Come back to the Ringworld—the most astonishing feat of engineering ever encountered. A place of untold technological wonders, home to myriad humanoid races, and world of some of the most beloved science fiction stories ever written.
The human Louis Wu; the puppeteer known as the Hindmost; Acolyte, son of the Kzin called Chmeee: legendary beings brought together once again in the defense of the Ringworld. Something is going on with the protectors. Incoming spacecraft are being destroyed before they can reach the Ringworld. Vampires are massing. And the Ghouls have their own agenda—if anyone dares approach them to learn.
Each race on the Ringworld has always had its own protector. Now it looks as if the Ringworld itself needs a protector. But who will sit on the Ringworld throne?
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"Rereading this book, it seems weaker than its siblings in the Ringworld series. Maybe it's because we spend so much time following characters that are only tenuously linked to what has gone before. Maybe it's because of the sudden pullback on the consequences of Engineers. Maybe it suffers from being the middle book, with very little change in the state of the protagonists from beginning to end. I enjoy this book, but it's definitely not the best in the series."
— Daniel (4 out of 5 stars)
“Readers who remember Ringworld from earlier encounters will no doubt relish the latest installment of the saga.”
— New York Times Book Review“Niven’s work has been an intriguing and consistent universe, and this book is the keystone of the arch…[His] technique is wonderfully polished, his characters and their situations are nicely drawn…Wraps up (maybe) a corner of a very interesting universe.”
— San Diego Union-Tribune“Another sequel to Ringworld is cause for celebration…Any addition to Niven’s famous series should attract plenty of readers.”
— Booklist“Vampires gather, the Protectors interfere with other species, and someone is destroying incoming spacecraft, forcing Louis Wu to return to become Ringworld’s Central Protector…Highly recommended for SF collections.”
— Library Journal“An honored SF writer returns to his best-known creation: the artificial world, built far from Earth by aliens over a half million years ago, in the form of a ring six hundred million miles in diameter, hosting an astonishing multitude of inhabitants and cultures. This third fictional voyage to the Ringworld…displays Niven’s deft hand at portraying aliens.”
— Publishers Weekly“Ringworld admirers will surely wish to investigate.”
— Kirkus Reviews" In Ringworld: Throne, we get a more in depth look at life on the Ringworld, and it's politics. The audiobookstore narration is engaging and fun, and moves the story along effortlessly. A great adaptation! "
— Kevin, 2/12/2017" 3-h, 9-p "
— Howard, 2/16/2014" Disappointing third book in the Ringworld Series. Way too much focus on Rishathra and too many characters to realistically follow. "
— Paul, 2/3/2014" more Halo... "
— Jeremy, 1/7/2014" This seemed the most disjointed of the three...maybe I read it too fast, but the plot points seemed to lack a lot of cohesion. Even so, it was fun to read. "
— Nick, 1/4/2014" A little more convoluted than the previous novels, but still a very enjoyable read for fans of Niven's Known Space. "
— Adam, 12/20/2013" Really it was OK, but it took a damn long time to get there. Too much rishing. "
— Andrew, 12/8/2013" In order to enjoy this book you have to be really fascinated with the concept of having sex with (often vaguely) humanoid aliens, and I mean REALLY FASCINATED, because you are in for a couple hundred pages of characters getting it on with red-skinned dwarves and vampires. "
— Tony, 11/26/2013" By far the worst of the Ringworld novels. It's turgid and very hard to follow. If I recall correctly, Larry Niven admitted to be adicted to pain killer when he wrote this. "
— Matt, 11/19/2013" Not as good as Ringworld Engineers, to my mind. The story seemed to meander a bit, and once the real plotline hits, several characters with whom we have spent a lot of time just get dropped. "
— Junius, 10/18/2013" I can't believe this is Niven... maybe I'll finish this book someday, but there are too many good books out there to read to waste any more time on this. I got about 2/5 of the way through and I've completely lost interest. :( "
— Wes, 9/30/2013" Rishathra out the wazoo or in the wazoo as the case may be. "
— Hien, 9/4/2013" So...boring. Bleah. "
— James, 8/30/2013" Way too much Rishathra talk and not enough story. Was a trial to read though and was glad when it was done. Not making me want to read anything else from Nivin. "
— Jason, 8/19/2013" I'm giving up on this! For something I eagerly awaited coming through my Bookmooch wishlist, I just can't attain full-immersion into the book. It's not gripping me. A shame! "
— Kirrus, 7/4/2013" it's not a really good book, but i'm a fan of the other two ringworld books and Larry Niven's 'Known Universe' so I was suckered in. some interesting stuff happens, but the ending is quite unsatisfying. i could have been just fine not reading it. "
— perry, 11/2/2012" Gotta be pretty hard core to get thru this 3rd book in the RW series. "
— carl, 8/11/2012" We are what?!? Humans are actully the first step in the normal evolutionary cycle of the protectors? "
— Martin, 8/5/2012" I know Larry had to establish the depth of the various cultures on the Ringworld, but I felt much of it to be gratuitous and I almost stopped reading it. I'm glad I kept at it because I was satisfied with the ending. This was not nearly as good as the first 2 Ringworld books, imho... "
— Clark, 7/15/2012" Not the best Niven book but still holds attention "
— Kenneth, 2/7/2012" The first two Ringworld books were a lot of fun. This one was boring as hell and dragged on forever. I am not a quitter when it comes to reading books. I like to give the benefit of the doubt and stick it out until the end. I couldn't here. "
— Cold, 2/5/2012" The worst novel I have ever read across any genre. The flimsy less-than-half-assed plot combined with the piss poor prose makes this book near impossible to read. Science Fiction at its worst. I dare you to see for yourself. "
— Fisher, 2/4/2012" I'm pretty sure I finished the book, had to force myself. The ring world idea carried me through a lot of books, but boy did I feel like I was scraping bottom on decent reading. "
— Da, 12/22/2011Larry Niven is the multiple Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award–winning author of science fiction short stories and novels, including the Ringworld series, as well as many other science fiction masterpieces. His Footfall, coauthored with Jerry Pournelle, was a New York Times bestseller.
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory, and Bewilderment was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.