Ringworld

Locations
Call Number: Science Fiction / Niven, Larry, Adult Book / Fiction / Science Fiction / Classic / Niven, Larry
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Science Fiction / Niven, Larry	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Science Fiction / Niven, Larry	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Science Fiction / Classic / Niven, Larry	4-week checkout	Due 05-21-2024

Two humans and two aliens, who are traveling to distant reaches of space to prevent a future catastrophe, crash on a ringworld apparently created by superior technologies.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A compelling tale set in an incredibly vivid and imaginative setting! submitted by domeshine on November 14, 2008, 7:36pm Louis Wu is celebrating his 200th birthday when a Pierson's Puppeteer, a highly technologically advanced alien race, abducts him and offers him the chance of a lifetime. Pierson's Puppeteers had vanished suddenly many years before. No one knew where the Puppeteers had gone. To see a Puppeteer suddenly re-appear was astonishing, but the reason was even more incredible. The Puppeteers had discovered an artifact. A ring around a star, larger than a million earths. The Puppeteer, named Nessus, needed Louis to lead an expedition to explore the ringworld artifact. Travel with them, the "luckiest girl in the world" Teela Brown, and the giant tiger-like Kzin called "speaker-to-animals" and explore an incredibly immense world to try to learn the secret of the ringworld.

This book leads off a series of ringworld books, and they are quite enjoyable, but the first look at the ringworld is such a thrill. Larry Niven really takes you into his vivid and richly detailed world where strange humanoids have filled some interesting ecological niches. From carrion eating ghouls, to sensual vampires, to the secrets of the girl Hallrloprillalar and her "Machine People".

I highly recommend this book. I have read it several times and still find it enjoyable. Probably my all-time favorite book. Larry Niven has such a "visual" style of writing it allows you to immerse yourself in his world.

Duane B.

Classic Hard SciFi submitted by hathaway1066 on July 22, 2013, 8:37pm Niven's ability to whirl together various concepts in a 'what if AND also if BUT FURTHER MORE if' (etc.) as usual, makes for a page turner in terms of action and adventure, but also for ideas that linger and stay with you. Take this to the beach, or give it to a SciFi fan. But before you give it to her or him, read a bit of it yourself and you just may keep a copy and give then a fresh one.

Then again, this is a library listing so forget about buying extra copies, right?

Moderate submitted by kressara on July 15, 2022, 7:45pm I've read a lot of science fiction in my life, but this is the first time that I've read a book by Larry Niven. I read it because it's been one of the foundational sci fi novels in my mind, but, in my sci fi journey, I had skipped along to other later writers. I found the beginning of the story to be interesting, but even as they were exploring the new world which should have been the most exciting part, I found myself growing less and less interested in the book and I kept on only because I like to know how books end. Actually, I listened to it on Overdrive and the reader left much to be desired. The way he read kept reminding me of a '70s news anchor with the heavy black glasses. I am left wondering how much of my disinterest is because of the reader and how much is because the book feels tired and cliché. Of course, it wasn't at the time it was written, but... I'd rather read some other authors than continue with the series.