I'm reading this for the first time (yes I know) and I was wondering what people think of this book. I'm about halfway through it and there are several things I like about it, but some things just irk me.
***Spoilers Ahead*** (at least for the first half of the book)
I really don't like the way the Puppeteers are described, or the way the Kzin are described. Niven created a world that is really cool in sci-fi, considering the ring itself, FTL flight, etc etc, but the aliens are described almost as something Douglas Adams came up with. A bright orange cat like creature with black hands and a bald tail? Then there are planets/systems called WeMadeIt and "Mount Lookitthat".
I'm not saying I'm not enjoying the book, as I am so far. I just had to see what other people thought of it.
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
I thought it was strange, and I spent the entire book waiting for the Master Chief to make an appearance.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Ringworld makes Halo look like a frisbee.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
You would not laugh if you actually saw a Kzin.
Especially the teeth.
Posted by TheGrimace (Member # 9178) on :
/cries at the fact that people nowadays will likely have airmanfour's stated reaction...
I thought the world-building was fantastic, though the character building was rather wooden. overall quite enjoyable. Ringworld engineers was also interesting, but I thought suffered from basically the same problems.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Niven's always like that, Grimace.. that's why his best books are collaborations.
Posted by TheGrimace (Member # 9178) on :
Right, I'm just pointing out general facts about the author for those who are new to his work.
And despite the weakness of character development I still managed to get sucked in to both because of the fantastic world-building.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Part of the reason that the aliens might seem so laughable is that they've been copied over and over since then. The Starcon games of yore in particular copied a whole lot from the Known Space tales (including Ringworld).
Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
Niven's better at world-building than characterization... but overall I enjoyed it. I actually thought Ringworld Engineers was better in some respects.
What was it about the Puppeteers that you didn't like? They're one of his better-fleshed-out alien species, and a decided attempt was made to avoid having the "man-in-a-cat-suit" syndrome that inevitably plagues aliens like the kzinti.
One of the quirks of Known Space is that most of the human colonies are sub-optimal planets. The names are admittedly a bit goofy, but I think it's not entirely unfeasible that people living in Crashlanding City would call their planet WeMadeIt.
Posted by PUNJABEE (Member # 7359) on :
quote:Originally posted by Palliard: What was it about the Puppeteers that you didn't like? They're one of his better-fleshed-out alien species, and a decided attempt was made to avoid having the "man-in-a-cat-suit" syndrome that inevitably plagues aliens like the kzinti.
I dunno. The aliens all seem so 'muppet like' to me. I'm used to aliens that are a bit more regal. By regal I mean stuff like the Aurellians in Advent Rising, the Formics (while ant-like they were a noble species) in the Ender saga, some of the Star Trek and Star Wars aliens and so on. For example, if they were going to make a Ringworld movie, can you imagine Nessus or Speaker in a live action movie? It would look silly.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
You know, I didn't think much about this book when I read it. Not that I thought it was bad, it just didn't make a huge impression. But I can't think of any book that makes me say, "That makes me think of <title>!" nearly so often.
I just think the idea of hereditary luck is so much fun.
Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
quote: can you imagine Nessus or Speaker in a live action movie?
Actually, with CGI becoming as prevalent and as cheap as it is, for the first time in my life, I can. Done right, it would be awesome, because Speaker and Nessus would look and feel as alien as they were meant to be.
Unfortunately, I can also imagine this done on a "Riverworld" budget, where Speaker looks like the Cowardly Lion and Nessus really does look like two Cecil-the-Seasick-Seaserpent sock puppets. And maybe Louis looks like Beany.
I'm going to go drink heavily now and try to forget that I ever thought of that.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
I think niven is better in shorter forms. The Arm and Crashlander are both quite good. I've also enjoyed the stories about the bar in siberia (whose name I obviously don't remember. Edit: its the Draco Tavern)
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
About names: Niven writes about this in The Craft of Science Fiction. He takes his inspiration from real placenames in the west (some of which may have been since changed): Bitter Water, Dead Mule. He also spoke of how you'd expect explorers to name things. Anybody might use physical features (Salt Lake City). There might be hopeful names, especially for pilgrims (Buena Vista). I'll add: saints for the Spanish, royalty for the British, statesmen for Americans. However, I think after a hundred years Jinx would hold a referendum and rename themselves Pleasance or something.
I would say that regal is one thing that aliens might be, but it's not the only thing. I found Nessus fascinating, but Speaker wasn't as interesting as Cmdr. Worf.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I love Niven! He's for geeks, though. The thing that is most wonderful about him is all the ideas he explores. I actually much prefer his Known Space books that he wrote alone to the collaborations, although the Motie Mediators are really cool. His books are more like "real" or "hard" science fiction, exploring cool concepts, and having them be important parts of the story.
The idea of time stasis fields is so cool! The idea of a natural telepath who imposes his mind on you, Earth of the far future, when boys and girls have gone their separate ways, the idea of a ringworld itself, intermediate step on the way to Dyson spheres, the idea of Buckyballs, which I first read about in a Niven story, gemerated gravity, and most of all, the playground of Kobold, Protector Jack Brennan's world he shaped in playfulness and whimsey, are just such cool ideas that speculating about them and exploring the shape of a human society that contained such technology, is fun enough by itself to carry any number of novels.
Posted by JLM (Member # 7800) on :
I also enjoy Larry Niven's works. He ranks second to OSC as an author for the number of books that I own. While OSC's strengths are in character building, Niven's are in world building, but he has gotten a bit better at writing about people in the recent years.
His collaborations with Jerry Purnell are some of the best in the genre, in particular "The Mote in God's Eye", "The Gripping Hand" and "Lucifer's Hammer."
So finish the Ringworld series, although you may want to skip the first half of "Ringworld Throne", and then read "The Integral Trees" and "The Smoke Ring" for another fantastic environment.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
The Mote in God's Eye, Footfall, Lucifer's Hammer and The Gripping Hand are true classics.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I didn't like The Mote in God's Eye. I found it... sophomoric. Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
That's ok, we can still coexist. Some of my best friends are illiterate barbarians.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I didn't like The Mote in God's Eye either. Once I found out what the big secret was, I stopped caring.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: That's ok, we can still coexist. Some of my best friends are illiterate barbarians.
Oh, and liking a collaboration between an over-rated SF writer with a coffee fixation and some mediocre boob makes you a connoisseur of fine literature.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Oh well, maybe we can't coexist then. Illiteracy and unculturedness I could put up with, but sarcasm is just beyond the pale. To the camps with you.
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
Then there are planets/systems called WeMadeIt and "Mount Lookitthat".![[Frown]](frown.gif)