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Ringworld's Children cover art

Ringworld's Children

By: Larry Niven
Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
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Summary

The Ringworld is a landmark engineering achievement, a flat band 3-million-times the surface area of Earth, encircling a distant star. Home to trillions of inhabitants, not all of which are human, and host to amazing technological wonders, the Ringworld is unique in all of the universe.

Explorer Louis Wu, an Earth-born human who was part of the first expedition to Ringworld, becomes enmeshed in interplanetary and interspecies intrigue as war, and a powerful new weapon, threatens to tear the Ringworld apart forever. Now, the future of Ringworld lies in the actions of its children: Tunesmith, the Ghould protector; Acolyte, the exiled son of Speaker-to-Animals, and Wembleth, a strange Ringworld native with a mysterious past. All must play a dangerous role in order to save Ringworld's population, and the stability of Ringworld itself.

Blending awe-inspiring science with non-stop action and fun, Ringworld's Children, the fourth installment of the multiple-award-winning saga, is the perfect introduction for listeners new to this New York Times best-selling series and for long-time fans of Larry Niven's Ringworld.

©2004 Larry Niven (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Ringworld's Children

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

From a space opera to the muppet show

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, the story is as good as the other ring world books

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ringworld's Children?

Probably the vastness and scale of the ringworld

How could the performance have been better?

The Narrator got all the characters wrong. And mispronounced several other established names of characters, concepts etc. Especially the kzin which sounds more like disneys goofey than the majestic and terrifying creatures they are. It took some getting used to. It seemed he had no love for the story at all and just performed a chore. If you can overcome such nuisances then the story is still good. Otherwise get the kindle version or a printed copy. The followup has a new narrator Tom Weiner which is better though still not on par with Paul Michael Garcia.

Do you think Ringworld's Children needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

(spoiler ) Yes, the ultimate fate of the ringworld remains undisclosed

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Almost back to form, shame about the performance.

After the terrible Ringworld Throne, where three-quarters of the narrative was different species talking about having sex with each other, Niven is almost back to form with this book.

However, the performance is terrible. Every alien (and there are many) sounds like a character from the Muppets. The Kzin, Acolyte (an eight-foot tall tiger with sabre teeth) sounds like Kermit’s nephew Robin. And he cannot pronounce many English words. Who pronounces ‘droud’ as ‘drood’, or ‘Pak’ as ‘pork’?

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Can someone tell me where the "t" is in the word else?

So, once you hear it you can't unhear it. That and the constant use of "stet". I found it very distracting. And it's a change of performer from the previous narrator which was a bit jarring.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

changed narrator

They changed the narrator, Protectors now sound like car sales men and Acolyte sounds like a preteen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great story

great story and great reading but I preferred the previous narrator so they change in voice acting was difficult to get into.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

More of Louis Wu & friends, old & new - A Must

Another polished rendition. This is the 4th book of the main Ringworld series and just as enjoyable as the previous three. Characters, both the familiar ones and the new, continue to intrigue and interest with their complexity and simplicity within the incredible setting of the Ringworld itself.

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