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Ringworld

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Ringworld

Written by: Larry Niven
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel, Ringworld remains a favorite among science fiction readers.

The artifact is a vast circular ribbon of matter, some 180 million miles across, with a sun at its center. Pierson’s puppeteers—strange, three-legged, two-headed aliens—discovered this “Ringworld” in a hitherto unexplored part of the galaxy. Curious about the immense structure, but frightened by the prospect of meeting the builders, they set about assembling a team to explore it:

Louis Wu, human—old and bored with having lived too fully for too many years, seeking an adventure, and all too capable of handling it.

Nessus, puppeteer—a trembling coward from a species with an inbuilt survival pattern of nonviolence. This particular puppeteer, however, is insane.

Speaker-to-Animals, kzin—large, orange-furred, and carnivorous. The kzin are one of the most savage life-forms known.

The party’s expedition, however, goes disastrously wrong when their ship crash-lands and its motley crew faces a daunting trek across thousands of miles of Ringworld territory.

©1970 Larry Niven (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Adventure Classics Science Fiction Fiction Interstellar
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What the critics say

“Larry Niven’s 1970 Hugo Award winner, Ringworld, is arguably one of the most influential science fiction novels of the past fifty years…It’s clear that Ringworld hasn’t just become a cultural staple because it’s a good idea: its inspirational power comes from Niven’s success in bringing it to life. The sense of scale and wonder is joyful. I challenge you to read it without feeling awestruck.”

“[Grover Gardner] captures the personalities of the travelers through individual vocalization and provides smooth, expressive narration. The listener is soon caught up in the adventures of these vivid characters as they struggle to survive…A rousing adventure.”

“Niven’s style is such that you can be awed, then titillated, then amused all on the same page…After more than thirty years, the story remains interesting, and the ideas fascinating. I highly recommend this audiobook, whether you’ve experienced Ringworld already or not. I enjoyed every minute.”

“[Gardner] skillfully uses inflection and timing to heighten drama or highlight humorous details as appropriate. Parker deftly brings to life Louis Wu and other members of the ‘motley crew’…This is SF—and narration—at its best.”

Continue the series
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All stars
Most Relevant
Great series of books but the narrator takes some time to find his voice, but he does and it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Give the narrator a chance!

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This novel is definitely a foundational work for harder science fiction. But the depictions of gender stereotypes are clear and it is what it is, a sign of the time that it was written I guess. I thought the universe building was inconsistent and kinda ridiculous. I found myself many times asking what's the point of this narrative? In the end I think it was just a vehicle to showcase the ringworld concept. I would only recommend this to a really hardcore sci-fi fans, I really struggled to finish it.

Did Not Age Wel...and just disappointing

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Finally decided to give this a listen after hearing so much about it over the years, but I have to admit that i this book didn't live up to expectations. This book has some good ideas and an interesting premise, but this gets bogged down by dull characters and mediocre storytelling. I also wasn't a fan of the narrator.

Pretty underwhelming

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Alot more sexist than expected. Female depiction is concerning. Definitely contains an old mans fantasy.

Wow this book has some sexist tones!

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Larry Niven creates believable worlds and populates them with interesting characters like no other. Ringworld is a Sci-fi classic and the performance of the audio book was enjoyable.

A Longstanding Favourite of Mine

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