Book Description
“Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get. . . . This is certainly classic science fiction–the idea is truly the hero.” –Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

When leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline was prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided (and secretly spied upon) by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. But what they weren’t prepared for was the smoke ring–an immense gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free-fall. When Discipline encountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis.

Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children.


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Customer Reviews (30)

Interesting concept. Dull Book. Lame characters
The concept of a society where everyone lives in smoke rings as a computerized intelligence waits for them to find it again seems fascinating and bizarre. And I wanted it to be better than it was, but most of the book follows a group of characters that are climbing up a floating tree. There's some food scavenging and fast death but I can see that on Survivor.

When they finally do meet the computer, they outwit it and go home. And by that time the characters are so flat that you don't recognize any of them. The fact that the writer had to put a glossary of names in the back to keep his characters straight should already tell you something. Not even the writer is interested in these people. Pretty much everyone is interchangeable and equally as boring. If he wrote decent characters he wouldn't need to list them and their character traits because we'd know them as people instead of as Level 4 Tree Climbers with +3 magic swords or guns or whatever.

This is one of those books that only Larry Niven fans could like. Apparently he has several. I suppose it's the technology and the weird concepts. For everyone else, this is the quintessential science fiction book that literary writers and graduate students dismiss - relying entirely on "ooh look at the cool planet" and leaving characterization for Dickens.

Niven has great worlds and so-so people
You're not going to meet Louis Wu in the smoke ring.Intregal Trees was written during the period when Larry Niven just could not stand his Known Space series.

I met Larry Niven at a Sci-Fi convention back in April of 1983. This was back when Larry (Lawrence Van Colt) hated his known space series because he knew nothing he would ever write would be better than those fine stories. So, he spent a lot of time and energy on anything else but "Ringworld" and Known Space.
Larry was trying to make a new world based off the frame work established in "World out of Time". The plot is simple. People are sent into the universe with slower than light space ships. The world of the Intregal trees, of which the "Smoke Ring" is a far better name, shows how a white dwarf star circles a neutron star. The neutron star is pulling apart a Jupiter sized planet that circles in close orbit. The gases of the Jupiter sized planet supply the air for the "smoke ring". The Intregal Trees live in the Smoke Ring. The white dwarf heats the whole shebang. Got that? And you thought the Ring World was unstable!

The Characters of the plot are basic. To make a long story short, a tribe is on an Intregal tree that is slowly going out of orbit in the smoke ring. The tribe escapes the dying tree but is taken captive by another tribe that believes in slavery. Eventually, this tribe escapes from slavery and makes a new tribe on an unsettled tree.

Yep, this is fairly basic plot stuff. Indeed, when it was written the main characters were teenagers and we meet them again as middle aged adults in the "Smoke Ring", the follow up.

The Universe of the Intregal Trees and the World out of Time are depressing places. Imagine Hillary Clinton's "It takes a Village" type of thinking taking over Earth. There are "Checkers", government agents who live to make sure you comply with the many regulations that keeps society together. The spaceships are not fun like in known space. The science is late 1970s. There is not genetic engineering.The computer system is basically the same one found on "World out of Time" and "2001".This computer is an all knowing mainframe."Intregal" was written just at the beginning of the PC revolution.Larry completely missed the implications of the PC revolution.The book will feel very dated to readers in the post 2000 period.

Larry could have done better. He avoided writing about "Known Space" for 10 years and only let people start using his universe on a franchise fee when the "Man-Kzin" war novels started.

Larry could have made a semi-series of novels about the Ringworld. Instead he spent his time and energy making the Intregal tree universe.

Now Ringworld Throne and Ringworld's Children are done.Ringworld is now gone.Louis Wu is back and Larry can write about him if he wants.

Intregal Trees and Smoke Ring are two novels about a dead end science fiction concept.They are not bad Niven reads.However, his post 1995 stuff isn't bad and it does not have the dated feel of this series.

This is a solid 3 Stars.It's not too bad.

Amazing world, flat characters.
It's an interesting twist in the sci-fi world when the environment is more believable than the characters, but that's exactly what happens in Niven's "The Integral Trees" and its sequel "The Smoke Ring".

The story starts off well, following the descendants of a group of humans who colonized a gas torus surrounding a former star.The description of the environment is top-notch, complete with wondrous life-forms and its own set of physical laws.But the characters are so totally flat and unbelievable that I still could not remember their names by the end of the book.I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed with Niven's invented swear words and random marriages between his characters.

In short, the book is a disappointment.It's saved only by the creativity of the world and the small amount of suspense offered by the backstory, but nothing about the characters is remotely interesting.He drops readers into the world and offers no explanation for why the humans lack not only knowledge of modern science, but the skills required to build a functional society (sorry, but I don't buy "the passage of time" as a good enough reason).Niven would have done well to take some time studying sociology and psychology instead of physics before starting in on this project.

Hard to Get Into, But Worthwhile
"The Integral Trees" is a novel from Larry Niven's "Known Space" that can be read without any prior familiarity with his other work.In this sense it is "stand alone."However, it helps to have read his other books to have a feel for this universe.

This book was difficult for me to get into.Part of the problem is that the fascinating world involved is so far different from our own.Time has to be spent reading and reviewing the charts provided from time to time to figure out how things are happening.Another reason for difficulty of getting involved in the story is that too much information is withheld, leaving the reader wondering for too long about what certain things mean.

A final drawback is weak character development.The Smoke Ring itself takes center stage, so much so that the characters are mere shadows in the grand scheme of things.

This is, however, wonderful science fiction.The fictional world created is truly remarkable and worth exploring.

Interesting World Building
First let me say that this edition I'm reviewing is a two for one.You get both the Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring in one volume, which certainly makes it worth the price.

Secondly, The Smoke Ring was published four years after The Integral Trees.But reading The Smoke Ring, immediately after the Integral Trees, makes it a much more enjoyable and stronger book.I doubt I would have enjoyed it quite as much had I read it four years after reading The Integral Trees.

Both of these novels are concept novels in the hard science fiction genre., which is both a strength and a weakness.Niven sets up the world he creates in The Integral Trees, and there is character development but it is a bit thin.I found the novel hard to slog through at times and frankly had a hard time conceptualizing the environment Niven creates.The Smoke Ring is a lot more fun on two accounts. First, Niven goes about exploring a lot more of the world he created.And the characters a bit more developed.

Overall, both are worth reading.If you get through The Integral Trees and really liked it, I think you'd love The Smoke Ring.If you get through the Integral Trees and liked it, but just barely, The Smoke Ring is better. If you really hated The Integral Trees and didn't get it at all, skip The Smoke Ring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, if slightly dated, sci-fi
Larry Niven is one of the great sci-fi writers of the 20th century-- and his name is rightly placed alongside Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury, etc.

This particular book, _A Hole in Space_, is a collection of short stories.Many of the stories in this collection are focused on a speculative development known as "displacement" technology-- that is to say, teleportation. As always with Niven, there are three primary concerns: (1) what could this or that technology be used for, (2) what would be its practical limitations, and (3)how might society respond to such a development and how would it change society.Thus, you have stories like "The Alibi Machine", "A Kind of Murder" and "The Permanent Floating Riot Club", all of which involve matters of crime and law enforcement in a world where in-home instantaneous teleportion is available.

Not all of the stories here, are about teleportation technology.My personal favorite, "The Rammer" speculates on what might happen if a person, long frozen in cryogenic suspension, were actually to be revived in some distant future and to find that it was not what he expected or hoped.It also addresses how he intends to use a particular kind of space flight technology called a ramjet to escape this dystopia.Another, "The Fourth Profession" envisions what might happen if it ever became possible to acquire knowledge through the use of pills/drugs that had been coded in a particular way. In it, an ordinary bartender takes four pills (from an alien merchant) that give him knowledge of four unusual professions.

As with any collection of short stories, there are some great ones here, some OK ones, and a few duds.Personally, I think the rescue story "All the Bridges Rusting" is rather dull, while Niven's non-fiction essay on possible superstructural astroengineering (Dyson spheres, ringworlds, disk worlds, etc.)is just that.... an essay listing some things that might conceivably be done.

And, as always with Niven, the stories really seem to be oriented around scientific puzzle solving.How does a futuristic society where privacy no longer is valued find people who might be able to stand being alone on an interstellar starship for 30 years?How to solve a crime when everyone can make a perfect alibi?How to rescue a ship moving at light speed far outside of the solar system?How to discover what powers an alien communications generator on Mars?How to Pretty much every story in here focuses on questions like that-- to some degree or another.

As you may gather from what I've said here about 'problem-solving' and speculative scientific developments, Niven's fiction tends to be oriented around *ideas* and their implications, rather than around characters and their relationships.Some writers explore the complexities of human feelings and motivations-- not Niven, he explores ideas.And, in fact, this emphasis on speculative ideas and scientific problem solving extends even to the point where plot and story seem secondary to it.The real action here is not so much what characters do, but what they figure out and how they they figure it out.Thus, the real climax of the story "There is a Tide" ends up being not some great showdown with the deceptive alien the protogonist just met-- but rather, his figuring out why the oceans (seemingly) moonless plant experience tides.

One criticism that can be leveled against this is that, as a result, Niven's characters tend to be cookie-cutter throwaways... more or less similar in personality, behaviour, attitude, etc.On the other hand, I think it's fair to say that Niven's characters don't *need* to be anything more than that since he's really writing about ideas rather than character in the first place.

One other criticism that I think can be leveled against this book (as well as against other Niven books_ is the degree to which *some* parts of it seem a bit "dated" just three decades later.And by "dated" I don't mean references to 8-track tapes or anything like that... but rather, with 3 decades having gone by since some of these were written, some of the 'speculative scientific ideas' he proposes seem a bit harder to swallow.Also, there are many ways in which our society is already changing that Niven doesn't seem to have anticipated-- take smoking and drinking for instance.His characters usually smoke like chimneys (even aboard spaceships where air is scarce)and drink like fish-- but Niven never seems to have imagined that these sorts of things would be come public health issues. I bring this up not to fault Niven for not having foreseen everything (after all, he's just a writer-- not a prophet), but rather just to illustrate that that there are some features of his fiction that are starting to show their age.Still, that's no reason not to enjoy 'em.

Niven's hard science has the right stuff
Larry Niven is at the top of his form in this collection of short stories, most of which take place in the futuristic realm of his "Known Space" series.Hard science is probably Niven's biggest strength, andhis most effective strategy involves assuming some distinct technologicalbreakthrough, then working out all the physical limitations and socialramifications that said breakthrough implies.For example in"Rammer," the design of the ramjet is interesting, but the cleverway it's used to escape a global tyranny is even more fascinating.Stillmore attractive is the idea of the "displacement booths" whichallow instant transportation from one booth to another.Niven discussesthe exciting possibilities of this technology, particularly its applicationto criminal activities ("The Alibi Machine", "A Kind ofMurder", and the Runyan-esque "The Last Days of the PermanentFloating Riot Club"), but also in reference to an otherwise impossiblespace rescue in "All the Bridges Rusting". "There Is aTide" features space traveler Louis Wu and an unusual death trap;"The Hole Man" shows two scientists in conflict over thepossibility of a quantum black hole, until one of them decides to end theargument once and for all, and "The Fourth Profession" is amemorable tale of a bartender who takes some alien learning pills.Sinceeach story has a solution based on technical data described in theexposition, the reader can try to match wits with the hero, just as inmystery yarns, but be forewarned - Niven has obviously thought long andhard about the various possibilities, while the reader probably hasn't. Meanwhile, there are some fairly good characters, too; the stubborn ramjetpilot, the jaunty criminals, and the concerned bartender all findthemselves put upon by society, but they all find their own ways to getwhat they feel they deserve. "Bigger Than Worlds" is Nivenstripped down to the essentials - no characters, no plot, just afascinating speculative essay describing various types of"super-planetary" artifacts that (human) beings might justpossibly live on someday.Niven isn't shy about his background inmathematics, and much of the book deals with physics and/or astronomy, soreaders who are math-phobic probably won't find this book as entertainingas some of his more fantastic speculations, but fans of hard sciencefiction will definitely want to check this one out.

Teletransportation is available. What does that imply?
This is a collection of nine short stories and an essay. Eight of the stories deal with the implications of having teletransportation technology [the "displacement booths"] available in our planet (social,habitational, criminal, mass behaviour, etc.): for instance, why do youneed cars or planes anymore? Why live in a crowded city?

Niven looks atthe problems that would appear, taking into account most of the essentialfactors, and makes a great analysis of the changes the world would suffer,dressed up as several stories.

The negative side of this book is that theninth story included is a Louis Wu _Known Space_ short story that bears norelation to the rest (besides that, I HATE that Wu character), and makesone feel the space used up by it should have been used by anotherstory.

All in all, it is still a very good book, albeit short. Too badit's out of print. ... Read more

Book Description
The Kzin were the mightiest warriors in the galaxy, which they were wasting no time in conquering, one star system at a time. Then those feline lords of creation ran into those ridiculous weed-eating pacifistic apes who called themselves humans. And the catlike Kzin found they had their collective tail caught in a meat grinder. When the mighty Kzin moved in to take over the monkey-infested worlds, they got clobbered. The humans, with their underhanded monkey cunning, turned communications equipment and space drives into weapons that cut the dauntless Kzin heroes into ribbons. And then those underhanded humans gained a faster-than-light drive, and no amount of screaming and leaping could keep the Kzin from losing their first war in centuries of successful conquest. But you can't keep a good warcat down, and the Kzin have by no means given up. New weapons, new strategies, and new leaders: Here they come again and those monkey-boys from Earth had better watch their backs. Once again, it's howling time in Known Space!

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Customer Reviews (9)

Larry Niven's Man-Kzin characters are brought to renewed life
Larry Niven's Man-Kzin characters are brought to renewed life in Hal Colebatch, Matthew Harrington and Larry Niven's MAN-KZIN WARS XI, a collection of stories which includes a new story by Niven and others expanding the Man-Kzin Wars series. Here a secret agenda affects a safari even as a woman lands on a plague world only to find something even more dangerous than plague. Familiarity with Niven's Man-Kzin series lends a special appreciation to this book.

Skip the Hal Colebatch stories
Niven, of course, is great.How did Hal Colebatch get included. He knows nothing of soldiers or professional warriors, and his depictions of such are just stupid.The first story almost made me chuck out the whole book.I'm glad I didn't but honestly, Colebatch must be Niven's nephew or something.He can garner zero credibility for action/adventure-type sci-fi.His characters and their relationships (huh?) are really shallow.But if you like to read about people doing one stupid thing after another to cause their own demise and then pulling through due to even more stupidity on their part, you'll love Colebatch's stories.Better yet, skip Colebatch's stuff and read the good ones.

Satisfying return to Niven's universe, but uneven writing
I have read pretty much everything Niven himself has written, and I think I have pretty much hoovered up all the Man-Kzin Wars series too. It's a way of franchising that part of Niven's universe to other writers, which seems on the whole to be good for everyone - writers, publishers, and readers. Obviously, it's in Niven's interest (and his publishers) to avoid any dilution of the brand.

This latest fix includes three stories by Hal Colebatch, two by Matthew Joseph Harrington, and a short contribution ("The Hunting Park") by Niven himself. I think Harrington's are clearly the best: well plotted, scientifically convincing, and pacily written, they accomplish the challenging feat of extending Niven's vision rather than just wallowing in it. Colebatch is good, but his style is sometimes a bit sentimental for me; to take one example purely at random, "He stroked her, whispered 'Mother', and died. Leonie moved to close his eyes". As other reviewers have said how much they like his writing, this is clearly a matter of taste. To be honest, I didn't feel that "The Hunting Park" stands out above the other stories; indeed I would go so far as to say that Harrington's stories are crisper, more interesting, and generally more like early Niven.

One thing has been puzzling me: the striking cover illustration appears to depict Vaemar and Dimity in action. He is armed with a wtsai, she with a huge gun of some sort. But how come Vaemar is shown as resembling a huge lion, instead of a tiger? Niven has stated over and over that kzinti are basically orange and look like big fat tigers. Also, the powerful impact of the picture merely serves to underline how extremely unlikely any emotional bond between these two creatures would be.

Bottom line: strongly recommended for Niven fans, and SF lovers in general. The standard of writing is really very good, and Harrington's two stories "Teacher's Pet" and "War and Peace" are fit to stand beside Niven's own books such as "World of Ptavvs" and "Protector". As far as I know, there can be no higher praise.

Moving, exciting, and a bit sexy
I enjoyed all these stories enormously. Hal Colebatch, who wrote the first three stories which take up most of the book, is a fine writer. His plots are becomoing more complex and surprising. He handles the sexual tension between Dimity and Vaemar in "Catspaw" beautifully (I think I am falling in love with Dimity, especially since he appearances in "One War for Wunderland@" and "Music box" in Man-Kzin X. She is a great character, but so are Colebatch's other characters, human and Kzin. One really warms to the old Kzin Raargh, and feels for the young "Strtaight Arrow" Vaemar, with a fight between his conflicting heritages going on inside him. Plenty of action, jokes, and some splendid descriptive writing to convey xonvincingly the feel of another world - some of "Grossgeister Swamp" is like as dream. Matthew Harrington's stories are also extremely well done, mind-stretching and full of surprises. The science in them seems good, too. Larry Niven's own story is punchy and effective and leaves uyou feeling proud of the human race. Six great stories!

Disappointing
OK, I know things have to change, but the title of this book shows how far off the path this series has gone.The "War" is a distant no-show in this book.Instead, sigh...we get relationships.I will say this: let Oprah explore relationships and give us good sci-fi. I couldn't believe all that you-me stuff going on between Vaemar and Dimity while they were supposed to be fighting the supposedly near-invincible Pak. And the fact that Vaemar almost said that he loved Dimity!That was just too syrupy for me.If the Kzin weren't so interesting, I would have put this one down after the first two stories.Well, I would've checked out Mr. Niven's offering, because it is easily the best in the lot.IMHO...wait for the paperback on this one. ... Read more

Book Description
Ranging from the 20th Century to the 31st, these interconnected stories trace Man's expansion and colonization throughout the galaxy...

Becalmed in hell
Howie's spaceship had a malfunction...but it might be only psychosomatic!

Wait it out
He was trapped on Pluto...and all his assets were frozen!

The borderland of Sol
Forward possessed the ultimate weapon...but no one would ever see it!

The jigsaw man
The organ banks want you...now!

Cloak of anarchy
They were free to be anything but violent...but that wasn't enough!

-- plus eight other great stories in Niven's spectacular cycle of the future...and, special for this volume, a complete Niven bibliography and a detailed chronology of all his Known Space stories! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Free SF Reader
A collection of stories from Niven's multi-era Future History, which some introduction to each part.The stories themselves only average 3.23, but do show the interesting structure of this universe, from early solar system exploration, to interstellar conflict.

Tales of Known Space : The Coldest Place - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Becalmed in Hell - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Wait It Out - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Eye of an Octopus - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : How the Heroes Die - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : The Jigsaw Man - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : At the Bottom of a Hole - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Intent to Deceive [The Deceivers] - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Cloak of Anarchy - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : The Warriors - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Madness Has Its Place - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : There Is a Tide - Larry Niven
Tales of Known Space : Safe at Any Speed- Larry Niven


Ship brain Mercury trip.

3 out of 5


Ship brain Venus trip.

2.5 out of 5


Corpsicle decision.

3 out of 5


Martian mummy is da bomb.

3.5 out of 5


Martian indeceny.

1.5 out of 5


Organlegging escape.

4 out of 5


Martian mistake.

3.5 out of 5


Luncheon loop.

3.5 out of 5


Free Park experiment not bright.

4 out of 5


Cat ship fry.

3 out of 5


ARM to schizo arm.

3.5 out of 5


Wu Pak Big lure.

4 out of 5


Living in your car.

3 out of 5

good early stuff
thought provoking examinations of the social effects of
technological change, which seems to me to be one of the
primary purposes of sci-fi, and can therefore be forgiven
for its failure to be perfectly accurate in predicting
what will happen when (plus, i like the old stuff, and am
willing to add 100 years to whatever the old stories come
up with).i highly recommend these stories since niven's
near-future look is worthwhile compliment to his distant
galaxy hopping work, even if it may not perfectly fit in
his later conception of his universe.

An easily forgettable compilation of second-rate material
TALES OF KNOWN SPACE was the second collection of stories in Niven's "Known Space" universe. It is now out of print as a single volume, but can be found in the compendium THREE BOOKS OF KNOWN SPACE. Unlike the first collection, NEUTRON STAR, it is lackluster. NEUTRON STAR collected the golden age Known Space stories of the late-60's. TALES OF KNOWN SPACE, on the other hand, was compiled after the decline in Niven's writing and collects material from both before the golden age (1964-65) and after (1972-75).

Several of the stories are among the earliest in the chronology of Known Space stories, charting Man's exploration of Venus and the outer planets from 1975-1990 (Niven was a little optimistic). They suffer from poor science and bad characterization (everyone's American, there are no female characters, and no one seems to have heard of the metric system), and it's painful to think that these stories are in the same universe as NEUTRON STAR and RINGWORLD. Next are a couple of stories about Mars, and a couple with Lucas Garner, all of which are instantly forgettable. There's a look at a social experiment, the "anarchy park" in the 1972 story "Cloak of Anarchy," and also one of the worst Beowulf Shaeffer stories, the unbelievably awful "The Borderland of Sol." The short "Safe At Any Speed", set in 3100, is supposedly about how the spread of the Teela Brown luck gene will change human society; strangely the story was written before Niven even introduced the concept of genetic luck.

There are a few okay stories. "The Jigsaw Man" is one of Niven's earliest stories to deal with the theme of organ transplantation and expanded use of the dealth penalty, with its protagonist condemned to death for mere traffic violations. "The Warriors" marks the first appearance of the Kzinti, who went on to become a major part of Known Space. "There is a Tide" introduces Louis Wu, who went on to become the protagonist of RINGWORLD.

Bottom line: pick up TALES OF KNOWN SPACE if you've already read NEUTRON STAR and RINGWORLD and want to know more about the history of Known Space. Nonetheless, it's often pretty disappointing reading.

Known Space Rules!Interesting as hell, too.
This collection of stories was the first book of the now renowned Known Space Series.A lot of the stories are from a long time ago, so they seem kind of outdated, but most of them are still pure Niven, pure cool. Especially liked that one, "Hole Man"I believe it was, wherethe scientist on Mars murders someone with a black hole.Man, this is somegood stuff. ... Read more

Book Description
For fifteen virtual reality gamers undertaking a four-and-half day quest, the fantasy slaying of monsters is suddenly interrupted-by murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Fun concept, cool story, lame conclusion
Think about your favorite role-playing adventure game.As a warrior, cleric, magician, or thief, you can leave your humdrum life behind for a while, pick up a new persona and some multi-faceted dice and embark on a heart-pounding adventure.Now imagine a place where you could go to play out this kind of fantasy in "real life" - following clues, reading terrain, planning battles, running, screaming, and swinging your weapon for all you're worth.Welcome to Dream Park - Niven and Barnes' perhaps-not-so-futuristic getaway resort.Using a combination of animatronics, live actors, holograms, and computer-aided design, Dream Park's Gamemasters allow their well-heeled patrons to participate in the adventure of a lifetime in relative safety.The ruling gaming society assigns points for successful missions, and a good time is had by all, until one day a murder inside the park causes security chief Griffin to personally enter a game in hopes of determining which player is the killer.

The Dream Park itself is one heck of a fun concept, and results in a reasonably good story, although it should be admitted that the book's conclusion is scarcely short of pitiful.There's no longer much that's science fictiony here, because most of the technology described in this book is now actually available - expensive, perhaps.So while what we get is a role-playing adventure game with all the swashbuckling trimmings and the added distraction of a real-life murder mystery, the murder's resolution is so hopelessly contrived that it would have ruined the book if we hadn't stopped caring about it many pages earlier.On the other hand, the gaming side of the story is far more realistic, and loads more entertaining.The gamers themselves are a motley bunch, with some fairly cool characters among them, and they keep the story interesting even when the action slows down.

This is a must-read for anyone into rpg's, and a good introduction to the whole Dream Park concept, but not really an outstanding novel on its own.Interested readers can return to Dream Park in two sequels, The Barsoom Project (which is rather pedestrian, kind of a Dream Park Lite) and the California Voodoo Game (which is really pretty good).

A classic SF read
One of my favorite SF books of all time....A fun, fast read with a fascinating background concept.My favorite Niven book - far better (to my mind) than Ringworld, and his other (harder SF) novels...

Gamers
I have read and reread this book several times and have always enjoyed it.In fact, I had to tape the cover back on my paperback copy.I guess I'll need to find a new one in better condition.The one thing in this book that most people seem to miss is a paragraph on page 232.It mentions Gamers internationally playing an on line game.In 1981 that was completely impossible since no regualar civilian had any access to the World Wide Web, if it even existed.Also, the mention of flat screen monitors...once again, no such thing existed.If you have an imagination and enjoy fun fantasy, and a murder mystery thrown in, you'll enjoy this book.It's timeless.

Good Niven stuff
Dream Park is a combination of a science fiction exploration of computer gaming and a murder mystery.It reads fast and kept me engaged with the story.

Basic synopsis:A disparate group of folks at a tech entertainment facility join each other for the ultimate virtual reality gaming experience, and are secretly joined by a security officer investigating a murder that happened right before the game started.As the game progresses so does the murder investigation and the danger that someone else will be killed.

I was a bit skeptical of the book at first.Especially when the adventure turned out to be a treasure hunt set in the mid 20th century."Yawn," I thought.But it worked.

The gaming aspect is completely plausible.This is where gaming is going (at least for the very rich) if the technology can get there.

The mystery is pretty well done.The action is great.

It contains some typical Niven foibles such as: all the secretaries are female, people have more sex than can really be believed, and the dialogue is...Dragnet-esque.Someone else already mentioned a computer terminal that puts out a lot of fan-fold paper.But none of this really hurts the story.And who knows, maybe society really will return to the weird combination of chauvinism and sexual liberation described here.(I'm crediting this stuff to Niven because I recognize it in all of his work...Barnes may be the same, I just don't know.)

I recommend this for anyone not likely to get annoyed or distracted by some of the gender roles and other minor anachronisms.

An Exciting Mix of Genres
Dream Park is a smart mix of near future science fiction, roleplaying gaming adventure, and mystery (with a touch of history tossed in as the basis for the gaming adventure).For roleplaying game enthusiasts, it presents a future for gaming that is quite appealing, yet quite familiar--with rivalries, meta-gaming, gamemaster/player tension, and in-character versus out-of-character comments and actions.At the same time, the historically based adventure and mystery/action elements provide an appeal and a bridge to non-gaming readers.When I first finished reading this book twenty or so years ago, my first thought was that it would make a great movie and I still believe that to be the case.I highly recommend Dream Park to all science fiction and all roleplaying fans.Donald J. Bingle, author of Forced Conversion. ... Read more

Book Description
A masterful mix of fantasy and science fiction.
LIMITS. Two aliens fascinated by man's fondness for defining boundaries decide to make sure he doesn't get out of the habit.
THE LION IN HIS ATTIC. Seventy-six years after Atlantis drowned, a sorceress and a prince learn to their dismay that not all lions eat red meat.
TABLE MANNERS. When the proprietor of the Draco Tavern is invited to dine with some carnivorous etees, he brings along a xenobiologist to coach him in alien etiquette. But he forgets that he is already outfitted with the oldest guide of all.
A TEARDROP FALLS. In his youth, Hilary Gage had fought men and studied the ravages of Berserkers. As a machine, he terraformed planets and lay in wait . . . .
YET ANOTHER MODEST PROPOSAL. At last, a solution to the problem of radioactive wastes that costs nothing and yields an immodest profit.
Plus lots more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More help needed
Limits is a modest collection of science fiction and fantasystories from Larry Niven.Although he has some interesting ideas,it's clear that the short story format is not really Niven's forte. Indeed, the strongest pieces in this volume are those written in collaboration with other writers.Among the fantasies, for example, the mystical feel of "Talisman" (written with Dian Girard) is far more effective than the humdrum restaurant setting of the wholly forgettable "Lion in the Attic".In the former, a beautiful young thief matches wits with crafty magicians to try and find a legendary treasure, while in the latter, a restaurant owner hides a secret from some mysterious travelers.And while "Talisman" draws us in with its subtle characterization and constant movement, "Lion" keeps its secrets until the end, by which time the reader has lost interest in the outcome.Niven gets plenty of help from his collaborators in the science fiction vein as well."Spirals", with Jerry Pournelle, is an inside look at how space mining began in the asteroid belt, wherein the reader discovers that the main characters, who are later lauded as heroes, were actually very flawed human beings, who acted from the basest and most primitive of motives.In the moving story "The Locusts", written with Steven Barnes, a group of bright, strong and energetic colonials deal with the discovery that their efforts are doomed.The heroes' plight is portrayed with understated drama and a fair amount of realism to make for an unforgettable tale.In both of these stories, the authors emphasize the essential humanity of their characters (despite the science fiction trappings), and this is what gives their stories such a powerful impact.When Niven is on his own, however, he sometimes loses sight of this simple principle."A Teardrop Falls" is a Berserker story, for fans of such, and shows how a machine cleverly tricks another machine. Without any emotional attachment, the story hinges on the cleverness of the trick, which in this case is no big deal."Flare Time" deals with adventure on another planet, and has some entertaining features, but tends to be a little unfocused.Niven tries to do too much with this story, introducing new species, an entire series of new environments, etc., and would have been better off writing a short novel that used the same characters and locale.As it is, the reader is rushed through the journey too quickly to appreciate Niven's many inventions. Rounding out the collection are the chirpsithtra shorts, which feature Niven's tall-tale-telling aliens spinning yarns in a spaceport bar. Chirpthistra stories are meant to be amusing, but occasionally Niven slips some serious ideas in as well.Of these, "War Movie" has the most interesting payoff, while "Folk Tale" falls so flat one can almost hear the thud.All in all not a bad collection, but still nothing like the quality we find in Niven's better novels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

One HELL of a ride! :)
Hmmmm a very very good read!

I bought this, oddly enough, at a local Catholic charity shop many years ago. I was put off by the cover but liked the premise of a Re-telling of Dante's' Inferno (Written in Language *I* can *understand*).

What I got went beyond my wildest desires! From page two Carpentier's narrative takes off and doesn't let go. The pacing is fast and it never gets preachy. It is in some cases giggle out loud funny (in a dark sort of way) and while the ending is (I consider) a little weak, it by no means detracts from the whole.

Put it on your list if you like otherworldly speculative fiction.

Excellent.

Serialization
I read this back when it was originally published as a serialization in a Sci Fi mag.I enjoyed it and I am looking forward to the sequel which I understand is in process.I was intrigued enough to find a copy of Dante's inferno to compare.

tremendous, irreverent fun
The Niven and Pournelle duo has written a wide array of science fiction novels of dramatically variable quality.Therefore, I was not expecting much when I bought "Inferno," but I figured that--for such a brief work (way fewer than two hundred pages)--I really had nothing to lose.Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!What a wacky adventure!You see, after being chucked out the window of his luxury apartment, Carpentier "awakens" to find himself tucked into a bottle among the limitless detritus strewn about a sandy plain.He is extricated and helped to his feet by--of all things--the ghost of Benito Mussolini.Being rather derogatively classified by the judge of the dead, Carpentier reluctantly accepts not only his fate, but also--determined to see Satan and sort out the mess--Mussolini's offer to conduct him through the nine layers of Hell to the Master's abode.Our hero is exposed to a limitless variety of both psychological torments (like the team on the riverbank that frenetically builds a bridge while the team on the opposite bank equally frantically tears it down) and classic physical tortures.One wonders whether the authors actually read Dante or merely adopted what they needed from a more lightweight source, perhaps Blake's excerpted illustrations prepared in accompaniment thereto.Carpentier ultimately makes it through all nine layers and--well, I won't tell you the ending and spoil the story.Suffice it to say that those who were disappointed by putative N&P "classics" (like "Lucifer's Hammer," supposedly a spellbinding story of earth's destruction by a huge comet, but actually [up to page 350, where I nixed it] a deliverer of nothing but endless, distracting sexual escapades among various men and other men's wives [it reminded me of Benchley's "Jaws"--which I approached with some excitement at the age of twelve, just after seeing the movie--but which was profoundly disappointing when I discovered that it devoted all of ten pages to the shark hunt, expending the other three hundred plus pages on Hooper screwing Brody's wife and Brody screwing Quint's wife and Hooper's sister blowing the mayor and such]).No, this one is different: it's fun, it's witty, it's concise, it's wholly original.The entire narrative (told in the first person) is couched in Carpentier's continual, sarcastic debate with himself over whether he's really in Hell or on some alien world: he doesn't believe in Hell, but why would an alien be so disturbed by simony that he'd punish one guilty of it by locking him head-downward into a box and setting perpetual fire to the soles of his exposed feet?The story also brims with mythological references, particularly to the classic Greek and Roman traditions, that should delight the more erudite reader.

(I would have assigned four and one-half stars were I able--I mean, "King Lear" it ain't--but such gradations are not supported.)

Retelling of Dante's Inferno updated & modernized
This is an absorbing retelling of the Inferno with the main character not a tourist but a deceased SF writer, Carpentier, who is hoping that there is indeed a way out of Hell.

Carpentier is soon persuaded that there is no way out going up and starts on a journey through the circles down and in, meeting assorted modern American sinners on the way down.His travelling companion, an Italian, points out that he tended to notice sinners of his own kind and so does Carpentier.

The ending is thought-provoking and I found the book worth rereading.Recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
Come to Larry Niven's Universe and meet all the natives: Thrints, Bandersnatchi, Puppeteers -- and a host of other wonderfully created characters.
Visit Lookitthat, Down, and Jinx -- indeed, an entire galaxy of planets found only in these stories that trace man's expansion and colonization throughout Known Space.
A spectacular cycle of the future . . . a 10,000-year history of man on Earth and in space! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Kindle Edition is just the one short story, not the full collection
It's a great short story, highly recommended. Well worth the 99¢.

But it's not the full collection that is pictured, detailed, and reviewed, above.

rich, deep universe of short stories
This is perhaps the most well thought out collection of short stories I've ever read. Each story adds dimension to the Known Universe which Niven has created. The species, planets and relationships are all explored in detail around thrilling plots. What's really novel about the collection is that it reads almost like a single story from cover to cover. Most of the short stories are about Beowulf Shaeffer and his dealings with the Puppeteers. There are a few others which are about other characters yet still adds depth to the universe.

great collection of short SF stories
I'm not as well acquainted with Niven's work as these other reviewers, but I wanted to chime in here to say how great this book is. The stories are short enough to read in one sitting, which is the definition of a 'short' story, but many collections like this include longer texts that are hard to knock out before you fall asleep at night. Although it appears to be out of print, this book is readily available at many used book sellers.

Wonderfully imaginative stories
I much prefer Niven's shorter, earlier, and solo efforts, and his first short story collection demonstrates why. This is a wonderful collection of short stories from Niven's Known Space universe, with stories ranging from the readable to the superb. There is an astonishing breadth of imagination displayed here, with not one but several alien races who are *alien*, in appearance, psychology and culture. And it's not just the aliens; Niven shows how human cultures have diverged during periods of colonial isolation, developing different moral codes.

They're all hard sf, but Niven is one of the authors who can populate his hard sf setting with plausible characters who feel like real people. There's also some thoughtful discussion of moral problems in a couple of the stories.

This collection is nearly forty years old as I write this, and it shows--there have been advances in technology that Niven didn't forsee, making for some oddly backwards technology in the stories. But science fiction isn't about predicting the future; it's speculation about possible futures and the people living in them. Good sf lasts even when it's overtaken by events in real life, and these stories haven't been harmed by the passage of time since they were written.

All in all, a well-rounded collection that shows what can be achieved with the short form in science fiction.

Neutron Star is a good collection
All the stories in this are dated, in fact I believe all of them are older than I am. Still, I enjoyed them immensely(sp?). My first experience with Niven was reading A Mote in God's Eye, and then the Sauron Supermen shorts. I did not encounter Known Space I picked up the Man-Kzin Wars I (I think the first story in that was Iron). Having bought this book used from a tiny store this year, and it having only passing references to the Kzinti in it, this felt rather like finding an archaeological treasure. The stories were equal to this feeling, mostly, and particularly Relic of the Empire was intriguing. The concept of a stage tree was very original to my mind. But the one I noted most was the Ethics of Madness. That story was very thought provoking. As a would-be author I think Ethics of Madness was the best, and it was good to read even as just a reader. It was a very surprising twist, to me. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Larry Niven may be America's greatest living hard-SF writer. Much of his SF belongs to his famous future history, the Tales of Known Space. His preeminent creation is the Ringworld: an immense, artificial, ring-shaped planet that circles a Known Space star. Possibly SF's greatest feat of world-building, the Ringworld is featured in four novels: the Hugo and Nebula Award winner Ringworld (1970); The Ringworld Engineers (1980); The Ringworld Throne (1996); and Ringworld's Children (2004).

Ringworld's Children returns series protagonist Louis Wu to the titular world. Louis and his friend The Hindmost, an alien of the Pierson's puppeteer race, are prisoners of the Ghoul protector Tunesmith, a Ringworld native, who is deliberately provoking the warships that surround his world. All the star-faring races of Known Space have sent warships to the Ringworld, and they are already at the brink of war. If fighting breaks out, the near-indestructible Ringworld will be destroyed: dissolved by antimatter weapons.

The Ringworld series is so complex and ambitious that Ringworld's Children opens with a glossary and a cast of characters, inclusions that even many Known Space fans will need. Newcomers to Niven's artificial planet should start with Ringworld. --Cynthia WardBook Description
Welcome to a world like no other.The Ringworld: a landmark engineering achievement, a flat band 3 million times the surface area of Earth, encircling a distant star. Home to trillions of inhabitants, not all of which are human, and host to amazing technological wonders, the Ringworld is unique in all of the universe.Explorere Louis Wu, an Earth-born human who was part of the first expedition to Ringworld, becomes enmeshed in interplanetary and interspecies intrigue as war, and a powerful new weapon, threaten to tear the Ringworld apart forever. Now, the future of Ringworld lies in the actions of its children: Tunesmith, the Ghould protector; Acolyte, the exiled son of Speaker-to-Animals, and Wembleth, a strange Ringworld native with a mysterious past. All must play a dangerous in order to save Ringworld's population, and the stability of Ringworld itself.Blending awe-inspiring science with non-stop action and fun, Ringworld's Children, the fourth installment of the multiple award-winning saga, is the perfect introduction for readers new to this New York Times bestselling series, and long-time fans of Larry Niven's Ringworld. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

Ringworld's Children
Larry Niven has a wonderful series --- Ringworld --- and this is another excellent addition to that. It is a touch dated in some aspects, but not much and is as enjoyable today as when written. I recomend it to science fiction fans.

Ringworld's Children
Comepletes the story began in Ringworld Throne, these two stories are not Niven's best work but are worth a "read."The stories move a little too slow for my tastes but there is multiple character development to enliven them.

Only slightly better than Throne
Not quite the crapfest that was book 3 in the Ringworld series, but still a gigantic disappointment coming from Niven.Children is plagued by the same things that made the previous novel so unbearable: flat, uninteresting characters, ridiculous names, obsession over interspecies sex for no reason other than to include sex in the story, and overall a poorly written plot.To be fair, I didn't come out of this one as bewildered as after Ringworld Throne - don't even ask me to summarize THAT plot, I've yet to come across a decent one myself, mostly because trying to figure it out can cause lasting brain damage.But even so, this novel is nowhere near the original Ringworld novel, or even Engineers for that matter.Avoid if possible.

Not his best, but definitely worth the journey...
I didn't see the disjointedness that some other reviewers are claiming, I felt the book had a healthy, mostly linear pathway from beginning to end. I wouldn't place it with my favorite Niven books, but I definitely enjoyed it and felt the ending made a great finale to the Ringworld story (assuming that's what it is).

Niven is great!
My husband has read this whole series, and he really loves all the books. Ringworld is an amazing setting, and the stories are awesome. This is one of his favorite series, and we both recommend it! ... Read more

Book Description
It's the American Revolution all over again. But this time it's a ragtag band of space colonists vs. the United States. And the fate of the world hangs by a thread--200 miles above the earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The Descent of Anansi
In the not-so-distant future, Falling Angel Industries is headquartered ona Lunar-orbiting space station, constructed from used STS External Tanks.FA has just produced 1,400 kilometers of the strongest cable everproduced-single-crystal iron suspended in an epoxy matrix, .8 millimetersthick. Two companies- Brazil Techimotores-Electronics and OyamaConstruction have bidded for the cable, and Oyama has won. Transporting thecable from Falling Angel to LEO via the Space Shuttle Anansi/Ion Drive TugGabriel, the six-day voyage gives BTE enough time to join forces with agroup of Iranian terrorists. Stealing and launching a Soviet Prometheusground-to-orbit missile, they destroy the Gabriel and cripple the Anansiand cable re-entry pod, also killing an Anansi crewmember. With the Anansistranded in orbit, with no way to re-enter and no way to get back toFalling Angel, BTE launches two Space Shuttles. Their mission: retrieve thecable, and finish the job that the missile didn't complete . . . . Destroythe Anansi and her crew.

Readable
I had a bit of trouble following some of what was going on.The romance seemed a bit forced to make the story more interesting.

Great read!
Wonderful book ! Pay no attention to other carping comments.The book thatmade me understand about tides. It has believable characters, great plot,tension--this should be made into a movie. I'm already casting theprincipal characters in my mind...

decent read
This book is a fluffy but fun read about some Brazilians going to the moon.It has a large cast of characters with difficult names.It reminds one of "Outland" more than any known space books.What the heck...it's a hoot.Not much substance but an entertaining airplane book. ... Read more

Amazon.com
According to Larry Niven, time travel is logically impossible--sheer fantasy. So when time-agent Svetz heads back from polluted future Earth in search of extinct animals, he tends to sideslip into fantastic, fictional worlds. In short stories collected in The Flight of the Horse (1973), his quests for a horse, a Gila monster, and a whale unearthed a unicorn, a dragon, and Moby-Dick. Less comic but equally daft, Rainbow Mars combines both space and time travel to explore Mars in the deep past, before it was a dead world. Naturally it's populated by a menagerie of warring fictional Martians from Edgar Rice Burroughs (multi-armed sword-wielders), H.G. Wells (tentacles and heat rays), and less familiar authors. Svetz and companions are soon in big trouble. Complications include a gigantic alien tree extending into Mars's orbit--an organic version of the space elevator in Arthur C.Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise. One of these useful "beanstalks" on Earth seems a highly desirable facility, but there are hidden drawbacks, and most of the multiplying timelines lead to disaster. This is fun for experienced SF readers who can follow the in-jokes and the switchback ride through tangled alternative histories. The earlier, even funnier Svetz stories are included as a bonus. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk Book Description
Five-time Hugo Award-winner Larry Niven weaves together time travel and fantasy to create an utterly unique novel on the origin of the Martian "canals."Hanville Svetz was born into a future earth that matches the sorriest predictions of Greenpeace. With most of Earth's original species extinct, Svetz travels back and forth in time retrieving them. Svetz learns that Mars was inhabited, and how the sapient Martian species were wiped out. He forsees that Earth could soon fall victim to the same fate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY "JUST OKAY"
While certainly not the author's best work, it is indeed different.I am sure it is just me, but I had a terrible time tracking on this one.The initial chapters were loaded with imagined "tech talk," most of which left me quite confussed as to just what was going on.Being a fan of most of the older SiFi and Fantasy authors, I did enjoy the references to their works.I really do not feel this work will satisfy the hard cord SiFi fan, nor, for that matter, the hard core fantasy fan.On the other hand, I have certainly read worse.I did not feel the author did all that well in his character development and left more unanswered questions about them than he answered.Parts of the main story had real substance, where quite well written and were actually fun to read.Then the author would drift off to...well, I am not sure where.I suppose if you are a hard core fan of Niven, this will be one you may want to read.For the rest, your reading time could probably be spent more wisely elsewhere.

disappointing
Larry Niven has written some of the best science fiction ever, but this book is very disappointing.It reads a bit like a fever dream, and is never very coherent nor logical.

Niven missed....
I'm a hardcore Niven fan and have been ever since I first read "A Gift From Earth", but with that said - this book is mediocre at best. I suppose it is just a matter of taste, but I found this book to be tedious and confusing. I usually appreciate his sense of humor, (anyone who hasn't read Man Of Steel/Woman of Kleenex is really missing out) but this time I have to say I just don't get it.

Poor
This is actually a fantasy book disguised as SF. That, of itself, isn't a bad thing. But Niven's writing style is very disjointed and erratic; it has none of the polish that his novels with Jerry Pournelle (and Steve Barnes) have. It's as if Niven is writing with a wink and a nod to his huge fan base--the wink being for "in" jokes and a nod given to the hard-core fan who understands what he's writing about. He writes in such a way as to leave things out, such as transitional phrases or descriptions, assuming (I think) that the reader will fill in the rest. This was an awful book in a great package. Tor seems to be doing this lately: great packages for lousy novels (Card is one, Williamson is another).

Terrible
I am a Larry Niven fan and liked most of his books.(Integral Trees was mediocre, but I finished.) However, I gave up on this book pretty soon, and I almost never give up on a book before finishing.I returned it to the library after I started the very confusing time/space (?) travel to Mars (?) chapter.Maybe I should have followed some of the other reviewers advise and read the short stories first so I could understand what was going on.The dialoge was trite and unbelievable.Even for science fiction/fantasy, none of the concepts made any sense.

I consider myself even dumber for having wasted 1/2 hour on starting this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Interesting Idea, especially today, but not well written
While the idea of a green government destroying Americans rights and liberties is a very interesting idea especially during the debate on global warming, I found the writing and the character development to be too rigid and difficult to get into. You always felt like you were reading a story and couldn't get engrossed into it like you would a good novel.

Disappointing
When I saw this book was Pournelle/Nevin collaboration I immediately bought it. I was most disappointed with it. The plot was incredibly predictable, the story line was incredibly unrealistic.
Very disappointing from these 2 excellent writers.

Not Free SF Reader
Earth has a bit of a problem with a new ice age.Here, no one likes the anti global-warming types.So, readin this part of the book now may seem really, really silly.

Along with the people struggling along in coats and gloves on Earth are a few people living in space stations.They have a resource problem as well.

One of their people crashlands on Earth, and a group of SF fans try and get him back home.He can't really cope with the gravity, and they have to build a spaceworthy type vehicle.Not too easy.

More of a Polemic than a Novel
Writers as capable as Niven and Pournelle should know better than to let their political and ideological feelings take over their novel writing. Unfortunately, they forget themselves with Fallen Angels. While the storyline is good, as are the characterizations -- all three authors are pros -- their prime mission is to rant and rave about how "green" environmentalists and those concerned about global warming are wrong, wrong, wrong. They have an axe to grind, and they spend far too much time grinding it to a fine edge, at the expense of telling a good story. I don't agree much with their views -- Pournelle in particular is an acknowledged right-wing libertarian ideologue, and Niven is not too far behind (I know little about Flynn) -- but except for this novel, I have never let their politics get in the way of enjoying their work (and I own shelves full of their work). This is not a novel, it's a sermon dressed up as a novel. Even if I agreed with their viewpoints, I don't like to be preached at. Their intent would be far better served if they turned down the heat and the incessant ranting and ratcheted back on the unfunny, third-person know-it-all sarcasm.I was amused by their use of SF fans as reluctant heroes, but as with many other reviewers, I found their incessant inside references and fan jokes too hard to follow. I have lurked on the fringes of SF fandom for decades, and know my way around the community fairly well, and I quickly got lost in the slang and inside commentary. As with the politics, it became too much for the story to bear.There's nothing wrong with getting on your soapbox for short periods of time in a novel, and I don't have to agree with you to enjoy your book. But this novel spends too much time snarling and ranting, and not nearly enough time telling an enjoyable, informative story.

Overall, a failure, and not even a noble failure. The next time I take a load of books to the library for donations, my copy of Fallen Angels will be the first one I pull off my shelves to toss in the box.

A wonderful premise but you sometimes miss the inside jokes
This book has a wonderful premise.After the US (and presumably other) governments are taken over by a coalition of radical Greens, kooky spiritualists, Christian fundamentalists and cheapskates, science and progress take a backseat to political and environmental correctness.Not realizing that global warming was the only thing preventing a new ice age, much of the Northern Hemisphere is faced by advancing glaciers.Only in the increasingly stressed habitats of the former Russian and American space stations does anyone have faith in science and progress.

There and in the dwindling legions of science fiction fans.

When a shuttle is shot down over the North American glacier, a rescue operation is mounted by attendees at a nearby science fiction convention.The "fallen angels" are moved around the country in an effort to avoid capture by the Green Police, various other technophobes (who blame the space stations for global cooling) and an Air Force security officer, whose motives (and gender) are notentirely clear.

The book is fun, and the premise is great.The problem is that to a large extent, it is a several hundred page long inside joke.Many of the characters are thinly disguised members of sci-fi fandom.If, like me, you have never knowingly been within 100 miles of a convention, you are missing a large part of the joke.But the many premises (environmental chicken littleism, technophobia, and even the idea that sci-fi fans might have something important to say) rings very true.
... Read more

Book Description
Scatterbrain is an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink collection of writings from award-winning science fiction master Larry Niven. Perhaps best known for his novel Ringworld and Three Books of Known Space, Niven is a highly versatile writer with a lengthy and notable history. Scatterbrain includes excerpts from his more recent novels and short stories, as well as letters, editorials, and other non-fiction pieces he's written over the past decade or so. This collection will particularly appeal to Niven fans who've read the writer's previous collections, N-Space and Playgrounds of the Mind.Book Description
Another dazzling collection of fact, fiction, and wit from the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning master of hard science fiction!Larry Niven is the New York Times bestselling author of such classic science fiction novels as Ringworld and Destiny's Road. His previous collection, N-Space, was lauded by the Houston Post as "outstanding . . . hours of entertainment," while Publishers Weekly called it "a must for science fiction fans." A follow-up volume, Playgrounds of the Mind, was similarly praised by Kirkus Reviews: "An abundance of Niven's curious yet disciplined inventiveness and his fun-filled knack for turning seemingly absurd notions into credible, absorbing fiction. Grand entertainment."Now, ten years later, Scatterbrain collects an equally engaging assortment of Niven's latest work, all in one captivating volume. Here are choice excerpts from several of his most recent novels, including his upcoming Ringworld's Child and Rainbow Mars, as well as numerous short stories, nonfiction articles, interviews, editorials, collaborations, and correspondence. True to its title, Scatterbrain roams all over a wide variety of fascinating topics, featuring Niven's singular insights into everything from space stations to convention etiquette.So give yourself a treat, and feel free to pick the brain-or Scatterbrainof one of modern science fiction's most fascinating thinkers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very typical Niven collection
Like most of his collections so far (N-Space, etc), this is filled with some short stories, some essays, and excerpts from the novels he's promoting at the time the collection was written.I love the short stories and the essays about writing the novels.Unfortunately, this collection has a lot more of the novel excerpts, and felt more like a "coming soon from Niven Productions" than a real addition to my collection of Niven works.

An excellent read... More Random Thoughts from Larry Niven's Brain...
I was delighted to get my hands on Scatterbrain, as I've enjoyed previous "Random Thoughts from Larry Niven's Brain" books in the past. It marries excerpts and short stories with information on the writing process, stories from SciFi Cons, etc.It was well worth what I paid for it, and only continues to confirm why Mr. Niven is one of the TOP hard science SciFi writers of our time.

Dumpster-diving at the Nivens's
How can you know that you are really, really famous? One strong hint would be that people are willing--even happy--to pay good money for a reprint of your old emails. On that criterion, and based on the cheerful other reviews, Larry Niven is really, really famous.

Don't get me wrong; on my shelves are 22 books with Niven's name on the spine. But this one is a shoddy collection of castoffs, cobbled together not (I hope) by Niven himself, but by some marketing droid desperate to have some more Niven "product" to sell. It contains four actual stories totalling 100pp; the rest is trivial filler, including the above-mentioned printout of emails.

Those might be of interest to a PhD candidate in English writing a thesis on"Collaborative Methods In Science Fiction of the 1990s" -- but they are really for the wanna-be SF writer who wants to fantasize that he or she is among the lucky handful who actually get to collaborate with Larry Niven. In fact the emails are no more interesting than email between you and your co-workers. There's no writerly advice from Larry to his pals, no "here's the golden secret of good plotting." You could read a megabyte of such email and be not one adverb closer to publication of your work.

The rest of the trivia includes brief, uninteresting excerpts from novels; old, short, and dated essays; a report on a trip to an SF Con; a brief intro to someone else's book; and fragments of the "canon" (i.e. notes) on the milieu of the Man-Kzin Wars.

This stuff is just sweepings from the writer's office floor. They show you nothing of Niven's imagination or plotting skills. Their content would have near-zero interest but for the fact that they were not swept up from your office floor, but from Larry Niven's.

The editing is shoddy as well. There's no publication information at all (no citations for published items, no dates for unpublished ones). There's just no way to tell what has been published before, nor where. For example, half of the 100pp of actual fiction is a story, "Procrustes," but there's no hint that it was previously published as part of Crashlander (Ballantine, 1994). The lack of this data makes the book irritating to read (ok, when WAS this Intercon he reports on?), and useless as scholarly source material.

This book is for the library of an obsessive Niven completist collector. Ordinary readers will do well to save their $7.

A Truly Scatterbrained Collection
This latest collection from Larry Niven lives up to its title.The subject matter is all over the place with novel excerpts, stories, essays, logs, e-mails, and notes.

Unfortunately for Niven fans, this collection came out late enough that they will probably have all of the novels excerpted here.But there are also tales of Gil Hamilton, Beowulf Shaefer, and Draco's Tavern.We are also treated to communications between Mr. Niven and collaborators and editors that helps to show how ideas come to fruition.

Mr. Niven also talks about how his mind works.Sort of a slower da Vinci, Niven spawns ideas and pushes them to their conclusions in almost frightening ways.He calls himself scatterbrained but really he can just see the path of an idea and where it leads (i.e. heat exchangers on Pluto).

The other drawback to the collection is it seems too short.It isn't, but it seems that way.If you have already read the novels excerpted, the rest seems to fly by just a little too quickly.Of course most of the reason is that it reads well and thus faster.Still, I can't help but feel it will be too long before I get another crack at a fresh collection from one of my favorite authors.

A thin new collection with a few "must have" stories
This is a fun little collection, not to be confused with the huge omnibus collections like N-Space or Playgrounds of the Mind. Still, the shorter collections of Larry Niven's work have never, to my knowledge, been out of print and for good reason. His short fiction is always amoung the most entertaining (his novels ain't bad either).

Although I'd read most of this book's contents elsewhere, it's nice to finally have Procrustes or the most recent Gil Hamilton story bound up in a volume. And the book benefits nicely from Niven's "Harlan Ellison-esque" personal introductions, foreward and epilogue.

On the downside, the back of this book is a bit thin on content and there are lengthy email exchanges with his collaborators reproduced. It's amusing "inside baseball" stuff, but really there isn't enough material to sustain this book (certainly in hardcover).

The fiction is worth the price of admission, for me at least, and the personal pieces are all good fun. Still, I'd prefer if Niven wrote some more fiction... ... Read more