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Fans of the Man-Kzin Wars series are offered hard-science explanations to mysteries of Known Space that reveal why the Kzin species conquered the interstellar empire, the origins of the Pak and Jotoki races, and more. Original.

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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About the author

Larry Niven

689 books3,313 followers
Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths.

Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.

Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.

He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.

Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Neutron Star in 1967. In 1972, for Inconstant Moon, and in 1975 for The Hole Man. In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Borderland of Sol.

Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early Kzin story The Soft Weapon. He adapted his story Inconstant Moon for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.

He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...

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5 stars
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44 (34%)
3 stars
36 (28%)
2 stars
9 (7%)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Little Timmy.
7,410 reviews60 followers
February 22, 2015
Excellent side novel in the Man-Kzin wars series. Explaining much of the ancient history of the major aliens in the shared world universe makes this a must read for fans of the series. Very recommended
Profile Image for Larry.
782 reviews2 followers
November 12, 2020
This was one of the better ones. The novel-length A Darker Geometry took a few liberties (puppeteer warrior caste?!?!) but I liked the attempt at an Outsiders origin story. The two other stories were really good, too.
Profile Image for Jim Grogan.
107 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2017
a collection of stories that tie in with each other very well
Profile Image for A..
Author 1 book10 followers
October 24, 2009
This was a "I need to pay the rent" novel. Not much more needs be said about it, except I "accidentally" set a page of it on fire. Accidentally because I was reading some really lousy SFish "THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE" on some page of the book, then flipped the page to find a diagram of said labored description, and happened to have a lighter in my hand, and I swear to God Your Honor it was totally reflex that I set that page ablaze. I plead insanity; that's what made me read the book.
Profile Image for Art Forward.
5 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2014
There are some great ideas in this, especially early in the book. However, being set in the "hard" (or at least semi-hard) SF universe of Larry Niven means there are certain expectations.
In Known Space things have explanations (of varying plausibility). Benford forgets this as he gets wrapped up in trying to get to the end of his tale.
83 reviews
May 26, 2012
This is an introduction to "known space" as told in many books by Benford. Benford and Mark O. Martin have together a rousing good novel!
Profile Image for Bruce.
156 reviews6 followers
November 3, 2012
Good read. Well written. The only real distraction is the cumulative improbabilities that strain suspension of disbelief.
Profile Image for Steven.
155 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2011
Tigermen in space! can you ask for more? Classic sci-fi.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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