Ringworld's Children - Larry Niven Book Review

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Review Summary

Tor, July 2004, 24.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 0765301671

The six hundred miles long and a million yards across ribbon-shaped Ringworld is home to fifty trillion hominids as well as many other species and most amazing of all it is man made. All of the sentient species want to learn the technology that went into making Ringworld but the protectors want to keep such people out. The Protector used to shoot down any ship that got too close but the new protector Tunesmoth is holding fire so as not to irritate the participants of the Fringe War, which is getting too close to Ringworld.

The ARM, the military leg of the United Nations, is using anti-matter engines near Ringworld, something that could destroy the planet if an accident occurs. When a ship falls and puts a hole in the top layer of Ringworld the Protector must fix it or the place will cease to exist. As ARMs soldiers try to ferret out the secrets of the Ringworld, are, a group of RINGWORLD'S CHILDREN work to repair the damage. One of the original engineering experts, together with Tunesmith try to figure out a way to move Ringworld away from sentient warmongers.

People who have never read the Ringworld books will find the latest entry as a strong stand-alone book that gives enough information about other novels in the series so that new readers will want to buy and read them too. It is a fascinating place to visit, an engineering marvel so advanced that even in the year 2893, the technology is too sophisticated to duplicate. Larry Niven, one of the grandmasters of science fiction, has brought a classic to a new generation of readers.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Ringworld's Children

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - preventing an ecological disaster
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - info about lifeform(s)/society/phenomena
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - champion of justice
Age: - long lived adults
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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