Louis' speculation about a microbe that ate away at complex compounds eventually proved correct (and very cool, I'll admit). It's apparent that something happened to cause civilization to 'fall' on the Ringworld. Niven makes good use of the time it takes to reach and explore the Ringworld itself to show us his version of the future.Īlas, once the action is restricted to the Ringworld and the new goal is to discover any remaining pockets of Ringworld Engineer civilization, the only thing remarkable about the story is the alacrity with which it becomes unremarkable. Specifically, I loved his sociological asides, such as Louis' speculations about how much Nessus and other Puppeteers have interfered with human and Kzinti development. This is my first science fiction book by Larry Niven, and it instilled in me a good opinion of Niven's ability to balance carefully hard science fiction concepts (like an adherence to relativistic travel) with soft science fiction (an emphasis on the sociological effects of spaceflight and unexplained plot devices like hyperdrive). I can't say I was able to visualize the puppeteers very well, but I got the idea of transfer booths, cat-like Kzinti, hyperdrive, etc. Watching Nessus recruit Louis, Speaker To Animals, and Teela was a fascinating look at Niven's far future. If only Ringworld lived up to that potential…. With a simple concept and a little bit of physics, Larry Niven has a striking novum that's brand, setting, and mystery all in one. The eponymous structure is not a planet but, for all intents and purposes, functions as one.

And if ever there were a paradigm case for worldbuilding, Ringworld would be it. That term is (perhaps unsurprisingly) worldbuilding. There's a word often bandied about when people discuss books, particularly fantasy and science fiction books, which often involve the creation of worlds unlike our own.

Niven ringworld