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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I was very disappointed by this book. I'd read that Ringworld was a good example of hard sci fi, and a lot of the ideas and the hypothetical science was very interesting. My problem was with the characters, and with a story that felt a little directionless, jumping from one idea and topic to the next, never really engaging fully with one.
Louis, the narrator, I found a flat, uninspiring character. He seemed a little over-intuitive (a sign that a writer may be cheating a little at narration) and though there were occasional glimpses of an interesting past, there was little filling out. He was vague, unspecified, and ultimately boring.
A large reason for my frustration with Louis was his fixation with Teela Brown. I despised this character. She was pretty, dumb and lucky, the kind of heroine you'd see on Discworld--only there we'd have some self-aware comedy about what a stupid trope this is. I think the idea of breeding for luck is interesting, and I'd read a book about someone with psychic luck. But that's not why I read this book. I read this book because I wanted to know more about Ringworld. The best part of the whole book was when we thought Teela was dead. How I wish she could have just stayed dead.
Another problem with Teela's all-powerful luck is that it gave the book an uncomfortable deterministic slant. It didn't matter what they did; things would work out because Teela had to get somewhere or do something or find someone. We don't have to investigate Louis's feelings of rejection or Teela's fascination with her actual Conan the Barbarian boyfriend (seriously, it's like Discworld only not funny) because it's just "meant to be". Her luck dictated it happen, so it did. It takes a bit of the suspense out of events, not to mention removing all motivation from actions. No wonder the characters stay flat.
Nessus and Speaker were okay.
There was so much on the Ringworld that could have been explored in this book. I'd name examples, but literally anything you can think of would have been more interesting that Louis's musings on Teela. I'm excited to read the other books in this universe only because my expectations are now so low that they'll inevitably impress.
Louis, the narrator, I found a flat, uninspiring character. He seemed a little over-intuitive (a sign that a writer may be cheating a little at narration) and though there were occasional glimpses of an interesting past, there was little filling out. He was vague, unspecified, and ultimately boring.
A large reason for my frustration with Louis was his fixation with Teela Brown. I despised this character. She was pretty, dumb and lucky, the kind of heroine you'd see on Discworld--only there we'd have some self-aware comedy about what a stupid trope this is. I think the idea of breeding for luck is interesting, and I'd read a book about someone with psychic luck. But that's not why I read this book. I read this book because I wanted to know more about Ringworld. The best part of the whole book was when we thought Teela was dead. How I wish she could have just stayed dead.
Another problem with Teela's all-powerful luck is that it gave the book an uncomfortable deterministic slant. It didn't matter what they did; things would work out because Teela had to get somewhere or do something or find someone. We don't have to investigate Louis's feelings of rejection or Teela's fascination with her actual Conan the Barbarian boyfriend (seriously, it's like Discworld only not funny) because it's just "meant to be". Her luck dictated it happen, so it did. It takes a bit of the suspense out of events, not to mention removing all motivation from actions. No wonder the characters stay flat.
Nessus and Speaker were okay.
There was so much on the Ringworld that could have been explored in this book. I'd name examples, but literally anything you can think of would have been more interesting that Louis's musings on Teela. I'm excited to read the other books in this universe only because my expectations are now so low that they'll inevitably impress.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very imaginative sci-fi. The language shows this has been written over 50 years ago, which at times makes it less enthralling than more modern books, but overally I can definitely recommend this.
The book was a bit hard to follow, I was not a big fan of the short paragraphs and the writing style made the dialogue hard to follow at times. The book started off strong but I found myself bored in the second half.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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:
No
I love the characters in this. I wouldn't say they were particularly deep, but they were as amusing as hell. For some reason this book is getting a lot of hate from feminist, but the main female character is the most interesting person in the book, and her evolution from a position of luck induced privilege, to someone who's good luck then forces them to learn pain, is inspired and unique.
There's not really much of a plot, but there enough to keep you entertained, and enough left unexplored that I'm eager to read more in this universe. The world building makes up for the lack of plot imo, from the Ringworld itself, to the alien races who make up the universe, to humanities future where living to 200 is no big deal and we can breed luck into ourselves.
I honestly can't wait until I get my hands on more of Niven's books.
There's not really much of a plot, but there enough to keep you entertained, and enough left unexplored that I'm eager to read more in this universe. The world building makes up for the lack of plot imo, from the Ringworld itself, to the alien races who make up the universe, to humanities future where living to 200 is no big deal and we can breed luck into ourselves.
I honestly can't wait until I get my hands on more of Niven's books.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No