The Ring

by Piers Anthony, Robert E. Margroff

Ace Books, 1968. Mass market paperback original novel. SF novel wherein a ringlike device device is being imposed on criminals to provide an artificial conscience that punishes wrongdoing with severe pain.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

254 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ring was the first novel upon which Margroff and Anthony collaborated, and is very different from the other, The E.S.P. Worm. It's a very bleak look at a far-future Earth that doesn't offer any viable solutions, a dystopian picture in the tradition of A Clockwork Orange. It was published in 1968 and has some of the social conceits and conventions of the time, and some of the technological speculation has dated poorly, but it's still a good example of traditional old school sf adopting some of the tropes of the New Wave movement. It was among the first dozen books in Ace's SF Special line with a nice Leo & Diane Dillon cover and blurbage from renowned old guard stalwarts P. Schuyler Miller and Clifford D. Simak.

[Al "Tank" · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 out of 5 stars An unusual story that doesn't quite make it, October 27, 2010
By Allan Kalar - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ring (Paperback)
I have mixed feelings about The Ring. My comments refer to the 1968 Ace version.

It's an unusual story showing a great deal of inventiveness by the authors (I won't bore you with the synopsis since other reviewers have done a good job already). The concept of a ring that makes you behave was truly a groundbreaking idea.

But, I just couldn't get that close to the POV character. Perhaps he needed more development.The old ringer in the park would have made a great character if he'd stayed around longer (you'll have to read it to find out why), a lost opportunity IMHO.

I can't cotton up to the judge either. He's not entirely honest in his job, but the authors try to make him into a nice guy. I don't buy it. He's willing to pervert justice for what he thinks is a greater good. We already have too much of that going on in real life courts.

I was also a bit disappointed over how the ending was handled. Too many loose ends not resolved. What happened to Ed and his new bride? The guys who ran the orgy? Will they ever figure out how to clean up the park?

This one is going into my trading bag for the next time I see my used book dealer.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ring and a miss. I don't want to be too harsh in my assessment of this very early work by Piers Anthony and co-author Robert E. Margroff, but not only has it not aged well, it has fundamental problems that have nothing to do with the passage of years. I want to avoid spoilers, so I'll just note two major criticisms. First, the plot depends heavily on the workings of a sort of gyroscopic car, and several sections which depict the operation of these vehicles in extensive detail are nearly impossible to visualize and, thus, to follow. Nor is the degree of detail provided about these cars even necessary, as it comes off seeming like filler in an already thin volume. Second, at several points the authors hypothesize about matters of a medical/physiological nature in a manner which -- especially almost 50 years later -- is comically misguided. I generally prefer Anthony's science fiction over his fantasy work, but this was clearly written before he hit his stride. Recommended for completists only.

[Aditya / · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard for me to decide between 3 stars and 4 stars. I have read nearly every one of Piers Anthony's series, and some of his standalone books.
This really is classic piers anthony, so for me it was a treasure.
However, this book has some plot inconsistencies, some sex prejudice / tropes, and some Shakespearean or Greek play type plot inspirations.

I don't recommend it unless you love classic Piers Anthony and have read the rest. If you are in that situation or like this type of book, I also recommend Dave Duncan.

[Gina Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Font grew up on Alpha-IV, after his parents were forced into exile. Coming back to Earth, he wants father's former business partner to admit to framing his father. However, there is a lot that Jeff doesn't know about Earth and his father's circumstances might not be what he thinks.

[Cyberpope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ol' Piers!

This one's a future tale, of a land where criminals are ringed, guaranteeing(usually) their copmliance to the rules (all the rules)

Sounds like Utopia, but there are hiccups & there hangs this tale. . .

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long, long time ago, and recently wanted to refer to it. I remember liking it, and thinking about the how 'good' behavior could magically (er... 'technologically') be assessed objectively. Oh! if that were only possible!

Also interesting now (as a book written so long ago) is the idea of ordinary money being naturally traceable, and 'bearer cash' being extra valuable because it is untraceable - and hence generally only available to the super-rich (or the criminal world - no irony there!)

The actually plot suffers (as I recall it now) from focusing on the exceptional people of the world, rather than the effect of this technology on ordinary people. There's some of that, but it is declarative, rather than developed naturally, with the ambiguity of a real story.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books written in the past, about the future. It's fascinating to see the authors ideas of what we will have in the future, based on what is available in his present.

This book is a very good read. The story moves along very nicely. There was one chapter about halfway through that confused me, until I read further in the book, then everything made sense.

This book was written by Robert Margroff, but Piers Anthony provided a lot of guidance and instruction. You can see some of his ideas, for example, with the naming of products (such as Sleepnol).

Great book, recommend it. Has a nice and smooth ending.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It addressed the topics of punishment, justice, and imagines a future society that uses an implanted finger/toe ring to monitor and punish convicted criminals. The protagonist wants to get revenge on a man that used to do business with his father, and he wants to prove to the world that the man framed his father. The protagonist ends up getting caught by the law and punished for his rash actions, and he ends up being "ringed." The book them shows us what happens to criminals as he learns about the ring's effects. The plot was fast-paced, and I enjoyed the discussions of justice.

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blast of Anthony's typical style, I treasure this because it's one of his earlier standalones I hadn't found before. As is usual there's more than the average sexual inclusion, although this book was very mild in comparison to other works the discourse is still there. If you're a fan and you haven't read it, I think you too will find it a pleasurable nostalgia.

[Piper Mejia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too preachy and dated but I like the premise.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took half a month to start and 3 days to read(/sittings), so here we have "The Ring" by "Piers Anthony & Robert Margroff" which I rather enjoyed and so am giving a 7/10...
-
So Piers Anthony is one of my favorites authors and I really enjoy his books and the strange and interesting view points he uses and while this wasn't one of my favorites by him I still quite liked it, I also don't own nor have I read anything that I know of by Robert Margroff if other books by him are similarly themed I may have to check him out.

This book has a very interesting premise and I really like the world it builds and it's take on humanity, and not to spoil anything but it's take on "the ring" (I feel using the name of the book and insinuating it's important can't be too much of a spoiler lol) and what it stands for, is it good? Bad? Do you agree with it? The book never really tells you how to feel and flips it's own view on it multiple times leaving you to decide if you even agree with the conclusion they come to in the end which is a very nice take on a controversial topic in my opinion.

The book starts a little confusing and is slower on the uptake than I would have liked and while very interesting and keeping you engaged in the story I still don't feel like it stands out too much from other works by Piers Anthony but definitely an enjoyable read and thought provoking experience.

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Der Ring