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theobromo's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
In this riff on Wizard of Oz, the emotionless Looey Woo, takes his “Dorothy” to find the Ringworld full of flying cities and crazy locals. Unfortunately he never finds his heart, the lion-kzin is not without a brain(and may be the most likeable character), the cowardly bifurcated deer is an a-hole mastermind, and ultimately the Dorothy decides to run off with Conan the Barbarian, instead of making her way back home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
defcon's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
There is no reason to read this book in the 21st century (or beyond). SFF has come so far, society has come so far. Totally dull, poorly put together story, miserably written, awful characters, the worst politics (the politics are bad even for when it was written). I think even if you are part of this book's intended audience (straight, white, male, libertarian) you will still find plenty in here to make your lip curl in distaste in 2024.
Part of what makes it such a slog is that the SF is unimaginative and thinly drawn. I expected at the very least the Ringworld itself would be an interesting entity but it really wasn't, just another excuse for the author to write pointless and meandering vignettes that expand on his cartoonishly reactionary viewpoints. Many of the "revelations" in the book's plot were very obvious and/or came across as the author attempting to write Arthur C. Clarke fanfiction (now Clarke was someone who could offend a modern sensibility but actually tell a compelling sci-fi story).
What struck me as I read this is that the author clearly read plenty of SF, and enjoyed it, but did not himself have a mind for science, for systems, for fantasy or extrapolation. All of his world building comes across as regurgitations of half-digested meals. He's a not terribly smart or curious guy who tried to write terribly smart and curious characters, and the disconnect is palpable.
Part of what makes it such a slog is that the SF is unimaginative and thinly drawn. I expected at the very least the Ringworld itself would be an interesting entity but it really wasn't, just another excuse for the author to write pointless and meandering vignettes that expand on his cartoonishly reactionary viewpoints. Many of the "revelations" in the book's plot were very obvious and/or came across as the author attempting to write Arthur C. Clarke fanfiction (now Clarke was someone who could offend a modern sensibility but actually tell a compelling sci-fi story).
What struck me as I read this is that the author clearly read plenty of SF, and enjoyed it, but did not himself have a mind for science, for systems, for fantasy or extrapolation. All of his world building comes across as regurgitations of half-digested meals. He's a not terribly smart or curious guy who tried to write terribly smart and curious characters, and the disconnect is palpable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
cdbaker's review against another edition
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: Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
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: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Slavery
weird eugenics shitdeadsearisen's review against another edition
I was recommended this book as a classic work of sci-fi by a few friends - while I can certainly see the importance of Ringworld within the genre (I believe it was the first to come up with the ringworld concept), I wouldn’t recommend anyone read this. It certainly started out strong, to me - beginning with a 200-year-old protagonist hopping through transport booths to follow the midnight line and extend his 200th birthday as long as possible, before realizing he was already bored with his life yet again. However, interesting concepts and beats are quickly ruined - Niven is apparently unable to resist lacing the text with racism and misogyny. I saw someone else describe their experience with the text as Niven dry heaving his misogyny onto the page, and I certainly agree. The descriptions of the main character, Louis Wu, are racist (I believe in Ch. 2 his skin is literally described as “Fu Manchu yellow” or something along those lines), Teela’s entire character is reeking of misogyny, not one but two alien species have “nonsentient females”; the interesting moments and concepts are, bluntly, not enough to propel this book through Niven’s racism & misogyny, and his middling writing style didn’t help much at all either. Niven’s personal misogyny & racism (as well as, in a few instances, homophobia and cissexism) rendered this text, for me, too much to slog through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Racism
Colonization & eugenics are in the book as well.
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