Ringworld, Larry Niven
Ringworld is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. Ringworld tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an enormous rotating ring, an alien construct in space 186 million miles (299 million kilometres) in diameter.
This was a re-read for me; I first read Ringworld sometime in my twenties, and perhaps tellingly, have never been back to it or any of the sequels in the time since.
But, I recently joined an online book club, and it was the book of the month, so I purchased a copy for my Kindle and gave it a re-read. I didn't much enjoy it. It felt very dated, badly paced, and I hate magic woo-woo in my sci-fi (and you very much can't selectively breed for luckiness).
"A blunderbuss of ideas from the pub bore"
I was very much expecting to have a minority opinion here, but it turns out the rest of the group agreed; most didn't enjoy it, although with a begrudging admission that the premise was solid and agreement that the idea of a ring world (and its big brother, the Dyson sphere) have since become beloved sci-fi tropes.
I won't be returning to the Ringworld, or the Known Space universe.
Sorry, Larry.
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