The Ringworld Engineers

The Ringworld Engineers is the sequel to Ringworld. In Ringworld, Larry Niven introduced us to the concept of a world made in the shape of an extraordinarily large ring encircling a star. In this book he gives us answers to questions we might not have even asked about the Ringworld, but that others apparently did. After the publication of Ringworld, Niven received numerous pieces of correspondence from people offering helpful information about the details of how the Ringworld would actually function. Niven took inspiration from the enthusiasm of those people and created the Ringworld Engineers in part to publish the answers to important questions about the structure. Around those answers he has created a thoughtful and engaging story that adds in a positive way to the Ringworld legacy. The basic premise behind the Ringworld Engineers is that twenty or so years have passed since Louis Wu and Speaker To Animals returned from the Ringworld. Since then, Louis has withdrawn into a life of ascetic practices livened up by his addiction to current stimulation. Speaker to Animals (who has earned his full name of Chmeee for the treasure he brought back from the original Ringworld adventure) lives a prosperous life on Kzin having earned high status from his Ringworld discoveries. The circumstance that brings Louis and Chmeee back to the Ringworld is one quite familiar to them, but the situation they face upon arriving on the Ringworld is quite different than when they left. The Ringworld is moving out of position around the sun and the only way for Louis and Chmeee to find out how to fix it lies with the origins of the Ringworld Engineers. I found the Ringworld Engineers to be engaging and interesting wholely apart from the original Ringworld. While certainly the references to parts of the original book are made more clear having read that novel, this book is very readable even having read Ringworld many years before. Having said that, I would advise that it is a good idea to read Ringworld first as there are certainly items of that book which are spoiled herein. The way that Niven engages parts of his other novels of Known Space and entertwines them with this book made me want to go give some of those a shot as well. He truly is a master storyteller and this is one of his best novels on his own. Niven's collaborations with author Jerry Pournelle are also highly recommended. The classic The Mote In God's Eye as well as Footfall and Lucifer's Hammer are all very well done and certainly are must read novels for any Niven fan.

This is money well spent. I enjoyed this novel and spent nearly a whole night reading it in one sitting. I will never tire of Larry Niven when he sticks to Known Space, the best of his fiction areas. I like the Pupperteers, the Kzin, and Pac. Larry delivers a nearly perfect end to the Ringworld series. I have had personal conversations with him back in 1983 and he never intended to make more Known Space books. Note, you should read this novel before reading "Ringworld's Children", due out in Summer of 2004. Enjoy it, I did!

Ringworld Engineers is one of the best Sci Fi books I've ever read. It greatly expands on its predecessor, filling in gaps and solving the mysteries of the first book. 23 years after escaping the Ringworld, Louis and Speaker-to-Animals are kidnapped and brought back. Their captor--a deposed Pupeteer leader--is searching for vital technology and secrets that will impress his people and reinstate himself. However, the Ring is falling towards its sun and will soon be destroyed. Thus, Louis and Speaker (now called Chmeee) must find a way to free themselves before the inevitable collision.As the two travel across the Ring they uncover secrets and origins that could possibly save them--or destroy them. The story is a race against time to uncover the ultimate secrets never revealed in the first book. Despite the protests of a few hardcore Niven fans, most Sci Fi readers I have talked with highly recommend this book, as do I. Together with the original, Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers comprise one of the most compelling, original works of fiction that I have ever read.

This is an ingeniously thought out novel. In it, Larry Niven succeeds in reconcilling some of the apparent inconsistencies between the Ringworld books and his other Known Space novels (by demonstrating that the Ringworld was built by the Pak protectors), and incorporates the ideas and questions of his fans (spillpipes, attitude jets, and defense system) into the operation of the Ringworld, while at the same time telling an exciting, and fast moving story. That he manages all three so flawlessly is surely a sign of his genius as a writer.Louis Wu and Speaker to Animals (now known as Chmee) are kidnapped by the Hindmost (puppeteer mate of Nessus from the preious book) and brought to the Ringworld again to steal a technology from it that will ensure the security of Hindmost's political faction on the puppeteer world. Louis Wu, however, ends up stranded alone with little but his wits in the middle of the Ringworld, with no-one but the Ringworld natives to turn to for help. And he does indeed need their help, for the Ringworld is off-centre, and very soon will brush against its sun...

What most people seem to have forgotten is that the Ringworld books (Ringworld, R.E., R.Thr.) aren't the only books in the series. ALL of the Known Space books must be taken as a whole. For instance, it's impossible to fully comprhend Ringworld E. without having read "Protector." All the known space books link together, PLUA the short stories. I suggest reading them all in chronological order and putting the pieces together yourselves. Sure, it will require more trips to the library, but, hey, whoever said life was easy?