utter randomonium

Ringworld by Larry Niven: Though this book was clearly written to describe the concept of the Ringworld (a manmade, doughnut-shaped planet surrounding a sun), the characters and plot are interesting in their own right. Two humans and two aliens journey to the Ringworld, each for his own reasons, and in the process learn the Truth about several matters among their races. I’m not surprised this is included in so many lists of the Best Science Fiction Books. I did get a little tired of the older man/younger woman cliche so common in SF (a 20-year-old girl and a 200-year-old man? Come on!) but all in all it’s a reasonably believable story. One note to readers, however: no, you didn’t miss anything. The author often glosses over stuff without describing it, I guess to enhance the mystery. I was halfway through the book before I figured out that no, I hadn’t accidentally skipped over an important paragraph somewhere. It all gets explained eventually. I would definitely recommend this to SF fans.

Also posted on BookCrossing.