PG16- The Gift from Earth (v,some x,some b)
PG13- Integral Trees (some x,some v), The Smoke Ring (some v,some x), Man-Kzin Wars VII (v), The Best of Man-Kzin Wars (v), Destiny's Road (v,some x)
I'm not qualified to give this introduction, but until Roberto writes one, I will have to do. Larry Niven is definitely one of the best known of sci-fi writers still in the business. Ringworld, perhaps his most famous book to date, was on the cutting edge of science in its time. Like Heinlein, Niven bases his books solidly on science but focuses on the social outcome of technology, rather than just on new ideas themselves. His two most famous series are "Known Space" and "Man-Kzin Wars", about pacified humanity's discovery of a violent race. In my limited experience, those who enjoy Heinlein and other strongly scientific/social writers will also enjoy Niven.
The Best of All Possible Wars: Best of Man-Kzin Wars, Man-Kzin Wars VII: What to do, what to do... Being attacked by a feline-warrior twice my size, and 5 times my weight.. and humanity hasn't been violent in over 300 years!! Guns and stories of war are now only seen in pornographic works, and history has been rewritten- The ARM controls humanity, and the history books teach that no non-civilized race could ever reach the stars, right?
The big Cats must come in peace...
Only the ancient head of the ARM knew why humanity was so peaceful... it wasn't that humans were bad at war... rather it had been too good...
The big Kzins had finally stumbled down the wrong cave... but could humanity be awoken out of the rut it had been in for 300 years? Could an entirely peaceful society recognize the danger?
Rating: 4 1/2 stars This is good stuff. Humanity is brainwashed by medicine and false history, and schitzs arn't allowed to breed.. the violent genes are being bred out of the race.. right when humanity needs warriors the most. Both books (actually, ALL of the man kzin-wars books) are compilations of short-stories, and all of the short-stories are good. They all take place in the early-era of known-space, and begins before humanity has faster than light (FTL) drive. All of the stories blend nearly seamlessly into the magnificent historical story-line of known space. Bits and pieces of the struggle that had destroyed all sentient life in the galaxy (with the exception of Bandersnatchi.. if you don't know, don't ask) come through, and one gets a little interaction with both of the species that caused the war.
Humanity, it is said, can adapt to almost anything, as long as it can breathe. Therein lies the seed of The Integral Trees, set in the world of the smoke ring, a gaseous cloud of breathable atmosphere surrounding a star. I didn't say anything about a planet. The integral trees themselves look like giant integrals (the mathematical sign) and float in this atmosphere, providing a place for countless isolated human colonies to spring up from the survivors of a colony ship. Each colony develops its own unique customs, but one constant remains: the fastest, the smartest, and the tallest have always survived the best. As the story begins, you'll soon realize why. An integral tree and its colony have moved too close to the sun, forcing the tree to break in half to survive. The remaining humans must learn to cross their tribal boundaries to help one another in a crazy rafting trip through space, where they encounter everything from spherical ponds (physicists, rejoice!) to giant flying fish. The action is fast-paced and the characters both diverse and believable. My only regret is that when the end came, a sequel was obviously needed. Great for engineers, and pretty darn good for the rest of us (except that the plot took over from the characters in places), this is a book worth picking up if you know how to stretch your mind.
Title: The Smoke Ring
Rating: 8/10 stars
Sequel to: Integral Trees
Synopsis:
Protagonists from Integral Trees are alive and well, if few on Citizens Tree. They still have the CARM,and in that sense are rich.. however they are still too few to make a civilization of themselves. Kendy the Checker, the computer program which represented the State on the starship Disciplin makes contact again, just before an accident forces the loggers off their tug Logbearer...
This story is about the growth of human civilization in the Smoke Ring (A habitable region of atmosphere circling a small neutron star known as Voy) and Kendy's realizations about his own past...
Niven is a good writer, that much is obvious from the various books of his that I have read.. The Smoke Ring, like his other books gives you the scenery when, and only when it seems appropriate to the story.. He focuses mainly on the characters, and their dialogues. Smoke ring is medium-strength reading for any teenager familiar with sci-fi, and leaves a good taste in the mouth of adult readers.
It was a one in a million chance that set the original probe down on the one habitable portion of Mount Lookitthat, a plateau above an unlivable cloud of mist. The planet was colonized using this false data, and humanity soon filled the plateau to its maximum capacity. And stayed there. The crew had seized control of the colonists even before they reached Mount Lookitthat. Isolated, the totalitarian society could never be overthrown by anything but a miracle. Mathew Keller was one man in a million, and his unguessed ability might save the colonists, or it might destroy the entire colony. With the help of The Gift from Earth, he may succeed without destroying everything in his path. This book contains graphic violence and should not be read by the faint of heart.
Destiny's Road: They would have never guessed that the ocean's wouldn't sustain Earthlife, but by then it was almost too late... 250 years later spice flowed down the road that the Cavorite had scortched into the land of Destiny 3 times a year- three caravan's a year, and they kept their secrets close.. No one from spiraltown had ever managed to come back up the road, and the Caravaners kept a close watch on their secrets...
After a violent accident, Jemmy, a young SpiralTown farmboy, is forced to travel down the road of his life- Destiny road...
rating: 3 1/2 stars. The end wasn't completely satisfying. Yea, Jemmy becomes a hero of sorts, but you the reader don't get to expierence it. As a matter of fact, the reader is lucky to feel much for any of the characters throughout the entire book! It felt like the book was the beginning of what could be another fabulous universe (like the Known-Space universe), but that this book was just the beginning of a bigger story.. just the tip of the iceburg. Time will tell.
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Last Updated: December 31, 1999
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