Ringworld by Larry Niven

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Larry Niven's Ringworld.

The Short of It

Plot: Louis Wu has seen a lot in his 200 years, which makes him a perfect candidate for exploring an unknown world alongside a couple aliens. 

Page Count: 342

Award: 1970 Nebula, 1971 Hugo, 1971 Locus

Worth a read: Yes.
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Fail
Technobabble: Moderate
Review: Aliens with their own cultures and norms? Check. Compelling protagonist? Check. A completely foreign and fanciful world? Quick and lighthearted? Fun gadgets? Check, check, and check. Sexism? Oh. Oh no. Oh my.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

I feel a bit guilty for having enjoyed this one as much as I did. 

Niven begins with an excellent first chapter, which simultaneously showcases some of the wonders of technology in his distant future and introduces Louis Wu as a cool and sympathetic character.

Had they realized yet that he had walked out on his own party? They would assume that a woman had gone with him, that he would be back in a couple of hours. But Louis Wu had gone alone, jumping ahead of the midnight line, hotly pursued by the new day. Twenty-four hours was not long enough for a man's two hundredth birthday.

In hindsight, of course, this is also a first taste of Niven's use of women as props.

The plot is simple and fun; Louis Wu, along with a small band of supporting characters, go to explore a totally alien world. It moves rapidly, though there is extremely little tension; there is no point when it seems like anything of note might befall our heroes. The end is also a bit problematic, as it's when we really double down on the sexism. It's about the journey, not the destination. 

Earth is a delight; we do not explore much of this future world, but what we do see is new and inventive technology. Ringworld is vivid and curious; we want them to keep exploring, because we want to see more of it. The few other settings are well done. I won't expand on that more, as that is what makes this book special.

Characters! There are three interesting characters in this book, and we meet them all in the first chapter. So, minor spoilers for Chapter 1. Louis Wu is a 200 year old man who has seen and done all sorts of things. Speaker is a kzin, an eight foot tall ball of fur, claws, and aggression. Nessus has two snake heads and is considered a bit crazy by his race of hyper-intelligent cowards. We already have a good setup for interpersonal dynamics: the warlike nature of the kzin versus the defensive nature of Nessus, with Louis Wu stuck in the middle. Also, there is a woman. Her name is Teela. She is... also there. Some might say I'm being unfair; she does play a role. I argue that it would be more accurate to say that her presence plays a role, but that she is mostly a cardboard cutout of an exaggerated feminine silhouette.

I had a lot of fun with 90% of this book. And then I would hit something and just mutter angrily for a moment or two, sigh, and get wrapped up in the world again. It's worth a read, but some parts are pretty rough.

If you'd like to explore Ringworld, consider using the link below! I'll get a few cents at no extra cost to you!

This is the link!

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

There is so much that is cleverly executed in this book. Nessus and his species being known as puppeteers has an amazing payoff - they kzin breeding to make them docile and human breeding to make them lucky. Brilliant! The gulf of understanding between different species is well executed; the struggles to find common ground equally so. I enjoyed the descriptions of the impossible scale of Ringworld. There is a line that I absolutely loved:

On a world built to ordered specification, there was no logical reason for such a mountain to exist. Yet every world should have at least one unclimbable mountain.

It captures Louis Wu as a dreamer and an adventurer so well, and has plot payoff when we learn that the mountain should not be there. A perfect pair of sentences.

And then there's everything related to women here. I don't claim to be any expert on the subject, and many of my friends would probably note that I am barely capable of normal human interaction. But the way that Niven depicts women is awful. They do pretty much anything because of love, they are obedient, they are all constantly trying to bone, they are completely vapid. There are two women in this book who actually have names. One of them is a space prostitute who has been practicing her trade for many centuries. There are perhaps some clumsy attempts at making her an emancipated woman who is in control of the situation, but that sure isn't how it plays out. And as she says:

"I can help your world, Louis. Your people know little about sex."

And then there's Teela. The big twist - that everything that has happened is about her being lucky, that it was all to bring her there - is cool! It's a neat twist. But... 

"I need your help," she said. "I want Seeker, you know."

"Yeah."

"He wants me, too, but he's got a weird sense of honor. I tried to tell him about you, Louis, when I had to get him to the floating building. He got very uncomfortable and stopped sleeping with me. He thinks you own me, Louis."

"Slavery?"

"Slavery for women, I think. You'll tell him you don't own me, won't you?"

Louis felt pain in his throat. "It might save explanations if I just sold you to him. If that's what you want."

...so that's a pretty rough exchange. And the twist - the reason for her luck, was to meet Seeker. She just needed enough luck to find the right man! 

"The Liar crashed to bring you here. We traveled a couple of hundred thousand miles to bring you to Seeker. Your flycycle carried you precisely over him, and ran into the traffic police field at just that point, because Seeker is the man you were born to love."

Cool.

Look, I did enjoy this one. But it's always going to be a statement with a preface or a justification.

That about sums it up for this one, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!