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Book cover for Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) Book Details

Ringworld (Ringworld, #1)

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3.96 80,884 ratings
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Pierson's puppeteers, three-leg two-head aliens find immense structure in unexplored part of the universe. Frightened of meeting the builders, they send a team of two humans, a puppeteer and a kzin, eight-foot red-fur catlike alien. Ringworld is 180MorePierson's puppeteers, three-leg two-head aliens find immense structure in unexplored part of the universe. Frightened of meeting the builders, they send a team of two humans, a puppeteer and a kzin, eight-foot red-fur catlike alien. Ringworld is 180 million miles across, sun at center. But the expedition crashes, and crew face disastrously long trek. Less

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Community Reviews

Katie

rated it liked it
over 3 years ago
Recommended to Katie by: Olivia

A very interesting concept....BUT, I have to get on my soapbox for a minute. After reading a few of his books, I have to say that Larry Niven's attitude towards women, what they are like and what they are capable of, is sadly lacking. Though his male characters seem to be... Read full review
Baelor

rated it it was ok
over 1 year ago

Shelves: 2013 , science-fiction
I started this book expecting an awesome experience -- it won the Hugo AND Nebula awards, after all.

Too bad it was a hot mess.


The smile is because the book was lighthearted.


What to say of Niven's prose, other than that it is horrible? The dialog is stilted; often it is i... Read full review
Kemper

rated it it was ok
over 6 years ago

Shelves: sci-fi , space , aliens
I’d wanted to read this because I’m a fan of the Halo video games, and I’d heard that it was a big influence on those. I gotta say that I’d have liked it more if the Master Chief would have shown up and started chucking some plasma grenades around.

Set in 2855, human Louis... Read full review
Apatt

rated it liked it
10 months ago

Shelves: sci-fi , pre-80s-sf
Ringworld is definitely a sci-fi classic, a monumental achievement in world building. Any sci-fi aficionados who don’t like it should be ashamed of themselves.



Argh! It’s never pleasant to go against the conventional wisdom but over at PrintSF (online SF discussion communi... Read full review
Greg

rated it it was ok
about 7 years ago

Shelves: sf-fantasy-and-other-dorky-shit
I can't believe this won three big awards.

The story is about as interesting as the trade war minutia of Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars. In non-geeky terms, not very interesting. Actually as I went out to buy a cup of coffee this morning I thought that if Larry Niven had teame... Read full review
TK421

rated it really liked it
almost 5 years ago

Shelves: sci-fi
On Luis Wu’s 200th birthday, he is approached by Nessus, a quasi-equine alien species knows as Puppeteers because of the two heads sprouting from their backs that are tethered by strands of skin, to undertake a remarkable journey. Being 200 years old, Luis has seen his sh... Read full review
J.G. Keely

rated it liked it
over 1 year ago

Shelves: science-fiction , novel , space-opera , reviewed
Radio waves move at the speed of light. This is not particularly noticeable on Earth, but if you were at the sun, it would take eight and a half minutes for a signal to reach you, which would make a phonecall rather awkward. It would be even worse at the next closest star... Read full review
Mark

rated it it was ok
almost 9 years ago

this book was silly. the ringworld was a cool idea, and the interplay between the species was intriguing, but there were a lot of strikes against this book.

* anthropomorphic cat people that are fierce proud warriors; i imagine the furry contingent had a field day with thi... Read full review
Andrea

rated it it was ok
over 4 years ago

Shelves: sf
I'm afraid this made me want to punch Larry Niven in the stomach on the behalf of all women everywhere. Along with people who aren't so privileged that life bores them with its comforts, but mostly on behalf of women.

A 180 year old man sleeping with a 20 year old woman?... Read full review

Other Books by this Author

  • The Mote in God's Eye
    The Mote in God's Eye
    by Larry Niven
  • Lucifer's Hammer
    Lucifer's Hammer
    by Larry Niven
  • The Ringworld Engineers (Ringworld #2)
    The Ringworld Engineers
    by Larry Niven
  • Footfall
    Footfall
    by Larry Niven
  • Neutron Star (Known Space)
    Neutron Star
    by Larry Niven
  • The Gripping Hand
    The Gripping Hand
    by Larry Niven
  • Protector (Known Space)
    Protector
    by Larry Niven
  • The Ringworld Throne (Ringworld, #3)
    The Ringworld Throne
    by Larry Niven
  • The Integral Trees (The State, #2)
    The Integral Trees
    by Larry Niven

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Book Details

Paperback, 288 pages
Published June 9th 2005 by Gollancz (first published 1970
ISBN
0575077026 (ISBN13: 9780575077027)
Edition Language
English
Original Title
Ringworld
Characters
Louis Gridley Wu, Teela Brown, Nessus, Speaker-to-Animals, Halrloprillalar Hotrufan
Literary Awards
Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award

About this Author

12534. ux50 Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main...
Read full bio

Genres

Quotes

The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.
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Exercise is wonderful," said Louis. "I could sit and watch it all day.
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The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum
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