[2] In the introduction to the novel, Niven says that he never planned to write more than one Ringworld novel, but that he did so, in a large part, due to fan support.

In the novel's introduction, Niven says that MIT students attending the 1971 World Science Fiction Convention chanted, "The Ringworld is unstable!

The Hindmost, recently deposed leader of the Puppeteers, abducts the human Louis Wu (who has become a wirehead) and the Kzin Chmeee (previously known as "Speaker-to-Animals").

They encounter Teela Brown, a human member of the first expedition who had chosen to remain on Ringworld.

The smell of the plant drove them to eat its roots; Teela was turned into a Pak Protector, with superhuman intelligence and strength, but Seeker died, being too old to undergo the transformation.

As a Pak Protector, Teela has little control of her actions; her protective instincts force her to try to save all of the Ringworld inhabitants.

Louis explains that the meteor defense system can generate a massive stellar flare (normally used to power the laser weapon) to provide twenty times more fuel to the attitude jets to move the Ringworld back into position.

He and the rest of his party look for some place to settle down, while the Hindmost remains aboard the disabled (but very safe) starship to think things over.

He found some of the storytelling outdated but overall praised Niven for "a consummate professional's skill at balancing imagination and science harmoniously.