description The Smoke Ring Overview
The Smoke Ring is a 1987 science fiction novel by American author Larry Niven and a sequel to The Integral Trees. It is set in a torus of breathable gas orbiting a neutron star, where human descendants live without planetary surfaces or ordinary gravity. The novel uses this unusual environment to examine movement, settlement, technology, and social organization in a free-fall society.
help The Smoke Ring FAQ
What is the setting of Larry Niven's The Smoke Ring?
The Smoke Ring is a 1984 science fiction novel by Larry Niven that takes place inside a free-floating, breathable gas torus in space. Humans living in this environment have evolved over generations to adapt to the zero-gravity lifestyle.
Is The Smoke Ring a sequel to another book?
Yes, The Smoke Ring is a direct sequel to Larry Niven's 1983 novel, The Integral Trees. It continues the story of the descendants of a stranded Navy ship crew living in the zero-G environment.
How do the humans in The Smoke Ring navigate their environment?
Because they live in a weightless, gaseous environment, the human inhabitants navigate by launching themselves through the air and using the remnants of ancient trees as momentum. They have developed elongated body structures to help them move more effectively in zero gravity.
What caused the formation of the Smoke Ring?
In Larry Niven's universe, the Smoke Ring formed from the atmosphere stripped away from a gas giant planet by the gravitational pull of a nearby star. The gas formed a massive, habitable torus orbiting a neutron star in a binary system.
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