Big Dumb Object.

A dead extra-terrestrial race.

Immense world building.

Arthur C Clarke takes the above and still manages to find room to add plenty of human emotion and exploration. Rama has arrived in our solar system, a giant object initially mistaken for a comet, soon determined to be a ship. The crew of the Endeavour only have a limited time to explore Rama, before she alters her course and escapes the solar system.

The story is driven by scientific exploration, and each chapter deals with a new discovery. The story says fresh, and yet does not go to town on over-the-top scientific explanation. Plenty is left unexplained, as you would expect when meeting alien technology. The crew have the privilege of watching Rama change, as it clearly develops for a purpose, which only makes itself remotely clear at the end of the novel.

This is not a novel asking a lot of direct, beard-stroking philosophical questions. The themes are observation and curiosity. The crew don't have time to deal with the big questions, those will come later. They have to get in, find what they can and get out.

Clever, hard sci-fi, easy reading, plenty to enjoy.