The Ringworld Throne Summary and Reviews

The Ringworld Throne
by Larry Niven

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Book Summary Information

Author: Larry Niven
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-05
ISBN: 0345412966
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Del Rey

Book Reviews of The Ringworld Throne

Book Review: "How does your race handle Rishathra?"
Summary: 2 Stars

Imagine a ring around a star. A ring shaped like a giant canal, with sides high enough to keep an earthlike atmosphere in, and a floor covered over with dirt and teeming with billions, even trillions of beings spread out over a surface area greater than all the planets in our solar system. The very concept of Ringworld is so cool that it gives any book set there an extra star. In spite of this, I give it only two stars, which should tell you how bad everything except the setting is.

First, there is the constant, and distracting, obsession with alien sex. The concept of "rishathra"- sex between races- is mentioned at least once in every scene involving non-humans. It is the focus of many conversations that do nothing to move the plot forward. And when Niven describes it you get the distinct impression of a thirteen year old nerd trying very hard to be as blasé as James Bond. ("Ho hum, the aliens are having sex, I've certainly seen this before, let's watch!") Niven is thus entered onto the list of sci-fi writers who manage to make sex completely uninteresting. Indeed, I'd say he's so bad at it that he might even dethrone Robert Heinlein from the top of that list.

Second, the plot itself is convoluted and makes very little sense. The book jumps back and forth between a group of aliens who make a trek across the Ringworld and Louis Wu, a human trapped on the artificial construction who must battle to save it from a weird alien menace. However, the aliens could easily have been eliminated from the book - as far as I could see there was no connection between them and the main Louis Wu storyline. Not that the main storyline was anything to write home about. The weird aliens were all battling each other for the privilege of saving the Ringworld, so I'm not exactly sure where the sense of menace was supposed to be coming from. Add to that the haphazard introduction of a new character halfway through the book and the gimmicky deus ex machina resolution, and the plot entirely fails to deliver.

It should be noted that this is the third - or perhaps even fourth- book in the Ringworld series, so longstanding fans may not be as confused as the reader who is picking it up for the first time. But whether you are a fresh reader or an old fan, my recommendation would be to stay away.

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