The (Literal) World Building In Ringworld

I'm number 39 on the waitlist from my local library!

Josie Doefer

Loved the video! I was sad that there weren’t more views but I do love seeing you talk about what YOU like

Erica Borgers

Yes please! Show us more about books you love ! ❤❤❤❤

Ioana Sofonea

I once again have to shill my favourite author, Hannu Rajaniemi, for anyone interested in excellent sci-fi worldbuilding written by an actual astrophysicist. He has written short stories where every character is an AI, that are full of emotion and humanity, as well as novels about transhuman societies that for once aren't technopobic warnings about science gone too far, as is too often the case in sci-fi. But back to the topic at hand, I remember reading a book set in a Ringworld physically identical to the one described in this review, but I can't for the life of me remember if it's in the same continuity as Niven's book. It had alien races using primitive biplanes to colonize segments of the Ring, and mostly dealt with how humanity would react in gaining nigh infinite space and resources, and how it could make further technological development useless from a social standpoint. If anyone can remember if it's a part of Niven's setpiece, please let me know.

Iago24

You need to take care of yourself first! I am all for of you doing your own interest when you want to! As much as we love to torment you, we live to see you happy as well. Now shower us with your passion!

Sorry Dom, gonna have to pause. That’s some interesting stuff ya got there

C.B. Smith

I can level the volume down a little but tbh I'm defiantly not going to remove it altogether. Youtube videos without any music feel unfinished to me.

Dominic Noble

Ta, I'll fix that for the public copy.

Dominic Noble

Really good timing with this video. I've been on a world-building kick lately, so YouTube videos supporting that have been really prominent in my feed. I've actually started laying the groundwork for a novel to show off this setting, and I am aiming for a Niven/Ringworld approach and actively encourage other authors to write in the setting. (I recall some video on SCPs and an alternative to copyright so that a published work allows others to use certain elements.) In light of this review, yeah, I guess I'm trying to be Niven.

Michael Drzyzga

Basically same here. I can only think of one time I actually regretted ignoring a spoiler warning - and that was for the first episode of the anime Talentless Nana.

Michael Drzyzga

Yeah...considering what Niven did in terms of gender to the Kzinti, I'm pretty sure that bit with the pronouns didn't go beyond "it's complicated". For those not in the know, the Kzinti as established in this book are effectively a one-gender race of men - female Kzinti are non-sapient. I never understood what this random element was supposed to add to the story other than underlining the Kzintis' alienness.

Timur Hahn

A lot of those Sci-Fi concepts that are so huge that they are the setting, usually don't have great plots besides explore impossible setting or escape impossible setting (Looking at you Roma), which is okay because the ideas are usually good enough to keep you reading. There is no that kind of breaks the rule--having fun characters and a plot that isn't just escape the setting, but save the universe (by exploring the setting)--is Jack Chalker's Well World series. Which is about a planet outside of space that was made by a race of aliens as an evolution experiment and the computer running it has the binary code that controls the universe. That being said, it is a Jack Chalker book, so it's pretty weird.

Nawf4

I kinda like the Hitchhiker's-esque visuals going on in this episode :-)

Leslie Helwig

Excuse me, sir, your nail polish is so ✨~s h i n e y~✨ where did you get it??? I have a mighty need

Wednessday L Ezaki

lol “some of you ignore the spoiler alert..” yeah that would 100% be me. But I’m a weirdo, and being spoiled often actually increases the likelihood i’ll check something out instead of decreasing it.

Mythologian

For the Spoiler Alert about 14 minutes in you wrote Spoler instead.

Joseph Douglas Watson

Hooray for positivity!

SwamplingLvr

Thanks for the video. I've heard of Ringworld, and that's about it. I am more intrigued now and will have to make time for it. Now knowing you are a hard sci-fi fan I recommend The Expanse novels by James S.A. Corey--who is actually two authors. I've only read the first two books and just ordered the others in the series. It would also make a great--and very long--Lost in Adaptation since it is also a TV series.

Victor Gimenez

I agree. Niven was an awesome world builder and a mediocre storyteller. I read Ringworld around 35 years ago. I remember the ring and details of it (and have spent many hours musing/fantasizing about the implications). As for characters, here is what I remembered as Dom was talking about them: Human, old, kind of an extreme loner ("Oh, that was the name"). Puppeteer, coward, manipulative as species-wide trait ("oh, that was the name"). Speaker to animals, big cat warrior race guy, complained about not having live food on the journey to the Ringworld. Teela Brown, lucky, careless actions drove a lot of the story.

Great content, but the background music was incredibly distracting. I struggled to hear the voice over the music and the music was so like the Countdown music it made it even more distracting. Please no background music, some of us find it incredibly distracting. If it hadn´t been you, I would have had to have stopped watching (or I would have shut off the sound and watched with subtitles just to avoid the music)

Eustacia Vye

Love me some Niven, thank you. I have serious problems with his later works for most of the issues you describe. He does too much writing, relying on his previous world building.

The Office Troll

Hey, I know negativity sells, but especially after this last year there’s enough of that to be found...*gestures broadly*. I appreciate the cool world building and positivity!

sonorasgirl