Ringworld (novel)/Review by o


 * Opinion: pretty good but flawed

I think this was the third time I read this novel, but I did not remember more than a general outline of the story. Thus it was like reading it for the first time with some spoilers.

Ringworld is a hard science fiction novel about an artificial disc that has been constructed around a star in order to support life. Two humans and two beings of other races travel to the Ringworld to find out whether it poses a threat to the migration of one of their races. However, they crash-land on the world, and discover that its civilization has mostly fallen. Thus their objective is not only to find out about the world but also to get off of it.

The story was in general well-done, interesting, and believable. The world and the events were described well, and certainly drew me in. However, one major plot point, which is revealed to be the driving factor behind the events of the story, was too farfetched for me. Because of this, I did not enjoy the novel as much as I could have. Someone with a higher tolerance for the supernatural would probably be able to swallow it with no problem.