Juggler of Worlds: 200 Years Before the Discovery of the Ringworld (Known Space, 2)

This sequel to "Fleet of Worlds" expands the history of Niven's Known Space, focusing on the Puppeteers' flight from the exploding galactic core. Although much time is spent recapping events on Earth that were occurring during the events that take place in "Fleet of Worlds" (including some clever references to previous Niven stories involving Beowulf Shaeffer and others), the two threads are eventually brought together through ARM agent and natural paranoid Sigmund Ausfaller. To say more would give away some of the plot twists and turns that make this a highly entertaining read. Niven and Lerner collaborate seamlessly and to my mind, both benefit from this collaboration.

...it is from a new perspective -ARM Agent Sigmund Ausfaller's viewpoint. And there is more new than old, despite what the negative reviewers say To me, this is back to classic Niven as it explores the effects of technology on society, the ethics of alien cultures, and the age old question: Can one be paranoid *enough*? Much better Known Space than the recent Ringworld or Man-Kzin War stories (done to *death* IMO). Very engaging and hard to put down. Five Stars.

After reading this book, I have a hard time seeing where all the hate has come from. This is a fine Niven book, and an excellent prequel to Ringworld in many aspects. It's not perfect, but then again Niven's writing has never been perfect, and I'll go into that later. The book does feature quite a bit of "retreading" events discussed in "Fleet of Worlds" and elsewhere. Only instead of being a flat retread, you get to see these events from the perspectives of ARM agent Sigmund Ausfaller and other character that would be too spoilerific to detail. This perspective starts off a bit weak, but gets better and better as the book progresses until this character and the events he's wrapped up in actually get pretty riveting toward the end. One might wonder how a book that starts off admittedly a bit dry garners a five-star review, and the answer lies in the fact that Niven has always been terrible at characterization. Ringworld is one of my favorite Science Fiction books of all time, but it is almost entirely about the technology of the Ringworld itself, and even the mighty Louis Wu is little more than a bit player in the grand scheme. Every character- even the relatively dimwitted Kzin- will drop all sense of character for pages to rant about some technology in a totally sterile narrator style. The book basically reads like a hard Sci-Fi version of a Star Trek engineering team ("That's a polymatrix inductor. It was built by Mr. X in 2535, and saw its first use on the planet Y in the Z nebula..." and so on). Juggler of Worlds (and its predecessor, Fleet of Worlds) actually builds some decent characters that do a fair job of staying in character. As with that previous book, I have to imagine this is the result of the partnership with Edward M. Lerner, and I'm happy to see that partnership continue if this is the result. So what you get in this book is a bit of a retelling of the events in Fleet of Worlds and the Beowulf Schaeffer books/stories, but it's from a fresh perspective that gives you new insight into every event that unfolds. Towards the end, you also get quite a bit of new content that answers as many questions as it raises- and yes, there's already another book coming in this series. Personally, I'm looking forward to it. I highly recommend this book to any Niven fan- just be aware it's a little lighter on the tech and heavier on characters this time around. This and "Fleet of Worlds" are essential to complete any Known Space collection. Anyone new to Known Space should start out on Fleet of Worlds at least, as you'll need much of that info to truly appreciate this book, or indeed someone new to Niven should really just start with Ringworld as many of us did and work around the series from there. This is an excellent book overall, and should appeal to people outside the normal circle of Ringworld devotees because of the character focus.

Pretty much like every other Niven book- Brilliant. Most authors have a central theme, a grand idea which their book is written around. Niven crams multiple themes and endless ideas into every book he writes, with nearly every idea being worthy of a book itself. If you have read the Known Space series, this book is a truly epic addition. Even as a stand alone, I would recommend this book. This book takes us deep into the mind of one Sigmund Ausfaller, an ARM agent, and a natural paranoid. Time and again we see the worst fears of a man who fears the worst coming true. Sigmund has played important roles in previous books, but for the most part we never knew. This is a remarkable book, and the most remarkable aspect is Niven's ability to so skillfully and artfully write a character, who is very deeply paranoid, without Niven being paranoid himself. (As far as I know, that is.) I would even call this book a tragedy, as the true genius and scope of this work can't be fully appreciated unless you're somewhat paranoid yourself. The plots and scheming of the Puppeteers is a common thread in the Known Space series, but we never see the counter-strategies of Earth's own Puppeteer, Sigmund. Having so many stories written in the Known Space series revisited now in this book was gripping, as you see Sigmunds hand in so many events. Many situations in past books that seemed to miraculously play out to Humanity's advantage were in fact the result of Sigmund's endless machinations, as we see now from a sort of "behind the scenes" perspective. But it's not all roses here, unfortunately I was very disappointed with how the book was ended. It's a shame that what I was considering my favorite Niven book ever, let me down in the end. The writing was good all the way through, don't get me wrong. I can't go in to detail without spoiling the book, but long standing mysteries in the Known Space series were met with resolution at the end of this book, robbing us of the allure of the enigmatic. I'm still giving it 5 stars, and most people who aren't so personally attached to the Known Space series aren't going to be disappointed by the 1 or 2 mysteries that I feel should have remained mysterious. If you like books that leave much unsaid, you will like everything Niven has ever touched. He has developed the art of implication to a degree that in my opinion sets the standard. I do realize that my affinity for the central character in this book colors my judgement, but I think I'm still being objective when I say that this book is a good stand alone, but a magnificent addition to the Known Space series. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you.

This is a revisiting of a number of the "Known Space" stories, from the perspective of a professional paranoid. Sigmund Ausfaller is a UN law officer, and professional paranoid, albeit a natural paranoid rather than a chemically induced one, like some of his peers. Sigmund gets a human face, as his sordid past is revealed, his romantic life is considered, and his fears for the human race are discussed. And the key question; 'is he paranoid enough' is addressed. Even uglier than his role as a paranoid cop is his background as... [say it in hushed tones] a revenuer. His girlfriend is industrial grade crazy (as bad as your story is, his takes the cake). And his worst paranoid concerns for humanity fall short of the reality. I enjoyed it immensely. This one filled in the gaps between many of the 'Known Space' stories from a very different perspective, and shed light on the wherefores and whys behind the incidents described in other works. Because of this, the criticisms of recycled material are valid, as they included much earlier work, and invalid, as the material was needed to make the story work for someone who hadn't read any of this body of work earlier. And in the end, it heads off in a new direction. An excellent addition to the "Known Space" series, and a worthwhile read. E. M. Van Court