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Man-Kzin Wars #1
The Man-Kzin Wars
Once upon a time, in the earliest days of interplanetary exploration, an unarmed human vessel was set upon by a warship from the planet Kzin. But the Kzinti learned the hard way that the reason humanity had given up war was that they were so very, very good at it. Thus began the Man-Kzin Wars.
Contents:
1 · Introduction · Larry Niven · in *
5 · The Warriors · Larry Niven · ss If Feb ’66
27 · Iron [Part 1 of 2] · Poul Anderson · n. Far Frontiers Vol. VII, ed. Jerry Pournelle & Jim Baen, Baen, 1986
116 · Iron [Part 2 of 2] · Poul Anderson · n. New Destinies, Vol. 1, ed. Jim Baen, Baen, 1987
179 · Cathouse · Dean Ing · na New Destinies, Vol. III, ed. Jim Baen, Baen, 1988
289 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
149 people are currently reading
2056 people want to read
About the author
Larry Niven
687 books3,301 followersLaurence 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...
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
June 21, 2008
Chicks get to read trashy romance novels as a guilty pleasure.
Dudes get to read sentient 8' tall giant space cats at war with humanity novels as a guilty pleasure.
Dudes get to read sentient 8' tall giant space cats at war with humanity novels as a guilty pleasure.
January 22, 2019
Three and half stars.
(My apologies for mistreating the English language)
So finally I have read my first Man-Kzin Wars book. In this case the contents are: an introduction and a short story written by Larry Niven himself, “The Warriors”. A novelette, “Iron” by the master Poul Anderson and the novella “Cathouse” by an unknown writer (at least for me), Dean Ing.
Enjoyable science fiction, pre-information age style (the book was published in 1988); well planned and correctly written; space opera stories with a lot of details: they have a notable hard component, specially Poul Anderson’s.
Actually I consider that Dean Ing’s story is the best. “Cathouse” deals with the psychology of its characters: Carroll Locklear, a survivor of a space battle that has left to his fate among the Kzin, first as a captive and then as a companion on an unknown planet. To highlight the character of a female kzin, which Locklear calls Miss Kitty.
It was not the first alien-cat-like story that I have read. I am thinking about “Satan's World” (Polesotechnic League series) also by Poul Anderson and of course “Chanur”, by C. J. Cherryh (Chanur saga), both they are good works. In our case, as I said I am also delighted by the very interesting and well depicted Kzin characters.
In summary, I enjoyed it and I want to read more of this series. By the way, the Man-Kzin Wars XV will be available in February.
(My apologies for mistreating the English language)
So finally I have read my first Man-Kzin Wars book. In this case the contents are: an introduction and a short story written by Larry Niven himself, “The Warriors”. A novelette, “Iron” by the master Poul Anderson and the novella “Cathouse” by an unknown writer (at least for me), Dean Ing.
Enjoyable science fiction, pre-information age style (the book was published in 1988); well planned and correctly written; space opera stories with a lot of details: they have a notable hard component, specially Poul Anderson’s.
Actually I consider that Dean Ing’s story is the best. “Cathouse” deals with the psychology of its characters: Carroll Locklear, a survivor of a space battle that has left to his fate among the Kzin, first as a captive and then as a companion on an unknown planet. To highlight the character of a female kzin, which Locklear calls Miss Kitty.
It was not the first alien-cat-like story that I have read. I am thinking about “Satan's World” (Polesotechnic League series) also by Poul Anderson and of course “Chanur”, by C. J. Cherryh (Chanur saga), both they are good works. In our case, as I said I am also delighted by the very interesting and well depicted Kzin characters.
In summary, I enjoyed it and I want to read more of this series. By the way, the Man-Kzin Wars XV will be available in February.
January 8, 2012
Short stories set in Niven's "Known Space" universe, in the time after Humanity and the Kzin meet and begin their wars that are completed by the time of most of Niven's novels.
This was a mixed bag - I enjoyed Niven's first, short short story, and then nearly fell asleep during Poul Anderson's piece. Just didn't grab me - in fact, I can't remember what it was about and I finished the book just today. Dean Ing's story was enjoyable but nothing extraordinary. Overall, this book is a borderline 2.5 stars but not worth rounding up to 3 stars.
I'll stick with Niven's work. He said he couldn't write war stories and so left that part of the Known Space universe for others to fill in. I don't have enough interest in this period to follow up with any of the other Man-Kzin War compendiums to see if they get better than this one.
This was a mixed bag - I enjoyed Niven's first, short short story, and then nearly fell asleep during Poul Anderson's piece. Just didn't grab me - in fact, I can't remember what it was about and I finished the book just today. Dean Ing's story was enjoyable but nothing extraordinary. Overall, this book is a borderline 2.5 stars but not worth rounding up to 3 stars.
I'll stick with Niven's work. He said he couldn't write war stories and so left that part of the Known Space universe for others to fill in. I don't have enough interest in this period to follow up with any of the other Man-Kzin War compendiums to see if they get better than this one.
May 22, 2016
I bought this book on a whim... I had seen it for years in the book stores and was always curious to what it was... as the years passed I forgot about it... until recently while browsing on amazon, looking at books. I thought I'd give it a try... (there are at least twenty books to this series)... and loved it! It's not a masterpiece or anything, but the fun value in the three short stories was great! It has the feel of old time sci-fi stories and what I like is that it has no real modern franchise built around it... (movies, cartoons, video games, etc...) but there is a vast universe of stories and adventure in the many books that have been written. The stories start in the middle of the war so there is no real explanation of how they really started and real no need to explain it... which was fine with me... I would recommend this book to sci-fi fans if they want something fun to read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.... (also a book of short stories...)
June 18, 2009
Kitty cats with rayguns and space-helmets fuck some shit up. Much as I love Niven's books, this is about the most unnecessary series ever, and it peaks here.
Niven's original story is decent but dated (the premise of a utopian humanity that has learned to suppress its aggressive instincts isn't one we worry about much anymore, is it?). Poul Anderson's story is pretty good, and Ing's is a wretched one-man-army type story that leans heavily on the cat puns.
Niven's original story is decent but dated (the premise of a utopian humanity that has learned to suppress its aggressive instincts isn't one we worry about much anymore, is it?). Poul Anderson's story is pretty good, and Ing's is a wretched one-man-army type story that leans heavily on the cat puns.
October 18, 2021
A disappointment: four stories, none of them in the same league as the 'known space' stories by Niven himself.
July 7, 2014
I first came across the Kzin while reading tales of know space -(Warriors) and they have fascinated me ever since. I guess you could dissect and examine it all you like there are many reasons to appreciate and like them - huge feline killing machines which an alien outlook on life and the "hairless monkeys" who keep on failing to appreciate that they should have been subjugated by the Kzin years ago.
I think for me its their scream and leap approach - something that has stood them in good stead till now when Mankind appears to be totally under whelmed by them and shows a resourcefulness that the Kzin need to appreciate and understand or they will be the conquered ones. The stories mesh with the other tales of know space even though very little of the Man Kzin was are actually written by Larry Niven.
And so came about my other fascination - the shared universe where other authors were able to add their ideas and thoughts while building on the work of Mr Niven. The books themselves are a great read but to really appreciate them you need to see the bigger picture and go explore the Known Space at great length.
One thing I would say if you are interested in how one alien species meets and then under estimate another Niven and Pournelles footfall is a great book to experience this - a book I will be shortly digging for.
I think for me its their scream and leap approach - something that has stood them in good stead till now when Mankind appears to be totally under whelmed by them and shows a resourcefulness that the Kzin need to appreciate and understand or they will be the conquered ones. The stories mesh with the other tales of know space even though very little of the Man Kzin was are actually written by Larry Niven.
And so came about my other fascination - the shared universe where other authors were able to add their ideas and thoughts while building on the work of Mr Niven. The books themselves are a great read but to really appreciate them you need to see the bigger picture and go explore the Known Space at great length.
One thing I would say if you are interested in how one alien species meets and then under estimate another Niven and Pournelles footfall is a great book to experience this - a book I will be shortly digging for.
January 22, 2010
I like military science fiction.....this is not military science fiction. The book might better have been titled: "Events Peripheral to the Man-Kzin Wars." The opening story is an old one by Niven telling the first meeting and hostile encounter between the two races. Niven in the Intro says he wasn't in the military so he doesn't try to write military scenes.
Okay.
The second story (novella)by Anderson is basically a romance and the third by Ing is an odd little "relations between the species" tale (tail?) that seems to dance around the "boy we wish we were the same species plot point. Neither is a bad story, but neither actually is about the "wars" that are always sort of in the background.
I gave the book a 3 star rating for fair and serviceable science fiction stories, but don't go for this if you are actually looking for military type science fiction.
Okay.
The second story (novella)by Anderson is basically a romance and the third by Ing is an odd little "relations between the species" tale (tail?) that seems to dance around the "boy we wish we were the same species plot point. Neither is a bad story, but neither actually is about the "wars" that are always sort of in the background.
I gave the book a 3 star rating for fair and serviceable science fiction stories, but don't go for this if you are actually looking for military type science fiction.
December 8, 2020
This 25th anniversary edition includes Poul Anderson as well as a story by Niven. I like Anderson. Niven does okay military sci-fi but I'm not sure what the purpose of the shared authorship is about. I've read stories more compelling and aliens more interesting. Actually an alien race whose females are not sentient is not only not remotely believable in anything above maybe an amoeba, it makes for a boring race. Who comes up with that as late as 1988?
August 26, 2019
This was fun space opera type stuff with cat-like aliens called Kzinti. I enjoyed all three stories but I liked Cathouse the best.
Larry Niven created the concept and he wrote the first story called Warriors. The other stories were Iron written by Poul Anderson and Cathouse written by Dean Ing.
All in all a fun read with alien cat like beings vs. Humans.
Larry Niven created the concept and he wrote the first story called Warriors. The other stories were Iron written by Poul Anderson and Cathouse written by Dean Ing.
All in all a fun read with alien cat like beings vs. Humans.
August 13, 2017
It's kind of a testament to how much I tried to like this book in how long it took me to read it. The best books compel you to complete them, so if a 289-page paperback is any good, it should be a quick study. Instead, it took more than a month.
I'm not saying I hated it; I don't finish books I don't like, and all the parts were certainly there. It might have been easier to swallow had the legendary antagonist Kzinti in these early shared-universe stories had more character complexity than "screaming ball of furry rage." However, this is mostly just evident in the story "Iron," by Poul Anderson. It's a rough story to start the series with - the cast is huge and complicated, the motives are unclear, and the Kzinti are hard to understand. The last story, "Cathouse," was a much smoother read.
The three stories in this first book all have the same theme: that a handful of resourceful humans can take down an army, provided that army hasn't really established a policy of "look before you leap, screaming, onto your enemy with your claws out and your dagger drawn." Dean Ing's badass nerd Locklear probably does it best, not only being a determined fighter but managing to form Kzin alliances that indicate some discipline and ethical diversity in the ranks.
Also, this is really the first time I've met the Kzinti in print. I have yet to read "Ringworld" or other Known Space stories, so it's probably unfair of me to judge the Kzinti on three stories written by other authors. Best to conclude by pointing out that this sole book in a huge anthology series earns only three stars due to the confusing narrative of a single story in it. As a series, the setting intrigues, and I expect to uncover more of these books in the future.
I'm not saying I hated it; I don't finish books I don't like, and all the parts were certainly there. It might have been easier to swallow had the legendary antagonist Kzinti in these early shared-universe stories had more character complexity than "screaming ball of furry rage." However, this is mostly just evident in the story "Iron," by Poul Anderson. It's a rough story to start the series with - the cast is huge and complicated, the motives are unclear, and the Kzinti are hard to understand. The last story, "Cathouse," was a much smoother read.
The three stories in this first book all have the same theme: that a handful of resourceful humans can take down an army, provided that army hasn't really established a policy of "look before you leap, screaming, onto your enemy with your claws out and your dagger drawn." Dean Ing's badass nerd Locklear probably does it best, not only being a determined fighter but managing to form Kzin alliances that indicate some discipline and ethical diversity in the ranks.
Also, this is really the first time I've met the Kzinti in print. I have yet to read "Ringworld" or other Known Space stories, so it's probably unfair of me to judge the Kzinti on three stories written by other authors. Best to conclude by pointing out that this sole book in a huge anthology series earns only three stars due to the confusing narrative of a single story in it. As a series, the setting intrigues, and I expect to uncover more of these books in the future.
March 8, 2025
It was okay, then Dean Ing came in and dropped the horny bombshell of a story I`ve been dreaming about. I hope other sequels surprise me.
July 7, 2020
I read Man-Kzin Wars 1 about 20 years ago and after deciding to re-read or explore some more of Niven's Known Space world-building, figured I'd read the first entry to Man-Kzin again. Kinda wish I hadn't.
It's not bad but it's not very good either. This first volume basically contains a very short story (The Warriors), a novella (Iron) and one story in between these two in length (Cathouse). Cathouse, by Dean Ing, was the best of the three.
The Warriors is so short that it serves as more of a prologue to the entire series. Originally published in 1966, it reads very much from that time period. If felt very dated in 2020, despite the fact that Niven does a good job of trying to paint a picture of a far future human society. Unfortunately it is still one where male astronauts are still going around patting female astronauts on the head and contains a lot of chauvinism that was common in fiction writing of that period.
Less forgivable is Poul Anderson's "Iron." This story was really bizarre to me. Written in the late 80s, it still SOUNDS like a writer from the 50s or 60s trying to write about future society. I know Anderson is considered a grand master of Sci-Fi but the more of his work I read, the less I like it. His writing just feels archaic. Its like a writer imagining "The Jetsons" is what the future of space travel looks like - but everyone still smokes a pipe. There is also a lot of strange, awkward sexual tension that seems forced into Iron, again as if Anderson envisioned a sexually liberal future society but couldn't quite let his characters run with it.
As mentioned, Cathouse was my favorite of the three. What happens to a single human man stranded in a huge artificial habitat with only Kzin females as companions, all of whom are under threat from the return of a Kzin ship full of male Kzin, and who may be being monitored by the Outsiders - an advanced alien race only hinted at so far who have set up dozens of habitats on an airless world orbiting a small black hole? It was thrilling and mysterious to find out.
In the end, I kinda get why these three stories were selected as the first group for the Man-Kzin wars series, but I hope future entries have more to offer.
It's not bad but it's not very good either. This first volume basically contains a very short story (The Warriors), a novella (Iron) and one story in between these two in length (Cathouse). Cathouse, by Dean Ing, was the best of the three.
The Warriors is so short that it serves as more of a prologue to the entire series. Originally published in 1966, it reads very much from that time period. If felt very dated in 2020, despite the fact that Niven does a good job of trying to paint a picture of a far future human society. Unfortunately it is still one where male astronauts are still going around patting female astronauts on the head and contains a lot of chauvinism that was common in fiction writing of that period.
Less forgivable is Poul Anderson's "Iron." This story was really bizarre to me. Written in the late 80s, it still SOUNDS like a writer from the 50s or 60s trying to write about future society. I know Anderson is considered a grand master of Sci-Fi but the more of his work I read, the less I like it. His writing just feels archaic. Its like a writer imagining "The Jetsons" is what the future of space travel looks like - but everyone still smokes a pipe. There is also a lot of strange, awkward sexual tension that seems forced into Iron, again as if Anderson envisioned a sexually liberal future society but couldn't quite let his characters run with it.
As mentioned, Cathouse was my favorite of the three. What happens to a single human man stranded in a huge artificial habitat with only Kzin females as companions, all of whom are under threat from the return of a Kzin ship full of male Kzin, and who may be being monitored by the Outsiders - an advanced alien race only hinted at so far who have set up dozens of habitats on an airless world orbiting a small black hole? It was thrilling and mysterious to find out.
In the end, I kinda get why these three stories were selected as the first group for the Man-Kzin wars series, but I hope future entries have more to offer.
February 3, 2013
Most teachers grade on a curve. For that matter, most evaluations (IQ, GPA, movie ratings) are expressed as some variation of a bell curve. So why in the world isn't that the case for Goodreads? Or, for that matter, Netflix?
That's because most people rate only that about which they are truly enthusiastic. That's the only reason I can explain the Man-Kzin Wars series having a higher average than 3.0 stars. You see, the initial story isn't even original: it was published long ago, in multiple places, and in this book was tapped again to do service in the name of inflated earnings. In and of itself it is an excellent story (though it pales in comparison to Niven's other best short stories). It is accompanied by mediocre additions from other writers.
So let me ask anybody who gave this story 5 stars: is this collection really as good as the best SF you've ever read? Consider Dune, The Forever War, Childhood's End. Consider Ender's Game. COnsider "Who Goes There?", which was the basis of the John Carpenter film The Thing. Heck, consider Niven's other short story collections. This is as good as "Neutron Star" or "Tales of Known Space?"
If the answer is no, then why are you rating this 5 stars? In what universe is that defensible? You save the best ratings for things that are absolutely mind-blowing, and give a three star rating to somewhat swashbuckling action that isn't particularly good.
That's because most people rate only that about which they are truly enthusiastic. That's the only reason I can explain the Man-Kzin Wars series having a higher average than 3.0 stars. You see, the initial story isn't even original: it was published long ago, in multiple places, and in this book was tapped again to do service in the name of inflated earnings. In and of itself it is an excellent story (though it pales in comparison to Niven's other best short stories). It is accompanied by mediocre additions from other writers.
So let me ask anybody who gave this story 5 stars: is this collection really as good as the best SF you've ever read? Consider Dune, The Forever War, Childhood's End. Consider Ender's Game. COnsider "Who Goes There?", which was the basis of the John Carpenter film The Thing. Heck, consider Niven's other short story collections. This is as good as "Neutron Star" or "Tales of Known Space?"
If the answer is no, then why are you rating this 5 stars? In what universe is that defensible? You save the best ratings for things that are absolutely mind-blowing, and give a three star rating to somewhat swashbuckling action that isn't particularly good.
November 4, 2020
For those who like Larry Niven's style of science fiction, this is an excellent read. Niven created an immense, fascinating universe starting with his class Ringworld. The Kzin are tiger-like warriors who inhabit a portion of this universe. The book contains the original Niven short story of the first human-Kzin encounter. Then it has two novellas by other authors (Poul Anderson and Dean Ing) set later in time, after humans and Kzin have battled and made-up several times.
Niven always includes a lot of hard science, along with the required science fiction exceptions to allow faster-than-light travel/communication and the existence of interesting aliens. Niven is my favorite author in terms of creating truly "other" species. He also creates truly exotic other worlds. Anderson and Ing pick up well on those themes and obey the rules of Niven's universe well. The stories contain excellent hard science, as well as interesting characters and psychological studies.
I've been reading some more challenging books, and it was fun to take a breather for the pure joy of a good story.
Niven always includes a lot of hard science, along with the required science fiction exceptions to allow faster-than-light travel/communication and the existence of interesting aliens. Niven is my favorite author in terms of creating truly "other" species. He also creates truly exotic other worlds. Anderson and Ing pick up well on those themes and obey the rules of Niven's universe well. The stories contain excellent hard science, as well as interesting characters and psychological studies.
I've been reading some more challenging books, and it was fun to take a breather for the pure joy of a good story.
May 10, 2015
A set of three novellas set in Niven's Known Space universe during the period of war between humans and the catlike Kzin. "The Warriors" by Larry Niven, "Iron" by Poul Anderson and "Cathouse" by Dean Ing all are excellent stories set in this shared universe. Great SiFi stories by three masters of the genre. Very recommended
February 18, 2024
Probably a 3.5, it's pretty fun even if it is pretty silly and dated. The book is one short story, Larry Niven's "Warriors", and two novellas, Iron by Poul Anderson and Cathouse by Dean Ing. The short story didn't do too much for me, although maybe it's more interesting for fans of Niven's Known Space setting as it seems to cover an important historical event. The novellas both have their charms.
Iron is a pretty tense story about a civilian crew that blunders into a secret Kzinti (cat alien) base, clearly preparing for a massive sneak attack, and has to survive and get word home against very long odds. I on the whole enjoyed the way Anderson puts together a hardscrabble crew, then splits them up and gets them in trouble. There's a hackneyed love plot - one thing I took away from all of these stories is that popular science fiction from the mid-late 20th century certainly acted as romance novels for boys, among other things - that was pretty silly, but I did enjoy the sensual rival Carita even if virtuous lovers Laurinda and Juan generally fell flat. This is definitely pretty hard science fiction; Anderson gives his characters long monologues where they get really excited explaining complex speculative astronomy, and sometimes lampshades it, but, like, it doesn't really help. Credit where it's due, though, some of the resulting setpieces that he elaborately justifies through the speculative astronomy bits are pretty thrilling.
I enjoyed big parts of Cathouse, but there's a lot of Robinson Crusoe crap that frankly bored me where Locklear, stranded on an empty world, reinvents Stone Age tools, uses his high school trig classes to overcome dastardly alien traps, and builds extremely unlikely devices. It's deadly dull stuff to me. Also, by this time in my life I've seen an episode of Naked & Afraid and I'm no longer convinced by white dudes with no experience or training using their Big Brains to survive effortlessly.
The interest in Cathouse comes when Locklear meets a Kzinti woman. Content warning for misogyny here I guess: it's been off-handedly mentioned in other Kzin stories that Kzinti women aren't sentient and sapient beings, like the males are like human beings and the females are like pets that the males can produce offspring with, unable to use language or perform advanced reasoning. This is kind of an interesting idea to explore? But probably something you should only introduce if you want to talk about gender, which most Kzin stories seem really uninterested in, except to underscore that the men are all getting laid? Anyway, the woman that Locklear meets isn't like that, because (long story) she's from 40,000 years ago when Kzin women were still thinking creatures. (In fact, she was, in her own time effectively a militant feminist who was violently fighting for equal rights for Kzin women.) And wouldn't you know it, even though they're different species she's totally into Locklear, and Locklear finds himself being kind of into her in a confusing way.
This story is fascinating when it's about them being kind of married as they help each other survive on this barren planet, and definitely romantically and even erotically intimate with each other, even if they don't "have sex" per se. There are genuinely interesting portrayals of both of them figuring out social cues that are alien to them, and each adapting to some degree. And frankly, yeah, I was kind of delighted to see Ing writing pretty plausibly about these two alien beings who come to like and respect each other finding ways to be erotic together. And then I have to put my guy on blast, because Ing absolutely chickens out at the end, introducing a Kzin male and having Locklear, and I'm not exaggerating here, go off to find a human woman from 40,000 years ago to court. (He figures that's all he can find on this weird planet they're stuck on, again, long story). Boo, Ing, boo!
Iron is a pretty tense story about a civilian crew that blunders into a secret Kzinti (cat alien) base, clearly preparing for a massive sneak attack, and has to survive and get word home against very long odds. I on the whole enjoyed the way Anderson puts together a hardscrabble crew, then splits them up and gets them in trouble. There's a hackneyed love plot - one thing I took away from all of these stories is that popular science fiction from the mid-late 20th century certainly acted as romance novels for boys, among other things - that was pretty silly, but I did enjoy the sensual rival Carita even if virtuous lovers Laurinda and Juan generally fell flat. This is definitely pretty hard science fiction; Anderson gives his characters long monologues where they get really excited explaining complex speculative astronomy, and sometimes lampshades it, but, like, it doesn't really help. Credit where it's due, though, some of the resulting setpieces that he elaborately justifies through the speculative astronomy bits are pretty thrilling.
I enjoyed big parts of Cathouse, but there's a lot of Robinson Crusoe crap that frankly bored me where Locklear, stranded on an empty world, reinvents Stone Age tools, uses his high school trig classes to overcome dastardly alien traps, and builds extremely unlikely devices. It's deadly dull stuff to me. Also, by this time in my life I've seen an episode of Naked & Afraid and I'm no longer convinced by white dudes with no experience or training using their Big Brains to survive effortlessly.
The interest in Cathouse comes when Locklear meets a Kzinti woman. Content warning for misogyny here I guess: it's been off-handedly mentioned in other Kzin stories that Kzinti women aren't sentient and sapient beings, like the males are like human beings and the females are like pets that the males can produce offspring with, unable to use language or perform advanced reasoning. This is kind of an interesting idea to explore? But probably something you should only introduce if you want to talk about gender, which most Kzin stories seem really uninterested in, except to underscore that the men are all getting laid? Anyway, the woman that Locklear meets isn't like that, because (long story) she's from 40,000 years ago when Kzin women were still thinking creatures. (In fact, she was, in her own time effectively a militant feminist who was violently fighting for equal rights for Kzin women.) And wouldn't you know it, even though they're different species she's totally into Locklear, and Locklear finds himself being kind of into her in a confusing way.
This story is fascinating when it's about them being kind of married as they help each other survive on this barren planet, and definitely romantically and even erotically intimate with each other, even if they don't "have sex" per se. There are genuinely interesting portrayals of both of them figuring out social cues that are alien to them, and each adapting to some degree. And frankly, yeah, I was kind of delighted to see Ing writing pretty plausibly about these two alien beings who come to like and respect each other finding ways to be erotic together. And then I have to put my guy on blast, because Ing absolutely chickens out at the end, introducing a Kzin male and having Locklear, and I'm not exaggerating here, go off to find a human woman from 40,000 years ago to court. (He figures that's all he can find on this weird planet they're stuck on, again, long story). Boo, Ing, boo!
Read
October 29, 2020It's not really fair to give an overall rating, for each author: Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, and Dean Ing, have such completely different, even opposite, writing styles, that the book is actually 3. Per Goodreads, I've discovered there are several more compilations. I won't read them.
I picked up this book after reading Robin Hobb, and Niven's style or writing level placed the tale at high school level. Nothing wrong with that, but it was a much simpler experience. He presented 6 humans and 3? Kzin, and the humans hadn't had war or disease on their planet or in their culture for 300 years. The shock of being attacked and retaliating, even to the scientist, was emotionally devastating.
Poul Anderson is a true sci fi writer, on the level of Asimov and Clark. Brain shock for me, and my first couple of evenings reading felt like I was tumbling. There was no timeline provided from the first book, no correlation, and several characters introduced at once. I did ease into it and eventually wonder where I had difficulty, but the initial discomfort at the shock of different writing styles remained a shadow.
Dean Ing's writing was very comfortable. I had minimum characters to learn, a fascinating story without the treacherous twists the previous book presented, and even a reference to the original story. Honestly, I enjoyed this author's work the most.
I can see how it is a series, and I can see how each book would stand alone. Heck, each author's work stands alone. And, I see a potential inspiration from Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack Chalker in Dean's story. Clearly, future writings would hopefully make use of the playground, er, world, of the Outsiders that Dean created.
I picked up this book after reading Robin Hobb, and Niven's style or writing level placed the tale at high school level. Nothing wrong with that, but it was a much simpler experience. He presented 6 humans and 3? Kzin, and the humans hadn't had war or disease on their planet or in their culture for 300 years. The shock of being attacked and retaliating, even to the scientist, was emotionally devastating.
Poul Anderson is a true sci fi writer, on the level of Asimov and Clark. Brain shock for me, and my first couple of evenings reading felt like I was tumbling. There was no timeline provided from the first book, no correlation, and several characters introduced at once. I did ease into it and eventually wonder where I had difficulty, but the initial discomfort at the shock of different writing styles remained a shadow.
Dean Ing's writing was very comfortable. I had minimum characters to learn, a fascinating story without the treacherous twists the previous book presented, and even a reference to the original story. Honestly, I enjoyed this author's work the most.
I can see how it is a series, and I can see how each book would stand alone. Heck, each author's work stands alone. And, I see a potential inspiration from Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack Chalker in Dean's story. Clearly, future writings would hopefully make use of the playground, er, world, of the Outsiders that Dean created.
Want to read
June 2, 2024Lu en anglais
Dans son roman L'anneau monde, Larry Niven fait intervenir un Kzin, une race féline agressive qui a combattu les humains dans le passé. Cela lui a ensuite donné l'idée de mettre en situation, avec l'aide d'autres écrivains, les affrontements du lointain passé entre les humains et les Kzin dans une série de plusieurs tomes.
Ce tome comprend 4 nouvelles :
1) Les guerriers - Cette nouvelle raconte la première rencontre entre le vaisseau des humains pacifistes et le vaisseau des très agressifs Kzin
Que faire quand l'adversaire ne cherche qu'à nous éliminer ? Avec une fin brillante ! Bien aimée.
2) La folie a sa place - Grâce aux communications du premier vaisseau, certains humains savent ce qui les attend et ils ne sont pas du tout préparés.
Comment se défendre ? Tout pour une idée. Bien aimée.
3) L'homme qui deviendrait Kzin - Un humain télépathe a la faculté de projeter ses pensées et donc d'assumer une autre apparence aux yeux des autres. Sa mission est de se faire passer pour un Kzin à bord d'un vaisseau Kzin.
Une histoire qui joue beaucoup sur la psychologie des Kzin et leurs sens plus poussés que les humains (odorat, ouie, etc.), mais aussi sur leurs faiblesses. Bien aimée.
4) Dans la salle du roi de la montagne - Un humain s'allie à deux Kzin parias en perdition sur une planète suite à sa récupération par les humains. Leur but, faire de l'argent.
Une nouvelle un peu longue qui bifurque beaucoup. Moyennement aimé.
Malgré le titre, il s'agit plus d'un livre à idées. Pas de batailles à l'emporte pièce, mais beaucoup de réflexions et de psychologie avec des retournements de situation surprenants.
J'ai aimé. Pas passionnant, mais satisfaisant comme c'est souvent le cas avec Larry Niven.
Dans son roman L'anneau monde, Larry Niven fait intervenir un Kzin, une race féline agressive qui a combattu les humains dans le passé. Cela lui a ensuite donné l'idée de mettre en situation, avec l'aide d'autres écrivains, les affrontements du lointain passé entre les humains et les Kzin dans une série de plusieurs tomes.
Ce tome comprend 4 nouvelles :
1) Les guerriers - Cette nouvelle raconte la première rencontre entre le vaisseau des humains pacifistes et le vaisseau des très agressifs Kzin
Que faire quand l'adversaire ne cherche qu'à nous éliminer ? Avec une fin brillante ! Bien aimée.
2) La folie a sa place - Grâce aux communications du premier vaisseau, certains humains savent ce qui les attend et ils ne sont pas du tout préparés.
Comment se défendre ? Tout pour une idée. Bien aimée.
3) L'homme qui deviendrait Kzin - Un humain télépathe a la faculté de projeter ses pensées et donc d'assumer une autre apparence aux yeux des autres. Sa mission est de se faire passer pour un Kzin à bord d'un vaisseau Kzin.
Une histoire qui joue beaucoup sur la psychologie des Kzin et leurs sens plus poussés que les humains (odorat, ouie, etc.), mais aussi sur leurs faiblesses. Bien aimée.
4) Dans la salle du roi de la montagne - Un humain s'allie à deux Kzin parias en perdition sur une planète suite à sa récupération par les humains. Leur but, faire de l'argent.
Une nouvelle un peu longue qui bifurque beaucoup. Moyennement aimé.
Malgré le titre, il s'agit plus d'un livre à idées. Pas de batailles à l'emporte pièce, mais beaucoup de réflexions et de psychologie avec des retournements de situation surprenants.
J'ai aimé. Pas passionnant, mais satisfaisant comme c'est souvent le cas avec Larry Niven.
March 6, 2021
Meh. This was more and less than I expected. The quality of writing and interesting science fiction ideas were strong in all three stories (more like one story and two novellas). But the fun, space-war, guilty pleasure aspect wasn't there for me as much as I expected. The writing was dated (written in the eighties but by established writers, so it read more like 60s SF). The Poul Anderson piece was straight up science focused hard scifi but juxtaposed with FTL travel, giant sentient space tiger-rats, and an old-school adventure story vibe. It was a weird mix for me which didn't quite work. The second long story had kind of a cool survivalist feel mixed with the anthropological quality of looking at the lives and customs of ancient Kzin and learning . I liked this story a bit more, and both were surprisingly gender egalitarian, for any era of SF but especially for the time. Both stories portrayed humans as plucky winners who, with their cleverness and indefatigability, can overcome more powerful aliens. It's kind of a Star Trek meets classic SF theme which can feel a little silly and played out. Maybe I would have enjoyed these stories more if the characters had time to develop and the stories were less slapdash, i.e. if they were whole novels. Short stories work well around one cool idea or as a snapshot of character or a small moment of life. Novellas, with some great and obvious exceptions, can, for me, fall into kind of a no-man's land in between. I may read on. Not sure.
February 23, 2015
Everyone has their favorites, and author Larry Niven is one of mine. Although I have read comparatively few of his numerous short stories, novels and novel collaborations, I have a special connection to Larry Niven: he has the distinction of being the author of the first science fiction novel that I walked into a bookstore as a young man and purchased for myself. That novel, A World Out of Time, is one of my favorites, a book that I re-read every few years.
In Larry Niven’s Known Space universe, made most famous in his award-winning novel, Ringworld and its sequels and prequels, mankind’s history is marked by multiple wars with the bloodthirsty, carnivorous cat-like aliens, the Kzinti. I’ve often been curious about those wars, hinted at but not detailed in Niven’s work. Over the years I have seen the various Man-Kzin Wars volumes, currently numbering fourteen, but have not been compelled to pick one up.
That changed when a visit to Half-Price books last week, with the buzz of Alastair Reynolds’ Galactic North collection still stirring my imagination (a series inspired by Larry Niven’s Known Space stories), yielded the first copy I have ever seen of volume one in this series, beginning with the first story Larry Niven ever sold, and the first appearance of the Kzinti: “The Warriors”.
I came home, laid aside my current reads, and lost myself in Known Space.
In his introduction, Niven writes:
“I’ve never been in a war, nor any of the armed forces. Wars have happened and may happen again in most of my series universes, including known space, but you’ll never see them. I lack the experience. Here are a couple of centuries of known space that are dark to me.”
An automobile trip with Jim Baen to a Nebula Awards banquet resulted in a conversation that opened up the years of the Man-Kzin wars to other authors, this being the opening chapter.
Volume one of The Man-Kzin Wars kicks things off with Niven’s aforementioned short story, and two longer works of fiction by authors Poul Anderson and Dean Ing. Three solid tales written in the style of stories that made me fall in love with science fiction as a young teen kept me up late turning the pages to see how it would all play out.
My Rating: 8/10
In Larry Niven’s 1966 story, “The Warriors”, readers experience the first ever contact between mankind and the Kzinti. A Kzinti warship encounters what they see as a primitive spacecraft and determine to kill its inhabitants in order to scavenge material from the ship. The story alternates between activities and conversations taking place in the Kzinti vessel and those happening in the human ship. This, the shortest of the three stories in this volume, teaches a valuable lesson: don’t underestimate humanity’s capability for war.
In the far distant future of Known Space, mankind has matured beyond the need for war. When the presence of another warrior race becomes a reality, that race comes to understand that one of the reasons that mankind gave up on waging war is that we were so good at it.
Poul Anderson and Dean Ing’s stories, perhaps accurately described as novellas, share the page count that many science fiction novels had in the days where 200 pages was a long novel. Anderson’s 1987 story, “Iron”, takes place during a time when humans and Kzinti are in a period of peace after protracted wars. Robert Saxtorph and his wife Dorcas, along with a scientist and his protege and a couple of additional explorers, set out on a journey to investigate a distant red dwarf star and the possibility of planetary bodies in its orbit. Upon arriving they find fascinating scientific discoveries…and a Kzinti presence. In their desire to stay alive and perhaps outlast their enemy, the team splits up, learning more about the various planets orbiting the dying star while doing their best to survive.
In “Cathouse”, by Dean Ing, a civilian named Locklear becomes the sole survivor of a Kzinti attack on the military vessel he had hitched a ride on, supposedly to travel to a more safe and secure location. Using his wits, and his study of animal psychology, Locklear convinces the Kzin Commander to leave him on a planet strangely akin to the Kzinti homeworld, until it can be decided what to do with him. The planet turns out to be a zoo of sorts, with cordoned off sectors filled with a large variety of creatures held in stasis fields. Locklear knows that his only chance at staying alive is to gain an upper hand while the Kzinti warship continues its mission. When they return, he needs to be ready for them, and to be ready he must awaken a Kzinti female and convince her that his cause–survival–is one worthy of her assistance.
The current Kzinti race have modified females to be little more than breeding stock. Upon awakening the female Kzin in statis, whom he eventually dubs “Kit”, Locklear discovers that she was captured many, many ages ago when female Kzinti had a limited role in society, but were no less intelligent or ferocious than the males. “Cathouse” provides a great deal of background information about the Kzinti race and their history, all woven into the story in such a way that it keeps the reader engaged in the story unfolding. The story is told from Locklear’s point of view and largely features these two very different beings who must work together for a common goal. By the end I felt that Dean Ing did a great job of making me care about the characters and their fate, making “Cathouse” a nice closing chapter in the anthology.
The writers present in this volume are know to write “hard” sf, science fiction with a goodly amount of real/plausible science and scientific theory. While science is strongly present in each story, and admittedly I am not very scientifically minded, it did not bog down the story, nor did it take me out of the flow of the narrative. I have found that to be the case with every Larry Niven story I have read, and was pleased to find that happening with Anderson and Ing.
If you are already a fan of Niven’s Known Space stories, this is a worthy chapter to explore. If you have not tried Larry Niven (or Poul Anderson or Dean Ing, for that matter), these stories are a great introduction to their work and to the Known Space universe as a whole. While Larry Niven’s entry is noticeably short, the other two stories are of sufficient length to do some solid world building while fleshing out the featured characters enough for readers to be engaged in their fate.
In Larry Niven’s Known Space universe, made most famous in his award-winning novel, Ringworld and its sequels and prequels, mankind’s history is marked by multiple wars with the bloodthirsty, carnivorous cat-like aliens, the Kzinti. I’ve often been curious about those wars, hinted at but not detailed in Niven’s work. Over the years I have seen the various Man-Kzin Wars volumes, currently numbering fourteen, but have not been compelled to pick one up.
That changed when a visit to Half-Price books last week, with the buzz of Alastair Reynolds’ Galactic North collection still stirring my imagination (a series inspired by Larry Niven’s Known Space stories), yielded the first copy I have ever seen of volume one in this series, beginning with the first story Larry Niven ever sold, and the first appearance of the Kzinti: “The Warriors”.
I came home, laid aside my current reads, and lost myself in Known Space.
In his introduction, Niven writes:
“I’ve never been in a war, nor any of the armed forces. Wars have happened and may happen again in most of my series universes, including known space, but you’ll never see them. I lack the experience. Here are a couple of centuries of known space that are dark to me.”
An automobile trip with Jim Baen to a Nebula Awards banquet resulted in a conversation that opened up the years of the Man-Kzin wars to other authors, this being the opening chapter.
Volume one of The Man-Kzin Wars kicks things off with Niven’s aforementioned short story, and two longer works of fiction by authors Poul Anderson and Dean Ing. Three solid tales written in the style of stories that made me fall in love with science fiction as a young teen kept me up late turning the pages to see how it would all play out.
My Rating: 8/10
In Larry Niven’s 1966 story, “The Warriors”, readers experience the first ever contact between mankind and the Kzinti. A Kzinti warship encounters what they see as a primitive spacecraft and determine to kill its inhabitants in order to scavenge material from the ship. The story alternates between activities and conversations taking place in the Kzinti vessel and those happening in the human ship. This, the shortest of the three stories in this volume, teaches a valuable lesson: don’t underestimate humanity’s capability for war.
In the far distant future of Known Space, mankind has matured beyond the need for war. When the presence of another warrior race becomes a reality, that race comes to understand that one of the reasons that mankind gave up on waging war is that we were so good at it.
Poul Anderson and Dean Ing’s stories, perhaps accurately described as novellas, share the page count that many science fiction novels had in the days where 200 pages was a long novel. Anderson’s 1987 story, “Iron”, takes place during a time when humans and Kzinti are in a period of peace after protracted wars. Robert Saxtorph and his wife Dorcas, along with a scientist and his protege and a couple of additional explorers, set out on a journey to investigate a distant red dwarf star and the possibility of planetary bodies in its orbit. Upon arriving they find fascinating scientific discoveries…and a Kzinti presence. In their desire to stay alive and perhaps outlast their enemy, the team splits up, learning more about the various planets orbiting the dying star while doing their best to survive.
In “Cathouse”, by Dean Ing, a civilian named Locklear becomes the sole survivor of a Kzinti attack on the military vessel he had hitched a ride on, supposedly to travel to a more safe and secure location. Using his wits, and his study of animal psychology, Locklear convinces the Kzin Commander to leave him on a planet strangely akin to the Kzinti homeworld, until it can be decided what to do with him. The planet turns out to be a zoo of sorts, with cordoned off sectors filled with a large variety of creatures held in stasis fields. Locklear knows that his only chance at staying alive is to gain an upper hand while the Kzinti warship continues its mission. When they return, he needs to be ready for them, and to be ready he must awaken a Kzinti female and convince her that his cause–survival–is one worthy of her assistance.
The current Kzinti race have modified females to be little more than breeding stock. Upon awakening the female Kzin in statis, whom he eventually dubs “Kit”, Locklear discovers that she was captured many, many ages ago when female Kzinti had a limited role in society, but were no less intelligent or ferocious than the males. “Cathouse” provides a great deal of background information about the Kzinti race and their history, all woven into the story in such a way that it keeps the reader engaged in the story unfolding. The story is told from Locklear’s point of view and largely features these two very different beings who must work together for a common goal. By the end I felt that Dean Ing did a great job of making me care about the characters and their fate, making “Cathouse” a nice closing chapter in the anthology.
The writers present in this volume are know to write “hard” sf, science fiction with a goodly amount of real/plausible science and scientific theory. While science is strongly present in each story, and admittedly I am not very scientifically minded, it did not bog down the story, nor did it take me out of the flow of the narrative. I have found that to be the case with every Larry Niven story I have read, and was pleased to find that happening with Anderson and Ing.
If you are already a fan of Niven’s Known Space stories, this is a worthy chapter to explore. If you have not tried Larry Niven (or Poul Anderson or Dean Ing, for that matter), these stories are a great introduction to their work and to the Known Space universe as a whole. While Larry Niven’s entry is noticeably short, the other two stories are of sufficient length to do some solid world building while fleshing out the featured characters enough for readers to be engaged in their fate.
March 15, 2023
3.5/5. I enjoyed this book, though it wasn’t what I expected. The focus of these stories isn’t really full-scale war in space, but some incidents of humans (mostly non-combatants) running into Kzinti between actual wars and finding ways to defeat them. The Poul Anderson story, “Iron,” is probably the best of the three, and feels quintessentially Poul Anderson in its plot resolution.
I can see where the Kzinti likely inspired the Kilrathi from the Wing Commander franchise, in obvious ways of appearance and warlike nature, as well as small ways such as using a base-8 number system. The setting of the last story, “Cathouse,” also reminded me of Jack Chalker’s Well World, as a planet made by advanced beings comprised of separate habitats for other intelligent species.
One (now) funny bit is in “Cathouse” when it’s mentioned that Locklear’s computer has a 100 MB hard drive. In the 80s I’m sure that would have sounded like a lot.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and a series I will likely continue.
I can see where the Kzinti likely inspired the Kilrathi from the Wing Commander franchise, in obvious ways of appearance and warlike nature, as well as small ways such as using a base-8 number system. The setting of the last story, “Cathouse,” also reminded me of Jack Chalker’s Well World, as a planet made by advanced beings comprised of separate habitats for other intelligent species.
One (now) funny bit is in “Cathouse” when it’s mentioned that Locklear’s computer has a 100 MB hard drive. In the 80s I’m sure that would have sounded like a lot.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and a series I will likely continue.
August 7, 2023
3.5/5. I enjoyed this book, though it wasn’t what I expected. The focus of these stories isn’t really full-scale war in space, but some incidents of humans (mostly non-combatants) running into Kzinti between actual wars and finding ways to defeat them. The Poul Anderson story, “Iron,” is probably the best of the three, and feels quintessentially Poul Anderson in its plot resolution.
I can see where the Kzinti likely inspired the Kilrathi from the Wing Commander franchise, in obvious ways of appearance and warlike nature, as well as small ways such as using a base-8 number system. The setting of the last story, “Cathouse,” also reminded me of Jack Chalker’s Well World, as a planet made by advanced beings comprised of separate habitats for other intelligent species.
One (now) funny bit is in “Cathouse” when it’s mentioned that Locklear’s computer has a 100 MB hard drive. In the 80s I’m sure that would have sounded like a lot.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and a series I will likely continue.
I can see where the Kzinti likely inspired the Kilrathi from the Wing Commander franchise, in obvious ways of appearance and warlike nature, as well as small ways such as using a base-8 number system. The setting of the last story, “Cathouse,” also reminded me of Jack Chalker’s Well World, as a planet made by advanced beings comprised of separate habitats for other intelligent species.
One (now) funny bit is in “Cathouse” when it’s mentioned that Locklear’s computer has a 100 MB hard drive. In the 80s I’m sure that would have sounded like a lot.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and a series I will likely continue.
May 3, 2018
What a confusing book. The ebook version I have has the cover of Book 4 of this series, yet the stories inside belonged to Book 1. Anyway! There were three stories in this book. The first, by Niven, was so amusingly dated. Published in 1966, though written long before that, astronauts on a spaceship smoked. The story's whole view of the future was so... cute? That humans would be so detached from violence that they couldn't even make themselves use words like 'war' anymore, they physically got sick and had to go into therapy if they did. I finished the whole story, but it did nothing at all for me.
The second story, by Poul Anderson, completely didn't work for me. Too hard science fiction-y, too dry, I skipped much of it. The third story, by Dean Ing, was more interesting (a human was captured by the cat-like Kzin and left as a prisoner on an empty planet), but still didn't hold my attention well enough to continue. Gave up on the book at the 74% mark.
The second story, by Poul Anderson, completely didn't work for me. Too hard science fiction-y, too dry, I skipped much of it. The third story, by Dean Ing, was more interesting (a human was captured by the cat-like Kzin and left as a prisoner on an empty planet), but still didn't hold my attention well enough to continue. Gave up on the book at the 74% mark.
January 14, 2024
God I couldn't get through this book, which is sad considering how light of a read it was, and that it's an anthology of short stories, which should've been easy to finish!! This book is like if someone who hated sci-fi was forced at gunpoint to write a sci-fi book, with only their own vaguely disdainful and trope-filled idea of what that would look like to go off of. The plot is dull, the characters do not behave like any human person would, the aliens are hardly mentioned outside of being used as a threat until the last story, and half the characters are just constantly a little bit horny for no apparent reason (on that topic, don't even get me started on how women or POC are written in these stories). Was this the worst thing I've ever read? No, but I could not be less interested in the rest of Niven's works after slogging through most of this, so I'll spend my time reading something better instead.
February 7, 2020
One short story and two novellas.
The short story describes humanity's first contact with the Kzinti.
The first novella describes events after the first war, with the Kzinti defeated and looking for a rematch. This one was strangely written. Sometimes the characters were written with animal descriptions (laying one's ears back, raising one's frill, the sent of musk, etc). At first, I was thinking these characters were actually Kzinti with human names. Nope, they were human. No clue what that was all about...
The second novella was great! A human trapped on an alien planet with a Kzinti female. Him navigating Kzinti inter-personal rituals while trying to figure out how to escape was a real treat.
The short story describes humanity's first contact with the Kzinti.
The first novella describes events after the first war, with the Kzinti defeated and looking for a rematch. This one was strangely written. Sometimes the characters were written with animal descriptions (laying one's ears back, raising one's frill, the sent of musk, etc). At first, I was thinking these characters were actually Kzinti with human names. Nope, they were human. No clue what that was all about...
The second novella was great! A human trapped on an alien planet with a Kzinti female. Him navigating Kzinti inter-personal rituals while trying to figure out how to escape was a real treat.
January 30, 2024
Two novellas (by Poul Anderson and Dean Ing) and a short story by Niven about human-Kzin conflict. The short story was Niven's first, about first contact with the Kzin, and was a good introduction to the topic and not a bad story. Anderson's story is about a group of human scientists who explore an interesting star and find Kzinti there, unexpected by all except the spy among them. Good space opera. Ing's story is about a human captive left in an artificial Kzinti habitat, in which animals, including Kzinti, have been in stasis for untold thousands of years. The beginning, which explains how he got there, might perhaps have been shortened, but the introduction of female Kzin characters, from before they were domesticated into stupidity, makes the story particularly interesting.
October 23, 2017
Excellent series and I am so glad to see it is still active over 40 years since the Kzin appeared in The Slaver Weapon animated Star Trek episode. These books have some of the same aspect as Wild Cards - multiple authors contribute, polish, ret con, and expand.
Every book in the series has at least one story that really stretches the mind and requires some rereading. Every one has at least one very humorous story. The format allows some philosophy (where did we come from), fantasy (talking cats? not too farfetched), social commentary (do successful societies take others over?) and history (overcrowded earth). Good reads indeed.
Every book in the series has at least one story that really stretches the mind and requires some rereading. Every one has at least one very humorous story. The format allows some philosophy (where did we come from), fantasy (talking cats? not too farfetched), social commentary (do successful societies take others over?) and history (overcrowded earth). Good reads indeed.
July 9, 2022
A bit like the curate's egg, good in parts. I loved both the introduction and the Niven story, I struggled a bit with Iron which was a bit too much of a space opera for my taste but on the whole it was a jolly romp, it could have been a tad shorter in my view. I loved the third story, Cathouse which in my view was worth the entire purchase price of the book, bought second hand and rather battered. The premise of the books, sentient tiger like creatures waging war on the humans in the Known Space universe created by Larry Niven is glorious. Without spoiling it for others I would just say that Cathouse is well worth reading, it is wry, knowing and amusing despite being quite an actioner too.
April 20, 2024
Okay beginning to The Man-Kzin Wars. I probably would have liked it when it came out but it’s not all that great. Im surprised there are about 16 books in the series. The Warriors by Larry Niven was pretty good. Iron by Paul Anderson was way too long and the weakest of the three short stores. Also it was like a novella not a short story. Cathouse by Dean Ing was okay but just okay. I like all three authors but this collection just wasn’t as good as I hoped. Worth reading for fans of Science Fiction and large cat warriors.
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