The Smoke Ring

In this sequel to The Integral Trees (1984), Niven again displays his talent for depicting humans in highly unusual settings and faced with uncommon problems. The Smoke Ring, you see, is a toms of breathable air surrounding a neutron star; it's filled with gigantic floating trees, huge globular ponds, and spherical jungles; here, in various struggling societies, live the attenuated descendants of an Earth space survey team. Trees, with its battles and rebellions, was action-adventure; this one is more slice-of-life. Jeffer, the Citizens Tree scientist and proprietor of their "carm" (cargo and repair module), learns that Sharls Davis Kendy, the cyborg-computer-spaceship Earth representative, is still alive in orbit outside the Smoke Ring, and still keen to impose an Earth-style government upon the free spirits of the Smoke Ring. Then Jeffer and company rescue a family of loggers and learn of the existence of the Admiralty, a technologically advanced society from the Clump. Urged by Kendy, Jeffer and friends go to investigate (the manipulative Kendy wants to get hold of some old computer records held by the Admiralty). And there are major surprises in store for both the inhabitants of Citizens Tree and Kendy; the Tree-ers return home both richer and wiser, while Kendy agonizes over conflicting programming. An improvement on Trees, overall, what with the robust plotting, solid workmanship, and plausible details: engrossing stuff, marred only by Niven's usual indistinguishable characters. (Kirkus Reviews)