Ringworld ~Larry Niven

–1970, DelRey Books
–352 pages

REVIEW SUMMARY: My foray into the classics continues with my first read of Larry Niven’s award-winning classic. While definitely hard science fiction, I found the day I spent with this nearly 40 year old masterwork to be one of imagination and adventure.

MY RATING: 4.25/5 stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Nessus, a member of a strange race of aliens known as the Puppeteers, gathers together a disparate crew consisting of a human male (Louis Wu), a human female (Teela Brown), and a large, ferocious creature of the Kzin race by the name of Speaker-to-Animals, to travel in a vessel faster than anything known to either race to investigate a mysterious artifact. This artifact, an enormous self-contained world, a Ringworld, is beyond anything that the Known universe has ever seen or imagined.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:

–All four major characters are interesting and well-realized.
-Mystery, suspense, drama, romance, adventure…all that in an exciting science fiction setting.
-Engaging frontier exploration aspect.
-Fantastic world-building.
-A variety of intriguing revelations keep readers on their toes.
-Many sequels for those who would like to continue on with these characters/this universe.

CONS:

-A great deal of scientific language and introduction of a variety of scientific concepts may throw off new science fiction readers or those who are not interested in hard sci fi.
–Ringworld desperately needs a special edition hardcover graced with a Stephan Martiniere illustration.

BOTTOM LINE: A must-read for those interested in exploring the various classics of science fiction. In the midst of varied scientific concepts lies an inventive, engaging adventure in a fantastically realized universe. The characters the reader travels with are interesting and worth getting to know.

Continue reading Ringworld ~Larry Niven →

(photo by Carl V.)

I, Robot ~Isaac Asimov

–1956, Signet (originally published 1950, Gnome Press)
–192 pages

REVIEW SUMMARY: A collection of nine short stories written by Isaac Asimov between 1940 and 1950, gathered together with a framing story, that tells of the failures, triumphs, and terrors of man’s future existence with intelligent robotic life forms.

MY RATING: 4/5 stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: In an interview upon the eve of her retirement from U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc, Dr. Susan Calvin, robopsychologist, reviews successes and failures from the early days of robot use up through the novel’s current time, where robots are an integral part of the fabric of our existence. Man’s fear and loathing of intelligent machines is an ever present theme leading to a few very suspenseful tales.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:

–Differences between the nine stories keeps things interesting.
–Humor interjected with the characters of Powell and Donovan
–Framing story is interesting and gives cohesion to the collection.
–A couple of page-turning, suspenseful tales carry the book.
–The 3 laws explored in a variety of interesting ways.

CONS:

–Fans of the film might be disappointed, the story is nothing like the movie that bears its name.
–A few of the nine stories are weak.
–The collection misses ending on a real strong note as the final story’s very interesting message is diminished by the story’s structure.
–Dr. Susan Calvin is not the most warm and cuddly character.

BOTTOM LINE: A seminal science fiction classic worth taking a look at.

Continue reading I, Robot ~Isaac Asimov →