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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Niven never disappoints
Beowulf Schafer is the man.
I love how interconnected the known space universe is and how much thought he puts into it. People from planets with different gravitational fields are built differently, someone born in space might be very thin and seven feet tall, someone from a higher gravity planet is squat and strong. People can change their appearance down to checkerboard skin and blood red eyes. There’s even uplifted animals like dolphins. Tons of cool stuff packed into these smart, entertaining stories.
Beowulf Schafer is the man.
I love how interconnected the known space universe is and how much thought he puts into it. People from planets with different gravitational fields are built differently, someone born in space might be very thin and seven feet tall, someone from a higher gravity planet is squat and strong. People can change their appearance down to checkerboard skin and blood red eyes. There’s even uplifted animals like dolphins. Tons of cool stuff packed into these smart, entertaining stories.
Hard SF of this sort has a tendency to age poorly - when the science moves on, the stories get stale, especially if the plot and characterisation is weak. Neutron Star had its day, but at this point it's a decidedly mixed bag; the best story is probably The Soft Weapon, and even then that was more entertaining when adapted as a Star Trek: The Animated Series episode. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/01/24/a-chronological-exploration-of-known-space-part-2-25th-32nd-centuries/
Re-reading this splendid specimen of 1970s hard SF. Neutron star is probably my favorite Larry Niven short story collection. I wanted to pick this up to re-read "the Soft Weapon" and "the Handicapped", which I guess means that I'm partial to the stories with the Thint (I also really liked World of Ptaavs). I really enjoyed the Beowulf Shaeffer stories, even though "Neutron Star" & "Flatlander" are clearly intended as vehicles for thought experiments about how a human would experience exotic space phenomena such as neutron stars. "Ethics of Madness" is probably the darkest of the stories in this collection. This collection, along with many of Niven's known space stories, are more space western than space opera (with the accompanying libertarian & colonialist world view of westerns); e.g. Beowulf S. wanders from world to world, sometimes reluctantly cleaning up the town, sometimes just escaping by the skin of his teeth; a lone prospector is beset by (space) bandits; space stage coach is held up by space desperadoes, etc, etc. Niven's depiction of life extension technology is used to speculate on the cultural and psychological effects of having lots of very long-lived people, rather than just being a plot device to have the same characters around for all of the events in a narrative. Niven can in many ways be compared to a more serious Harry Harrison & a less serious Heinlein (& without the militarism).
As I am already a huge fan of Niven's Known Space, I am not surprised I liked this. However, what did surprise me is how many hits there were. Normally, I expect a short story collection to run about 65% like, 35% meh or dislike. This one came in at about 85% like, and is a good start to my RIngworld re-read.
In this collection of eight short stories, Larry Niven takes us on a tour of “Known Space,” a playground for his incredibly fertile imagination. He makes science one of his principal characters and, in a couple of the tales, I felt this was overemphasised to the point where human interest was lacking. Having said that, his world-building is exemplary, and he’s created a reality here that I’m keen to revisit in his other novels and collections.
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
Larry Niven seems to have some fascinating ideas of the future and his alien cultures are truly unique, however I just don't vibe with his characters and plots. They are well crafted, though, creating a sense of adventures while also including a lot of mundane moments of world building and every day life.
The main characters are the typical science fiction protagonists of the time with not much to endear them to me or make them stand out and the stories are often about some kind of scamming and hostility. Like I said, I like a lot of the ideas presented but not a lot of the actions will stick with me. While for a lot of readers it would probably be nice to have recurring characters, for me it didn't help if someone appeared that I already knew I wasn't invested in. I still enjoyed the future and universe Niven presented here a lot, but I won't continue in the series.
The main characters are the typical science fiction protagonists of the time with not much to endear them to me or make them stand out and the stories are often about some kind of scamming and hostility. Like I said, I like a lot of the ideas presented but not a lot of the actions will stick with me. While for a lot of readers it would probably be nice to have recurring characters, for me it didn't help if someone appeared that I already knew I wasn't invested in. I still enjoyed the future and universe Niven presented here a lot, but I won't continue in the series.
From the descriptions on here I was well-prepared for a very hard form of sf. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this book to contain many lighter-spirited moments as well. Sure, the titular story is very technical (and a bit dry), but for me it was made interesting through the amazing world worldbuilding throughout, with the later stories also back-referring to other stories. Some interesting technology and the depiction of alien races (and the foreigner's look on Earth in "Flatlander"), too.
To be honest, I liked the less "physical" stories (the ones after "Neutron Star" and "At the Core") better than what it probably Niven's more popular work. Niven has some interesting takes on familiar ideas like decisions under uncertainty (in "Flatlander"), mental health and responsibility (in "The Ethics of Madness") and evolution (in "The Handicapped"). Actually, espeically "The Handicapped", but also the general feeling, made me think of Lem's earlier works (which is a good thing).
Unfortunately, my German version is missing half of the stories. I should look out for "A Relic of the Empire", "The Soft Weapon", and "Grendel". And I should certainly get my hands on Ringworld!
To be honest, I liked the less "physical" stories (the ones after "Neutron Star" and "At the Core") better than what it probably Niven's more popular work. Niven has some interesting takes on familiar ideas like decisions under uncertainty (in "Flatlander"), mental health and responsibility (in "The Ethics of Madness") and evolution (in "The Handicapped"). Actually, espeically "The Handicapped", but also the general feeling, made me think of Lem's earlier works (which is a good thing).
Unfortunately, my German version is missing half of the stories. I should look out for "A Relic of the Empire", "The Soft Weapon", and "Grendel". And I should certainly get my hands on Ringworld!
I just really enjoy Larry Niven's writing style, and these short stories are excellent examples of it. Someday I really should try to read his series.