Inconstant Star

Man-Kzin Wars #compiles material from 1 and 3

by Poul Anderson

A fixup of Kzinti stories written by Poul Anderson and set (with permission) in Larry Niven's Known Space universe.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poul Anderson was a science fiction grand master, as awarded by fellow writers of the genre. He had a distinguished career, but sadly this isn't one which wins awards. A good space opera though, fine entertainment yet lacks the certain element which gives it exuberance, and would separate the novel from the ordinary. Nevertheless the story flows and the ships float in the vast, unending, outlandish universe and never fatigues the reader. The obvious reason this is not a prodigious yarn is because the writer's two short stories are fused together, a fix-up in order to manufacture an epic. Still the material needs a better plot, just aliens who look like giant cats the Kzin, with sharp claws and vicious tempers, having an enormous appetite for human flesh but quite intelligent. Robert Saxtorph lives on an asteroid turned into a small planet Tiamat, circling Alpha Centauri A, the nearest star system (of three luminous gaseous bodies) to our own Old Sol, 4 light years away. Though a thirty mile long object in length , a Kzin finds and attacks this would -be hero Mr. Saxtorph and narrowly escapes extinction, however being a veteran of the recent Man-Kzin Wars he is an able warrior , but something is rotten in the state of Kzin...where have I heard that phrase before? Adventures of deep space soon commences as the spaceship Rover splashes and streaks in faster- than -light speed, the eerie, still constantly changing, through the eons of space, roaming its unworldly regions, with a tight group of eight passengers led by Captain Robert and wife Dorcas explore. Part one called Iron , has Laurinda Brozik, her search for a red dwarf star and planet Prima orbiting it, with many moons and she has plenty of money to spend, yet wants to discover more wealth there. The unwanted Kzins arrives to make it interesting... Part two called appropriately Inconstant Star , is another voyage funded by Tyra Nordbo the daughter of a convicted traitor Peter, trying to exonerate him and maybe the long lost man, found . Surprise, surprise, the Kzins come back. Second thoughts, maybe not such a bad book. If you are a fan this will suffice indeed.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a fix-up of two novellas that were originally published in Baen's Man-Kzin Wars series of original anthologies, Iron from the initial volume in 1986 and the title story from the third volume in 1991. I preferred the first half, which was about survival in space, whereas the second was more about the Man-Kzin conflict. It's much more for Larry Niven/Known Space fans than for Anderson fans; Niven's name should be on the cover as creator, but he only gets a small line on the copyright page. The cover is by Larry Elmore, and it's fun to compare the different visions that different artists have of Niven's famous felines. Some of the M-K War volumes look just like Tony the Tiger, and Elmore's version here is more of a were-cat with a rat-tail. It's a pretty good pair adventure of adventures but is redundant to readers of the original anthologies.

[Charl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors, writing in one of my favorite universes. It reprises and expands a story told in the first Man-Kzin wars books, and is well worth the time for any fan of Niven, Anderson or the Man-Kzin Wars series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inconstant Star by Poul Anderson actually consists of 2 novellas, Iron and Inconstant Star, that flow together into one novel. Parts of these stories were included in "Man-Kzin Wars" and "Man-Kzin Wars III" but are still worth the reading, even if you've read the original versions. If you are a fan of Larry Niven's Man-Kzin Wars books you definitely will enjoy this one.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, turns out I'm more a fiction fan, and less a science fan. Got bogged down in the techie parts, and wanted more of the alien stuff.

[Traummachine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really two novellas combined into one book, but they involve the same crew and form a contiguous whole, and I really enjoyed it. It's in Niven's open Man-Kzin Wars setting, which gave it a leg up.

"Iron" is the story of a crew that goes to investigate a strange-looking system before anyone else claims it, stumbles upon a Kzin fleet, surrenders to them and gets stranded on the planets of the system. From there, the crew has to figure out how to survive, get un-stranded, and defeat the Kzin before their dastardly plan comes to fruition. Well-written, fun characters, and a Firefly-like feel to the whole thing.

"Inconstant Star" (the second novella) gets more involved. The same crew gains a reputation due to the events in "Iron", so they get hired by a daughter to redeem the honor of her father, a scientist convicted of conspiring with the Kzin. They basically retrace his steps, find a bigger plot going on (one that's pretty deeply rooted in the back-story of Niven's Known Space setting), and are again in over their heads. Outwitted and outgunned...did I mention this feels like Firefly?

I really enjoyed this, and have definitely added Poul Anderson to my must-read list.

[Brian R. Mcdonald]

Expansion to novel length of two short stories, "Iron" and the title story. The latter contains a brief go reference in both forms.