This book is not for the faint of heart. Just like Ringworld, it is complex and slow. All of the satisfaction comes at the end. The concepts and morality gave me a lot to think about. Who you thought you could trust, you could not, and the heroes were unlike. But you can always count on Louis Wu--well, not always because he is dying. Sigh. I think Larry Niven is trying to kill the series as well.

( )

Rishathra, anyone? I loved Ringworld, and found The Ringworld Engineers to be at least somewhat entertaining if largely pointless, but this book is truly awful. Uninteresting and undeveloped characters do uninteresting things in nonsensical settings for the first two thirds of this book; the last third is slightly better but not enough better to keep me from regretting that anyone survived the final confrontation. ( )

Ringworld is deservedly a classic. Ringworld Engineers, while not at the same level of quality, is a generally coherent story that also serves to expand greatly upon the cultures and species present on the Ringworld. Ringworld Throne, however, is an absolute mess. Loose plot threads abound, but here are a few:
Hostile Martians?
Chmee's whereabouts?
ARM invasion?
Outsiders observing the Ringworld?
Why the City Builders are so cowed by Bram?
Why does the Shadow City plot, fully the first half of the book, even exist?
etc.

This book needed an editor badly. I can't help but think Niven just wanted to cash a check and so cobbled some writing notes together with the thinnest of threads. ( )

(Original Review, 1980-07-01)

Now we're going to argue the reasons for sequels? It's straightforward here. Niven obviously doesn't need the money (although it can't hurt too badly). It's those damned readers who keep begging for more and pawing after him at every convention, in every fanzine, in all his letters, etc. ad infinitum. He's got to do *something* to shut them up, else go insane, bug-nuts. And also, remember that Ringworld, no matter how much we may like it, is an essentially incomplete story, with no real beginning, a middle, and no real ending. The 'resolution' is the strangest one I've ever seen, but a really clever ending for a series. So, its sequel, if reasonably done, can at least attempt to fill out the idea with more concrete information, not to mention satisfying those maniacs out there.

It seems pretty obvious to me that Niven really didn't want to write RWE, but was pressured into it by agent/publisher/fans/whoever. This seems clear on reading the introduction. It was just a money-making venture, as opposed to the joy of creation which permeated the original Ringworld. Consequently, it's not surprising that there are inconsistencies to be found. Niven's basic skill keeps it from being hackwork, but RWE can't stand up against Ringworld. Ringworld is a joy to read; RWE is interesting, but definitely inferior. The inexplicable anomalies outlined by others are the result of churning out something to meet the demand, not lovingly crafting a precise construct, as a writer may do when SELF-driven. Outside pressure can never equal a writer's desire to perfect his creation. In short, I'm a little surprised that RWE is as good as it is. RWT is just crap.

[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.] ( )

Much worse than the first book. Somewhat worse than the second. ( )