In Garden of Rama, the human colony inside the alien ship has officially proven that distance from Earth does not equal emotional evolution. Nicole des Jardins, still the moral compass (and professional scapegoat), watches society fracture into political factions fueled by fear, jealousy, and good old-fashioned power hunger. Meanwhile, Richard Wakefield throws himself into exploration and actually does something useful for once: he uncovers the truth about Rama’s other inhabitants: the intelligent, peaceful octospiders, the territorial avians, and the hive-minded myrmicats. How they are able to work together and provide for one another shows once more why humanity isn’t that evolved. I loved how the book shows that even in a cosmic marvel, humans default to suspicion and destruction. Wars break out, paranoia spreads, and Nicole pays the price for being right too often. It’s depressing, fascinating, and painfully realistic. Humanity at its finest… unfortunately.