Man-Kzin Wars

This has one of the great Poul Anderson's last stories in it, which wopuld alone be a sufficient reason to buy it, plus one by Niven himself. The others are by tried-and-tested favourite Man-Kzin authors Paul Chafe and Hal Colebatch. Between them they add up to a fine portrait of the complex human-Kzin interaction after the Kzinti have to try to come to terms with the fact that they can lose wars. In Anderson's Pele, they must acknowledge human superiority in space-craft. But can they? Like most of Anderson's stories, has a strong science as well as human element.In Hal Colebatch's "His Sergeant's Honour", the collection's strongest story, a battered old Kzin sergeant holds the last Kzin fort on Wunderland, a planet long occupied by the Kzinti but now re-conquered by humans, charged with guarding, among others, a human collaborator and a Royal kitten - Vaemar-Riit, last son of the great Chuut-Riit, who is destined to play a big part in "Music-Box" in Man-Kzin 10, "The Wunder War," and, I hope, in adventures to come. He is too good a charater to waste. In the meantime, old Raargh-Sergeant must choose between death and dishonour. Or Has it become dishonourable to choose death in this strange new time of Monkey victories?Windows of the Soul, also set in post-occupation Alpha Centauri, is a rather dark detective story in the Raymond Chandler Tradition. Best not say too much for fear of revealing the plot.Larry Niven's "Fly-by-Night" is a follow-on from Hal Colebatch's "Telepath's Dance" in Man-Kzin VIII - what happened ot the dewscendents of the first rogue telepath when he turned against the Patriarchy and threw in his lot with Selina Guthlac and the humans of the "Angel's Pencil"?All these stories are taut, pacy and well-written. The Kzinti, or somne of them. show they are more than just dumb killing-machines and are capable of thoughtfulness.

I have reviewed this book previously but am having a second bite because I am annoyed by the conduct of the previous reviewer. He claims, apparently trying to dam the dialogue, there is a phrase: "As you known, Raargh Sergeant, we Wunderkzin ..." No such phrase occurs in the book. A human says to a Kzin born on Wunderland "We sometimes call you Wunderkzin ..." I suggest that if the reviewer wishes to pick holes in the style of a particular story he quote the actual words he complains of and not something he has invented. I believe this is related to a thing called ethics, you know, like honesty and truthfulness.And all thes stories in the book are teriffic! Scream and Leap!

All the Man-Kzin stories are teriffic and this does not disappoint. Taut action, real charcters and original ideas in all of them. Sad that the story Pele was one of the last by rhe late, great Poul Anderson. I would like to see more illustrations of the very exciting and often weird scense described - for example the confrontation between the old Kzin warrior Raargh and the human woman resistance fighter Jocelyn in the ruined sergeant's mess in His Sergeant's Honour and the desperate ploy of the kzin cub Vaemar to defuse the situation. More please, and soon!

Contrary to what an earlier reviewer said, the Poul Anderson story, "Pele" is not OLD. The first and third volumes in the M-K Wars series both had Anderson stories, but this is not one of those. The story previously appeared in an sf magazine (ANALOG, I think) about a year ago, but it is one of the last stories that Anderson wrote before his untimely death. Having corrected that misinformation, I'll say that no book with grand masters Anderson and Niven on board should be missed. And newer writers Chafe and Colebatch are no slouches either.

I've read every book in the Man-Kzin wars and they just keep getting better with each book. I finished this last book within a couple of days and loved the detail and longer refferences to the kzin side of the story. I've noticed with each book there has been less war and more cooperation between humans and the kzin but that is because most of the kzin are being killed off with each war and the remaining ones are learning to think before they leap.:) I recommend this book to everyone.