RW: Rishatra

[Ric]

I thought for sure Niven would drop the idea of rishatra in the sequels like he does breeding for luck. But in fact, he ramps this up in the later books, as in more rishatra, between and among all sorts of hominids.
Resolve all conflicts and seal agreements by sex? More Hollywood than SF.

[Katie]

True. Though perhaps the participants prefer that to the more permanent gesture of a marriage alliance. And it might be the simplest thing that is a common currency among such disparate groups. But yes it gets old, as old for me as watching Kirk or Riker/Troi bang every new alien the Enterprise encounters... For such a forward thinking show with all its diversity ahead of its time and blah blah blah it still falls back on what sells. Let's face it, humans like sex.
And at least as far as Engineers he hasn't dropped the luck thing yet.

[Ric]

In Engineers, it seemed Niven was backing off from the "Teela is lucky" theme to "the Ringworld is lucky."
Am re-reading Throne, and it starts with chapters of cloying rish. More than enough to make one stop reading, perhaps.