Ringworld (1970)

Ringworld is Rendezvous with Rama meets Political Thriller. Well, "thriller" may be a bit much. I loved the depiction of the several major races that populate the story - humans, puppeteers, and kzin - as three very distinct types, with different priorities and characteristics. No one group was ever given the benefit of being "best", not even the humans who, though most sympathetic to us human readers, had flaws and problems of their own. Even more, I enjoyed the depiction of an alien landscape, technology, and extra-terrestrial phenomena that Niven creates and describes with delightful logic and detail. This is what science fiction is all about - imagining the impossible, then coming up with a way that it just might be possible after all. Snugging the plot together with the tale of the relations of the three species through history was a nice touch, and the final result of it was quite satisfying. A good read.
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the ringworld was pleasingly imaginative, but i feel it had potential for much more.

there were creative concepts in some characters, but this was balanced by others being a bit cliche.

the ending was abrupt and ridiculously uneventful.

no regrets reading it, but it would never appear at the top of my scifi reading list. ( )

Blimey, it was a bit rubbish really. Doesn't pass the Bechdel Test (which a novel-length book with more than one female character ought to do pretty easily), all winds up too quickly. Idea-focused, true, but that shouldn't let it off actually having a bit of heart as well. ( )

Ringworld - a Young Adult book that exemplifies the key elements of technology-driven fiction, and so embodies the new generation of science fiction and SF writers. Ok, that may be how the review would start if this book were written in the 2010s. But [b:Ringworld|61179|Ringworld|Larry Niven|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348622769s/61179.jpg|924711] is from a different era (the 1970s), a different world altogether (pre-Microsoft Earth). What was then hailed as an innovative narrative style may now be viewed as stunted and disjointed. But for a young mind just opening to the wonders of science and discovery, Ringworld was like a door into a new way of thinking, out-of-the-box and imaginative. So taken by its story, I was ready then to take the closest stepping disk to the land of rishathra, leaving the tumultuous world about to be engulfed by the first oil crisis behind. Without a doubt, it made its mark on me, and even today, I think of it as the best SF novel ever-written.But, I realize this may not be the case for those weaned on [a:Peter Hamilton|4162652|Peter Hamilton|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] and [a:Neal Stephenson|545|Neal Stephenson|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314902446p2/545.jpg], so suffice it to say, it's a worthy read despite the datedness. For today's readers, this will perhaps be an archivist effort rather than the life-engaging experience it was. Alas, the world context has changed. ( )

Interesting concept. Some elements felt very dated from a social perspective. Ahead of its time in classic sci-fi style but felt a bit long in places. ( )