Ringworld

If I had a dollar for every time the only female character was portrayed as sexual, childlike, ignorant, hysterical, and/or confused, I'd have about $100. For every time she contributed to the mission as something other than a sexual accessory, maybe $3. The male characters were not portrayed like this. Oh also he invented not one but two alien races with a male gender and a NON-SENTIENT female gender used only for reproduction. Extremely grating sexism ruined the story for me.

Thankfully, science fiction has largely moved beyond the ridiculous level of sexism found in novels such as Ringworld. The story could have so easily incorporated fully developed female characters. But apparently for Larry Niven, females of all species exist only for one reason. The narration was really well done and I somewhat enjoyed the book despite the ever-present nausea caused by the main character’s egocentric misogyny.

The story was unique. the narration was excellent. I found that I really had to pay attention as the author would drop important bits about the story in odd and unexpected places and with few words.

I loved the story. niven is a great writer if hard science fiction that feels believable. The narrator Paul Michael Garcia wouldn't be my first choice as a reader. He pauses at awkward moments which hurts the rhythm of the tale. Still it is worth a listen.

You can absolutely tell that this sci-fi adventure was written in the ‘70’s, in fact, I remember reading it back then. And while the main character (and the author) dismissed the female characters a bit too much (for example, calling the women “girls” quite often), they do play it very important part in the story line and the tail would not be complete without them. This is just one of those stories that “is what it is” and reflects the era in which it was written. I would love to see it re-edited for a more modern audience.

there's very little action in this book. there's lots of unnecessary love making scenes between characters who have no chemistry and who you do not care about. the women in the story are disposable sex objects. none of the characters are particularly likeable but I did enjoy that one of them was a giant cat.even so, nothing about this book left me wanting to hear more or excited for the next chapter.only reason I finished it was because I paid for it and felt obligated to see it through.its piece of outdated crap... can't believe it won an award, don't waste your time.