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theobromo's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
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
diazona's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Congratulations, you've just read Ringworld.
I mean, sure, the train is moving at a hundred thousand times the speed of light, and the philosophers are aliens, but the sad thing is, none of that matters. As I see it, Ringworld is a story about four people who go on an adventure and are too preoccupied with their own relationships and internal conflicts to let anything interesting happen on said adventure. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of these people, and the "adventures" they go on are pretty inconsequential. I know it's supposed to be a classic and all, but this book sucked all the joy out of reading for me; it's the closest I've ever come to not finishing a book because of how much I didn't like it.
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
angorarabbit's review against another edition
- 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? No
0.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Slavery, Colonisation, and War
Invented words are substituted for American curse words but the meaning is clear. Spicy bits can be skipped with no loss to the story.zee's review against another edition
3.5
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.
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
quitegood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Take Louis Wu, an absolute personality vacuum. We're stuck in his head this whole book listening to his endless pontificating. It's funny, because he's clearly an author insert and meant to be this debonair fellow who stays cool in crisis, but knows how to crack a joke, but he just comes across as a complete and utter tosser. Speaker and Nessus aren't much better, being pretty much blank ciphers until a situation calls upon Speaker to show aggression or Nessus to show fear. At points, Niven elects to not say who is speaking, assuming each characters unique personality will shine through. It doesn't. And lastly there's Teela Brown. Now I will be fair and say that her being a childish ditz is justified at length, but at points, Niven betrays himself showing his complete lack of understanding of female emotions. It can be baffling to witness.
As for the plot, you think it's going somewhere, but then literally goes in circles before ending on essentially a cut to black. The ideas it explores are fascinating, but if you need a plot or at least interesting characters to string you along, avoid this book. Niven has clearly thought hard about the realities of the Ringworld but not what happens there. Its like the flavour text in a pen and paper roleplaying game; a backdrop to whatever adventure you can think of.
I'll likely check out the rest of the series, because in terms of question the book initially asked, many go unanswered. Hopefully with practice, Niven makes a main character who I don't want to expose to hard vacuum.
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Rape and Xenophobia
crufts's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Xenophobia, Trafficking, and War
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.