The Ringworld Engineers
First edition
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| Author | Larry Niven |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Paul Lehr |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ringworld storyline from Known Space |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Phantasia Press |
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Publication date
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1980 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 355 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 5286215 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.N734 Rj PS3564.I9 |
| Preceded by | Ringworld (1970) |
| Followed by | The Ringworld Throne (1996) |
The Ringworld Engineers is a 1980 science fiction novel by Larry Niven. It is the first sequel to Niven's award-winning Ringworld and was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1981.
In the introduction to the novel, Niven says that he never planned to write more than one Ringworld novel, but that he did so, in a large part, due to fan support. Firstly, the popularity of Ringworld resulted in a demand for a sequel. Secondly, many fans had identified numerous engineering problems in the Ringworld as described in the novel. The first major problem was that the Ringworld, being a rigid structure, was not actually in orbit around the star it encircled and would eventually drift, resulting in the entire structure colliding with its sun and disintegrating. In the novel's introduction, Niven says that MIT students attending the 1971 World Science Fiction Convention chanted, "The Ringworld is unstable! The Ringworld is unstable!" Niven says that one reason he wrote The Ringworld Engineers was to address these engineering problems.
The plot of the novel centers on the instability of the Ringworld. The recently deposed Hindmost, leader of the Puppeteers, abducts the human Louis Wu (who has become a wirehead) and kzinti Chmeee (previously known as "Speaker-to-Animals"). Both were part of the Ringworld exploration in the first novel. The Hindmost hopes to acquire Ringworld technology that he hopes will help him reacquire his position as leader.
In the course of the novel, Louis and Chmeee set forth in the Hot Needle of Inquiry on an exploration of the Ringworld in order to learn where the creators of the Ringworld may have built a control or repair system. In their travels they meet a number of the hominid species that have evolved on the Ringworld. They also learn more about the "maps" of various known space worlds that are located in one of the Ringworld's great oceans. These full-size maps include, among others, Kzin, Earth, and Mars.
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Wikipedia