Look, I'll admit it - I'm a Niven fan from way back when Ringworld blew my teenage mind in the 80s. He is, though, at his best when his character (he only really has one, with a few carbon props moving around in the background) is exploring an artifact.

Here, the artifact is the society of Destiny, settled by humanity long enough for a distinct social order to emerge and individual cities to form their own cultures. Unfortuntely, I couldn't find it in myself to care that much, and when Jemmy did encounter something interesting he'd then go off and be boring for 20 pages.