Crashlander: A Novel

This is a collection of all of the Niven's short stories involving Beowulf Schaeffer. Most of the stories were written in the late 60s and early 70s, and Niven added an additional story to this collection (published in 1994) as well as a bridge to connect all the Beowulf stories. This is among the best hard sci-fi available, and I must admit that I'm a bit puzzled by some of the negative reviews. The best stories in this collection were written almost forty years ago now, and they are available in other (now out of print) books such as Neutron Star. The additional story and bridge, while not outstanding, are not as bad as some of the negative reviewers have portrayed. In the hard sci-fi genre, this is as good as it gets. If you are currently collecting the Known Space stories (novels and short stories) and haven't been reading/collecting Niven since the '70s, this is an absolute must have. If you are a longtime reader/collector of Niven, this is probably not worth the one story plus bridge unless you want to complete your collection. If you are new to Niven, the Beowulf stories are terrific hard sci-fi, and I would highly recommend this collection as a starting point into Known Space. For those in the latter category, Niven combines the hard boiled detective genre (ala Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler) with creative and/or speculative astrophysical ideas that were at the cutting edge of astrophysical research at the time they were written. I give this four stars instead of five for three reasons. First, many of the astrophysical ideas are now hopelessly out of date. The stories were quite imaginative in the late 60s and early 70s, but Niven's speculations about neutron stars, the Galactic core, and supernovas have now been shown to be incorrect. This isn't Niven's fault of course, but it definitely gives the series of stories a dated feel. Second, there are some gross errors of physics (e.g. he grossly underestimates the effect of tides around neutron stars, and he makes some incorrect assertions about shock waves) that would have been well understood even at the time of writing. Third, Niven includes a few `supernatural' plot elements (e.g. the space ships are navigated psychically) that don't really belong in hard sci-fi. These are minor criticisms though, Niven has lots of great ideas, and with a few problems, he creatively blends science fact with speculative fiction. The stories are imaginative, and the planets, the people, and the aliens that populate Known Space are well developed and believable. I think this is a great collection and would recommend it to anyone interested in the hard sci-fi genre.

Crashlander contains the collected stories of Beowulf Shaeffer, the man who, in Niven's Known Space, discovered the core explosion and, as it turns out, did a number of other things as well. Beowulf is an interesting character, and although not every story is great, most are very good and quite worth reading. The stories were written over a range of time, which is obvious from the internal differences - the social and moral aspects of Beowulf's world change quite a bit from first to last. And the "binder" material - the stuff Niven interpolated between the stories to bring them together, make them more cohesive - is only moderately successful. Frankly, Beowulf's past is just more interesting than his present. But the stories themselves are truly gripping, and as a short story collection, this book really works.One tiny caveat: the book as a whole implies certain things about the origins of Louis Wu (of Ringworld fame) that contradict the beginning of the Ringworld series itself. Doesn't matter, of course, unless you're a real stickler for detail.Over all, a book well worth reading for those into Niven or his Known Space.

read one story a night, and by the end of the year, you'll have gotten through the whole ringworld series, explored the ongoings in the core, and read the ongoing man-kzin wars... You'll read 2 stories, maybe 3 a night

This wonderful collection puts all the Beowulf Shaeffer stories into one volume, including a new story. It also tells the orgins of Louis Wu of ringworld, elaborates on Puppeteers and the fate of the galaxy. A must read for any Niven fan.

Beowulf Schaeffer is the recurring pilot-hero of many of Niven's "Known Space" stories, including some of his most famous, like "Neutron Star". In this volume they are collected and put in order, with a framing sequence. An indisputable aid to understanding Niven's other "known space" works, like RINGWORLD, and immense fun in its own right. Here you first meet the Puppeteers, you first find out the galaxy is exploding, you first meet the Outsiders and other aliens. (Niven does the best aliens in the biz. A few might cattily say his aliens are better than his humans.) A fascinating future presented by one of the best sf writers still writing