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A review by aleccjohnston
Protector by Larry Niven
4.0
I am always interested in reading outside of my comfort zone, as I have been very pleasantly surprised on many occasions during which I’ve done so. I believe that by being close minded I might be missing out on my new favorite book or series, so I make a concerted effort to avoid falling into that trap as a reader.
As a fan of fantasy, I’ve always felt that sci-fi is the logical next step in my reading journey. I have also, as with fantasy, wanted to culture myself on the classics of the genres I read. They have a different feel to them, and I find it an enjoyable-if difficult- experience to feel out how the style of prose and genre has changed from the classic era to the present day.
That is all to explain my thought process going into this book.
Lengthy preamble aside, I will say that I enjoyed Protector fairly much. It has extremely interesting ideas and a very engaging plot. The world building was, if a bit brusque, wildly fascinating. I am not sure if this is a standalone or the first installment in a series, but the world (or universe, I suppose) of the story feels packed and alive.
I have heard that classic sci-fi books are engines for ideas. You go into them for the weird and cool ideas that stretch your brain and make you go, “Huh. Wow. Interesting.”
This was certainly my experience. Unfortunately, my experience was hampered slightly by the lack of character in the story. It truly felt like an engine chugging toward the end of the plot, with every character serving only to pull me ever closer to the end. There was some characterization, but nothing I could latch onto. That truly isn’t too egregious a writing style, particularly keeping in mind context for what kind of book you are reading, but paired with the pacing of the story it was held back from being a “great” book to me. The pacing felt at some times like it was moving through syrup, and at others like I was being shuttled to the next scene. Even realizing how difficult it is to keep a fluidity to a story over the course of hundred of in-story years, it felt quite choppy at times.
Despite all of my bellyaching, I really did enjoy Protector, and I am quite glad it was my introduction into more classic sci-fi. Especially knowing that this is one of Larry Niven’s lesser works, I absolutely can’t wait to read more.
As a fan of fantasy, I’ve always felt that sci-fi is the logical next step in my reading journey. I have also, as with fantasy, wanted to culture myself on the classics of the genres I read. They have a different feel to them, and I find it an enjoyable-if difficult- experience to feel out how the style of prose and genre has changed from the classic era to the present day.
That is all to explain my thought process going into this book.
Lengthy preamble aside, I will say that I enjoyed Protector fairly much. It has extremely interesting ideas and a very engaging plot. The world building was, if a bit brusque, wildly fascinating. I am not sure if this is a standalone or the first installment in a series, but the world (or universe, I suppose) of the story feels packed and alive.
I have heard that classic sci-fi books are engines for ideas. You go into them for the weird and cool ideas that stretch your brain and make you go, “Huh. Wow. Interesting.”
This was certainly my experience. Unfortunately, my experience was hampered slightly by the lack of character in the story. It truly felt like an engine chugging toward the end of the plot, with every character serving only to pull me ever closer to the end. There was some characterization, but nothing I could latch onto. That truly isn’t too egregious a writing style, particularly keeping in mind context for what kind of book you are reading, but paired with the pacing of the story it was held back from being a “great” book to me. The pacing felt at some times like it was moving through syrup, and at others like I was being shuttled to the next scene. Even realizing how difficult it is to keep a fluidity to a story over the course of hundred of in-story years, it felt quite choppy at times.
Despite all of my bellyaching, I really did enjoy Protector, and I am quite glad it was my introduction into more classic sci-fi. Especially knowing that this is one of Larry Niven’s lesser works, I absolutely can’t wait to read more.