes
- Volumes
- 1973–1993
- Published
- about 30 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Classics#10
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
4 volumes1973–1993Completed
- Clarke wrote Rendezvous with Rama (1973) alone and it stands complete — you can stop there.
- The three sequels came fifteen years later, co-written with Gentry Lee; they are far longer, in a different register, and divide readers.
A plan for the whole series
4 volumes, 1,743 pages, about 30 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 6 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: low
- From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 4, “Rama Revealed” (by 27%). Plan your break after volume 3, before the series plans it for you.
- Readers scored volume 2, “Rama II”, below its predecessor (7.3 after 8.3). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.
Stages
3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 24, 2026, 13 days later than in one go.
- Stage 114 h18 daysby November 16, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 29 h12 daysby December 3, 2026
- BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.0
- Stage 39 h12 daysby December 24, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: best at the start. Readers scored the first volumes (8.3) above the last ones (7.5).
Best volume: Rendezvous with Rama (8.3, 1,224 ratings). Weakest: Rama II (7.3). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 3 and 4: 27%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.5) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Rama books ranked, best to worst
- 1.Rendezvous with RamaBook 1 · 19738.3
- 2.Rama RevealedBook 4 · 19937.5
- 3.The Garden of RamaBook 3 · 19917.4
- 4.Rama IIBook 2 · 19897.3
Frequently asked questions
Which Rama book is the best?
By reader score, Rendezvous with Rama (8.3/10). The lowest-rated is Rama II (7.3/10).
Which Rama book is the longest?
“The Garden of Rama” is the longest at 511 pages; the shortest is “Rendezvous with Rama” with 256 pages.
What should I read after Rama?
Other series by Arthur C. Clarke: Space Odyssey, A Time Odyssey.
