Good Story, Wrong Narrator. Way Wrong.

Short review - long winded soapbox.

Casting picked the wrong narrator for this book. Mr.Garcia speaks with a clear voice that might be a pleasure to listen to if given the right story. His voice has a pleading quality to it - sometimes a whining quality. I see Mr. Garcia reading the classics or maybe some genre I don't listen to such as childrens books.

After listening to the first book in this series my impression was serious fictional science with fun banter, appropriate sarcasm, and witty conversation. Mr. Parker nailed the first book with his outstanding performance. I mean he nailed it. His voice, inflections, emphasis were all spot on. I was able to laugh in the right places, be shocked in other places and follow along with the story very easily.

In the second book much was lost. Too much. I would have to listen to something multiple times to realize that was supposed to be a funny part or the characters picking on each other or some serious encounter. But instead the whole book is lost in an incorrect emotional interpretation. All sense of tension countered by comic relief is lost. Instead all the characters seem to be whining or complaining to each other.

This is one of the fails when converting a series into audible content. Publishers need to realize the narrator is a huge part of the book. They can turn a wonderful book into a painful drag or even turn a mediocre book into something worth listening to. With Mr. Parker they found the right narrator - then immediately changed for someone so wrong for the part. I notice in future books Mr. Parker does not return. Unfortunate. I'm not sure I can go through one more book with Mr. Garcia only to be facing another change in narrators. Ugh.

As a parallel - Jim Butcher has a series called The Dresden Files. It is outstanding! For 13 volumes the narrator, Mr. Glover, gave an outstanding performance. Voice perfect. In volume 13 they brought in a new narrator and I almost lost interest in the whole series. Maybe I was totally used to Mr. Marsters by that time but I don't think I would have listened to the whole series if it was read by the narrator of volume 13. Fortunately this publisher realized the situation and brought out volume 14 with the original narrator. Outstanding!

If all publishers would realize their narrators are bringing their books to life and their voice must be matched to the character then I think the audible world would be much better. If they find the right voice in the early volumes of a series - stick with it! Pay him or her more if you have to but don't swap voices without due consideration for the impact on the listener. Narrators are celebrities in a real sense. If my favorite artist (narrator) is reading in a genre I listen to (or one I want to try) I jump on it because of the narrator and I'm generally pleased with the outcome.

34 people found this helpful

Great continuation for what was never a series

First let me say that the Narrator isn't as good as the one on the first book but not as bad as the one for the 4th book Ringworld's Children, it should be the same narrator for all the books in a series but I guess its not possible every time

This is the start of a series of books that the author never set out to make a series, this was never planed but after 10 years and many fans point out errors with the Ringworld as well as wanting more he made this book and I am glad he did.

The author 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.

In the first book you are introduced to the Ringworld and there are some inaccurate or overlooked features about the Ringworld that were corrected in this book or at least helped to explain them better, if you read the first book and loved it then this is a must read.

Louis Wu went to the Ringworld 20 years ago and now he goes back with his friend Chmeee (the "ch" is pronounced like a guttural German "ch", as in "ach" the narrator does it correct in this book but the one for the 4th one Ringworld's Children don't) "Speaker-to-Animals" from the first book who has a name.

This book explores some of the Ringworld and you get to see more of how it works, it has become unstable in its orbit and if not corrected it will brush against its sun and obliterate everything on the surface and probably destroy the Ringworld itself but Louie Wu and hos motley crew are back to help fix the problem.

There must be a control or repair center on the Ringworld to fix the problem and they must find it, but who made the Ringworld and how long ago is still a mystery that will be discovered in this book.

There are whole maps of planets in a 1:1 scale on the Ringworld that are of Worlds in Known Space including Earth and Mars, others are unknown but you find out its the home world of the makers of the Ringworld.

other questions still remain after reading this book, some will be answered in the following books and others can be found in the prequels, still others remain a mystery for the reader to infer.

This is pretty much a must read if you liked the first book, now some people say the next one isn't that good and that the 4th one is also not so good, I have read them all and they aren't bad, you can read my reviews of them also if you look them up

15 people found this helpful

Finally the second book is in audio

What did you love best about The Ringworld Engineers?

It seemed to pick up perfectly from where the last book left you, and leaves you ready for the next.

Any additional comments?

After having read all the ringworld books it is great to see them come to audio. It makes the drive to and from work enjoyable.

4 people found this helpful

Good attempt

It was great for an author to come back and provide another glimpse into his work. The information gleamed from the many fans was included to a large degree and it was very interesting to read. The story itself didn't seem to hold together though and at times it felt like the technical information was drowning out the plot. I wish it had blended a little better.

3 people found this helpful

What a let down from the first book.

it was truly an excruciating experience. A bizarre mix of tech, anthropology, and sex delivered in almost monotone ending in a predictable anti climax blatantly setting up a sequel.

1 person found this helpful

Good technical story, very depressing end

Larry Niven is a a Masterful writer, and here he has proven he can write depressing and dispotic sci-fi as easily as he can write adventurous and optimistic ones. Unlike the original ring world which was hopeful wondering and had a feel good ending, this one is a hard emotion roller coaster with a sad sickening ending. it deals with the hardships of addiction, loss, abuse and sex and niven's characterization is still so on par that knowing the fate of these characters hits so much harder when the main heros are faced with a terrible decision. i know it is a good technical story written with talent and skill, but I bought it hoping for the optimism and adventure of the first book and it left me wanting.

1 person found this helpful

excellent

the Narrator was superb. I will seek out other books that he has done. thanks

1 person found this helpful

A Great Book made even better on audiobook

What did you love best about The Ringworld Engineers?

The creativity of Larry Niven is nearly unparalleled. He puts so much thought into every detail, all the way down to wind patterns. The adventure of it all and the sheer size of the Ringworld, even in the book, just contemplating the scale can leave you in awe. He makes it feel like it could really become a future engineering project.

Which character – as performed by Paul Michael Garcia – was your favorite?

His voice as both the narrator and Chmee is perfect. His excitement for Louis' voice is a bit overdone and forceful however.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable

If you could sum up The Ringworld Engineers in three words, what would they be?

enthralling, listenable, enjoyable

If you’ve listened to books by Larry Niven before, how does this one compare?

not as encapsulated as the original "Ringworld" seeming to wander a little, but as I understand it, this was written to answer fan questions about Ringworld science tech. The reader isn't quite as differentiated in character voices as the original's reader, but he does a good job.

What about Paul Michael Garcia’s performance did you like?

nothing outstanding, but reads well and gives character to the book

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not really

1 person found this helpful

More!

I originally read this about 7 years ago and much like the first book aside from the characters all I could really remember was the scale of the Ringworld, the grand adventure and some minor details so it was time for a re-read. This second book in the Ringworld series definitely has more adventure to it than the first one, and a lot more science as well that the first one was missing. We get some new characters and world building both in the current state of the Ringworld and the history of it. I enjoy the book greatly and highly recommend both the series and this book however there is a scene in the book where in just a few sentences one character describes a 17 year journey across the Ringworld and a few of the things they went through and that made me realize while the scale of the idea is still extraordinary and there is more adventure in this it still isn't much adventure in the grand scheme of the Ringworld itself. This is largely due to the fact that most of the book much like the first one is spent flying and describing some of the things they pass by. There is a drastic increase in interaction with the Ringworld itself but it still feels very hands off for the scale. This doesn't deter my enjoyment of the book in anyway it's just my way of saying I want more.