Scan barcode
fraebae66's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism
swoodo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Interesting enough concept that quickly turns into a pulpy adventure story of an enemies to friends motley crew.
The prose isn’t anything special, there are some funny and lighthearted character moments, but there are also so moments of sexism (Niven is woeful with his female characters), and it all comes to a somewhat dwindling end.
It’s good enough, if only in concept, and he’s got a decent grasp on the hard science of some elements, but it’s never engaging enough or beautiful enough to be anything more than decent. Add on the sexism and you’ve got a novel that brought to life an interesting concept that has since been outdone in many other iterations in other franchises.
The prose isn’t anything special, there are some funny and lighthearted character moments, but there are also so moments of sexism (Niven is woeful with his female characters), and it all comes to a somewhat dwindling end.
It’s good enough, if only in concept, and he’s got a decent grasp on the hard science of some elements, but it’s never engaging enough or beautiful enough to be anything more than decent. Add on the sexism and you’ve got a novel that brought to life an interesting concept that has since been outdone in many other iterations in other franchises.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
taotechump's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
cdbaker's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I understand that this is a “classic” of sci-fi and I tried to appreciate it from that perspective. But it’s just terrible and so damned sexist. The “big dumb object” isn’t that interesting and all of the characters are just so unlikeable that it’s difficult to care about what’s happening to them. The central conceit of the book (about luck) is incredibly irritating. As my partner put it, it’s neither magic nor science, it’s just bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Sexism
bookishchef's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Many creative world building ideas but I would rather eat glass than read this again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content
mar's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
sorry cant write a proper review bc every time i think about how Niven writes women in this book i start seeing red
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Racism, and Slavery
weird eugenics shitzee's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
3.5
Ringworld is rich in world building (both the Ringworld itself and the Puppeteer planet) and classic sci-fi alien species. It is, unfortunately, also rich in misogyny. There are 2 female-presenting characters, and one is used as a ditzy childish good luck charm (though her character arc at the end is neat!), and the other's purpose was to be her spaceship's whore (and therefore is powerful because sex and men).
For classic sci-fi written over 50 years ago, if you can manage to temper the misogyny, it is fun. The premise is interesting, the science is hard, and the concepts fairly unique. The central characters and dialogue are flat. Certainly not the most sexist of classic sci-fi, but there's also great books with significantly less.
For classic sci-fi written over 50 years ago, if you can manage to temper the misogyny, it is fun. The premise is interesting, the science is hard, and the concepts fairly unique. The central characters and dialogue are flat. Certainly not the most sexist of classic sci-fi, but there's also great books with significantly less.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Misogyny, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
kbkbkbkbkb's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
If it wasn't so sexist it'd be a 2.75. It's really just OK. Too many mistakes and too many unnecessary sex scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
bookthief404's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Outdated, hard to forgive. Women done terribly. Louis is a creep and just as childish as Teela.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
crufts's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When I was growing up, Halo was the "killer" game that pushed the Xbox console's rise to dominance. One of the key concepts of the game were these ring-shaped worlds (the Halo arrays). Naturally, I was curious to see what Ringworld would make of this concept, having done it 31 years earlier, and on a much larger scale.
Honestly, it's pretty good! Ringworld interweaves both interesting sci-fi concepts and interpersonal conflicts, as the plot involves the human protagonist (Louis Wu) working together with his girlfriend (Teela Brown) and two aliens to explore the Ringworld. It reads as an exciting adventure in a bizarre landscape. The story definitely has its tense moments, but overall the tone is fun and exciting.
The portrayal of the main character's girlfriend initially irked me a little, since she comes off as an airhead. However, this ends up partially explained by her unusual life experience as the book goes on, and (in an odd way) she's probably the most powerful of the main characters. This justification didn't totally jive with me, and perhaps it would have worked better if there were more positively-portrayed female characters. I also found it suspicious that all two of the women characters were romantic interests.
At the same time, I liked how the two aliens' genders were portrayed as... well... alien! One of them (Nessus, the puppeteer) is nominally referred to as "he" or "it", but his gender may be more equivalent to what humans would call "female". Meanwhile, the other alien (Speaker, the Kzin) is definitely male, but his species' gender arrangements is distinctly non-human as well.
Overall, I found Ringworld to be a fascinating and enjoyable read.
Honestly, it's pretty good! Ringworld interweaves both interesting sci-fi concepts and interpersonal conflicts, as the plot involves the human protagonist (Louis Wu) working together with his girlfriend (Teela Brown) and two aliens to explore the Ringworld. It reads as an exciting adventure in a bizarre landscape. The story definitely has its tense moments, but overall the tone is fun and exciting.
The portrayal of the main character's girlfriend initially irked me a little, since she comes off as an airhead. However, this ends up partially explained by her unusual life experience as the book goes on, and (in an odd way) she's probably the most powerful of the main characters. This justification didn't totally jive with me, and perhaps it would have worked better if there were more positively-portrayed female characters. I also found it suspicious that all two of the women characters were romantic interests.
At the same time, I liked how the two aliens' genders were portrayed as... well... alien! One of them (Nessus, the puppeteer) is nominally referred to as "he" or "it", but his gender may be more equivalent to what humans would call "female". Meanwhile, the other alien (Speaker, the Kzin) is definitely male, but his species' gender arrangements is distinctly non-human as well.
Overall, I found Ringworld to be a fascinating and enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Trafficking, War, and Xenophobia
Extreme May/December relationship: The protagonist Louis Wu is ~220 years old, but remains physically in his 20s due to the magic of "boosterspice". Meanwhile, his girlfriend Teela Brown is 20. Such relationships seem to happen occasionally in their culture, but the experience gap between them makes this seem pretty sketchy to me.Sexual content: Between the protagonist and his girlfriend. Typically used as a backdrop to some verbal discussion, ending with a fade-to-black.
Sexism: Overall, the female characters were not treated evenly with the male ones. Apart from the fact that there were way less of them, they tended to be portrayed as airheaded, highly emotional, and they were all romantic interests.
Mental illness: Nessus has one, but his "craziness" arguably makes him better suited to his task of exploring the Ringworld.
Addiction: Some characters exhibit addiction to a wireheading device (the "tasp").
Vomit: Occurs during an aerial stunt. Not described in detail.
Trafficking, War (mention): The questionable practices of the warlike Kzin species. Not described in detail.