The Ringworld Throne
	Release Date: 1997-03-30
	Amazon Price: $7.99 (% off the list price of $7.99) Sales Rank: 79380
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Average Customer Rating: (105 reviews)

Reviews from Amazon customers:

Review by: Charles E. Brown Jr.
Rating:
parasitical novel
This novel comes across as an uninspired sequel, trying to cash in on the success of two great sci-fi novels, RINGWORLD and RINGWORLD ENGINEERS. Even when an occasional good idea comes in, it flickers out almost immediately. <br /> <br />The first of the two stories had what sounded like a good idea: what does the Ringworld look like from the point of view of its own inhabitants? Here's a culture where it is taken for granted that multiple species are equally intelligent, where there are two forms of sex (inner-species and intra-species) with different connotations, where the combination of huge world and slow transportation makes the world seem almost infinite. But instead of following up on the psychology, we get a dull adventure story about the Ringworlders fighting some "vampires" (which sounded less hokey at the time Niven wrote it). <br /> <br />The second story is supposedly about a war between two bands of protectors, but actually most of it involves Louis Wu dashing around trying to find out what is going on. If this was written as a straightforward mystery it might have worked, but the protectors aren't really being mysterious -- Louis is being slow. Why was it written this way? Because the protector war is so short that the story needed tons of padding. <br /> <br />At the end the story simply stops with a TO-BE-CONTINUED, in the hopes that the reader will buy the next uninpired sequel. <br /> <br />There is much talk about the "contract" between Bram and his servants, which could have been made interesting -- what are the obligations between ruler and ruled? -- but turns out to be just a plot device. <br /> <br />The most moving scene is when Chmeee spares a defeated enemy, commanding him to both protect and learn from Louis. But, typically for this novel, it happens "offscreen". Does Acolyte really learn human wisdom? Does anybody in the story care? <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Review by: Michael A. Duvernois, Minneapolis, MN United States
Rating:
This is written with great respect for Larry Niven, just not for this book
It's worthless. Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers are science fiction classics. This is a muddled half-book of interspecies sex and random wanderings. Niven has written other good works since this one, so let's just call it an off-book, and move on. Nothing to see here. <br /> <br />P.S. It annoys me though that the professional, established reviews were relatively positive for this book. Could they not say that Niven missed this once and move on too?

Review by: Bill Jerome, Athens, GA
Rating:
A waste of time
This book is not worth reading. Half of the book is devoted to random ringworlders who dont matter and develop the plot in no way. I could not stand to read about nasty alien sex every three pages. I skipped almost every chapter not involving Louis or Acolyte (Chmee's son, who could have been an interesting addition but sadly was not). It made the book almost bearable. Overall you can skip this book and not miss anything. Here is all you need to know. <br /> <br /> <br />- There is a vampire protector in charge of the repair center. <br />- He sucks at his job <br />- Chmee has a son, Acolyte, whom he sent to learn wisdom from Louis. <br />- Louis decides that ghouls would make a better protector than a vampire <br />- He arranges it so that a ghoul becomes a protector and and overthrows the vampire protector <br />- This book sucks

Review by: D. Baer, Mesa, AZ USA
Rating:
Running out of steam
Some questions are best left unanswered. I know that fans of the original wanted more and more of the story. Ringworld was a great story and great concept and I loved the original. The anticipation of this book more was much better than the actual story. <br /> <br />Even after reading other reviews panning the book, I read it -- and I read the whole thing since I wanted to give a fair opinion. It kills the time nicely and did keep me engaged, but so would Solitaire on the computer. In this case, both were equally productive. (Two stars because the residual Ringworld relation kept me interested) <br /> <br />STAY AWAY.

Review by: Kathryn Richardson, Leawood, KS USA
Rating:
If you read the others, you have to read this one
That is the ONLY reason to read it, too. His plot is thin and his characters are stale. Still, if you made it through the first two, you will find some closure in this one. (At the very least, you can say you read them all.) The science behind his fiction is so close to scientific possibility that something always brings readers back to see what he has dreamed up next. <br /> <br />Pity Niven lacks punch when her writes on his own. His book with Pournelle are stellar.