I get the impression the Ringworld was written by someone just learning his trade. Taken in that context, it's a promising start from a writer who got a whole lot better later. I urge anyone, fan of sci-fi or not, to read the books Niven wrote with Pournelle and/or Barnes. Those are masterpieces, books like 'Legacy of Hereot', 'Dragons of Herot', 'Footfall', 'Lucifer's Hammer', 'The Mote in God's Eye', etc. You won't find better sci-fi thrillers than those, they blow pretty much everything else out of the water. Ringworld by comparison is tame and perhaps a bit dated. Characterization was fairly mixed ... the aliens 'Speaker' and Nessus were entertaining, although it was hard to believe in either character. Louis on the other hand didn't behave much like a 200 year old - he seemed more like a college sophamore, and Teela was pretty lacking in substance. Still, it's harmless fun. I just urge the people who didn't like this book to check out Niven's later work. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I guarantee.

This is an adventure story of sorts, from earth to the ringworld system. There's a lot of science involved in this book as this odd team try to solve the puzzle of who built this ringworld, what happened to the occupants and how can they *leave*.

I don't understand how this book became a classic beyond a very interesting concept. The story itself is not very compelling, the science proves shoddy over and over under any examination and the characters are one-dimensional, unless they are female, in which case they have no dimension. Niven relegates all females into the role of bimbo, sex-slave, or vegetable. In fact, the main character is 200 years old and manages to have sex with every woman he comes into contact with. Do you get the feeling that someone is projecting? Niven seems to reveal himself to be a sad, sexist nerd who had one solitary good idea and just really lucked out.

The first thing about "Ringworld" is that it is a highly readable book; it was so engrossing and smoothly-written that I finished it in a twenty-four hour period with no trouble.

The second thing about "Ringworld" is that its universe is a deep one. By which I mean it is full of gadgets and quirks, a society that has evolved profoundly from the present, alien species with histories of their own, and many generations of fictional technological development. All of this is explained in a wonderfully absorbing manner (if you like that sort of thing, which I do), both by way of introduction to the novel and throughout, while still leaving a sense there is a great deal more to be learned about this fictional world.

The third thing - the best thing - about "Ringworld" is its characters. There aren't many of them - just four, for most of the novel, and one of them is pretty flat - but they do a great job of carrying the story. The three fully-dimensional characters are wonderfully described, and the tension among them is the true motivator of the book.

But this tension is never resolved, and the ending of the story is flat, and that is the fourth thiing - and the worst thing - about the book. The end is certainly satisfying in the sense of resolving the ostensible, plot-level, conflict of the novel, but it is approached too gently, without any major obstacles near the end of the book. Worse, the true conflict and the emotional content of the story are left to hang. Perhaps these are resolved in the sequels; certainly the writing and the sci-fi are interesting enough to merit additional books.

I first read this book back in the mid-70s when people still thought there'd be colonies on the moon and manned expeditions to Mars by the year 2000 (there, I've dated myself). I remember loving this book at the time. We were all giddy with dreams of star-trekking through the cosmos and of a benign humankind ruling a farflung galactic empire. That all seems so painfully quaint now. The truth is, we'll be lucky to feed ourselves, keep our planet from overheating and preventing a new round of wars of religion, much less ever get off this planet in any meaningful way.

Which brings me to the book. I happened to pick it up used and decided to reread it, after 30 years. The idea of an artificially created Ringworld explored by two humans and two aliens fit in nicely with our late 60s early 70s naivete. Niven does a great job setting up the story, introducing the characters, and injecting secondary story-lines that hold our attention. We wait in anticipation of the landing on the Ringworld. But we have to wait until halfway through the book for this to happen. And then when it does, we find that except for its huge size and amazing engineering, it is hardly an alien world at all. It's like a million earths stretched out on the inside of a spinning hula-hoop. It's more of a fairy tale realm than a functioning ecosystem. The story really flounders after touchdown and Niven gropes for a way out and off.

And then there is Niven's peculiar writing style. It's technically proficient and he does keep things moving by the use of short sentences and short paragraphs, but there are times (too many to count) when something significant happens and he roars through it and you find yourself going back half a page to figure out what just happened. It's good to let the reader fill in blanks -- it makes us feel smart -- but you get the feeling Niven isn't doing it for our benefit, but because he's in a hurry and can't be bothered with small things like internal consistency, real human emotion, or a crisis that actually reveals anything about the characters. And, dare I say it, Niven takes a paternalistic approach to women. Teela Brown is a dated stereotype: young, sexy, a little obtuse, a step behind everyone else, always ready for sex no matter how traumatized, but boy, is she the good luck rabbit's foot!

But, this is Sci-Fi. I know most of us don't read it to be enlightened. We want to be entertained. We'll allow for almost any degree of sloppiness, just like we do with our action movies and TV series. But, in the end, who can argue with success? The Hugo Award. Niven is now a demi-god.

It just goes to show that it isn't about the writing ability, it's about the story. And if the reader makes it through the first 50 pages, you've got him.