The Ringworld Engineers (urspr publ 1980; utgåvan 1985)

NA

Great novel, even more comprehensive than the first book on sociocultural grounds. ( )

Very well done. Hard to put down. Louis and Speaker are kidnapped by a Puppeteer and taken back to Ringworld. The Ringwold is unstable and will be destroyed unless Lou can figure out how to save it. ( )

The Ringworld Engineers is a direct follow-up to Ringworld in which most of the protagonists from the original novel get roped into another expedition to the Ringworld. In this book, the reader encounters a greater variety of the Ringworld's inhabitants, who are portrayed as a lot less human than the ones encountered in the first book. At the same time, we're given a reasonable explanation of why they seem human at all, which I thought was a big plot hole from the original. I really enjoyed exploring the world and meeting the different peoples, and how they've adapted to the general fall of high technology. The protagonists this time are much more interested in the mysteries of the Ringworld's origin and workings (or at least Louis is), giving the reader an outlet to his own curiosity--and we're actually given some answers this time. Largely absent is the "bred for luck" Teela plotline from the first book which I disliked, though she does make a brief appearance. On the whole I thought this was a better read than the first book, and more of what I really wanted from an exploration novel. ( )

I'll admit, I got a bit lost in the numbers at times, but a good story overall. ( )