Larry Niven's
1988 sequel to
The Integral Trees.
* * 1/2.
This is the continuing saga of the characters from the last novel in their quest to survive their harsh environment, unfriendly tribes, empire-hungry elites, and what have you, as well as prize out the secret of their origin.
Although The Smoke Ring is a fascinating concept as a "world", and Niven does his usual bang-up job describing
weird new cultures, this novel really does not live up to some of Niven's earlier work. Sigh -- perhaps it's just
rising expectations on my part.