A review by dromwald
Ringworld by Larry Niven

2.0

This was a re-read for me as I originally read this more than 30 years ago and that will probably be reflected in this review. When I first read this I might well have given the book an extra star but 30 years is a long time it seems – at least in terms of Sci Fi and social attitudes. In terms of Niven’s attitude to women one might actually have expected this to have been written in 1950 rather than 1970 because his female characters are single dimensional at best. In fact his drawing of female characters could be described as laughable if they weren't so insulting; his female characters have insignificant roles to play in the story and seem to be good for one thing only.
As for the story, well, this too was disappointing. The concept seemed so amazingly promising and I really wanted to enjoy it (first time around and now) but frankly the whole thing was just tiresome.