The Ringworld Throne

The original Ringworld was and is one of my favorite science fiction novels of all time. This is the third book in the series, and unfortunately, In my humble opinion, it's going downhill. It was just hard to follow, with so many confusing different characters and so much made up language I struggled to enjoy the book. I am still going on to book four in the series in hopes that the quality improves and gets back to the type of fun that the original story created for me.

In 1970 Larry Niven's "Ringworld"won the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novel. With the fourth volume in that series appearing this summer ("Ringworld's Children"), fans may want to refresh their memories - it's been almost ten years.The series is set in an artificial habitat built as a 600-million-mile ring around a sun-type star, with orbiting sunshades to provide day and night and thousand-mile-high rim walls to prevent the atmosphere from spilling out. The builders of this place vanished before human history on Earth began.Inhabiting this Ring are numerous human species with different skills, diets and requirements, who mostly live in peace due to lack of competition for food and habitat. Their technology is minimal and some species are non-sentient.The third book in the series, "Ringworld Throne," takes place after a cataclysmic threat to the Ring has been averted by Earth spaceman Louis Wu (and friends), at the expense of the lives of many inhabitants.The Hindmost, an alien watcher exiled from his own world, calls Wu's attention to a new threat to the Ringworld. Vampires are proliferating at an alarming rate, threatening other species. Vampires are non-sentient hominids who exude a sexual allure to attract prey - humans. This scent is almost irresistible and whole tribes can be wiped out in the course of a few nights.As Wu investigates, he discovers someone is destroying incoming spacecraft, and Protectors - metamorphosed beings of immense power dedicated entirely to preserving their own bloodlines - are dangerously active on the rim.Wu's adventures are narrated in tandem with those of the vampire-fighting Machine People, a technological species who travel the Ring, selling and trading. Niven keeps the pages turning and his development of differing human species is particularly absorbing. A highly enjoyable story.

Niven created the Ringworld 30 years ago and with each installment since has improved upon it. This final edition answers all the questions from previous editions including why fist-of-god hit and what happened to the original protectors and many more questions. You even get to meet Speaker-for-Animals/Chmeee's son.

Not being a big Niven fan otherwise, I am quite partial to the Ringworld series. The poor reviews given to this book by others are perhaps from hardcore Niven fans who expect works similar to his other writings. This book falls in well with the Ringworld series though, and in that regards I'm happy to give it 5 stars. If you aren't the Niven equivalent of a Deadhead, then try reading this entire series. I'm certain you'll enjoy them all.

Dyson Spheres are certainly passe! Welcome to the Ringworld, a gigantic, ancient--and dangerous--mystery that that wowed the sf world. But a word of warning: once you arrive, you might never leave

Hindmost practices the puppeteer mating dance, Chmee prepares to invade the Map of Earth, and Louis Wu is dying. But the Ringworld lives. Thus begins the latest book of the Ringworld series. Niven weaves together the details of dozens of cultures within the Ringworld context: How puppeteers choose mates; how rishathra and vampires and in particular Ghouls came to rule the Arch; how the Hindmost and company learn to use a not-very-secret but astonishingly powerful weapon to defend the Ringworld from invaders. The only thing this book lacks is an ending: We know what happens to Louis, but the fate of the Ringworld, and its Throne, is still very much in doubt. I just hope Larry has started on the next story.