Arthur C Clarke is my favorite author, and the Rama series is my favorite from him. This universe is his most ambitious, and there is a lot of ‘brain candy’ to absorb.
I loaned the first book (Rendezvous with Rama is the first of 4) to a friend who talked me into reading Tolkein and Chung Kuo, and he bought the rest himself. He loved it.
Even better, Morgan Freeman has the movie rights to the books and has brought in David Fincher to direct it properly. While this is great news, do yourself a favor: read the books before you see the movie.
There’s no way they’ll be able to cover all the details. I can only hope mainstream audiences will appreciate it.