Scatterbrain

This latest collection from Larry Niven lives up to its title. The subject matter is all over the place with novel excerpts, stories, essays, logs, e-mails, and notes. Unfortunately for Niven fans, this collection came out late enough that they will probably have all of the novels excerpted here. But there are also tales of Gil Hamilton, Beowulf Shaefer, and Draco's Tavern. We are also treated to communications between Mr. Niven and collaborators and editors that helps to show how ideas come to fruition. Mr. Niven also talks about how his mind works. Sort of a slower da Vinci, Niven spawns ideas and pushes them to their conclusions in almost frightening ways. He calls himself scatterbrained but really he can just see the path of an idea and where it leads (i.e. heat exchangers on Pluto). The other drawback to the collection is it seems too short. It isn't, but it seems that way. If you have already read the novels excerpted, the rest seems to fly by just a little too quickly. Of course most of the reason is that it reads well and thus faster. Still, I can't help but feel it will be too long before I get another crack at a fresh collection from one of my favorite authors.

This is a fun little collection, not to be confused with the huge omnibus collections like N-Space or Playgrounds of the Mind. Still, the shorter collections of Larry Niven's work have never, to my knowledge, been out of print and for good reason. His short fiction is always amoung the most entertaining (his novels ain't bad either).Although I'd read most of this book's contents elsewhere, it's nice to finally have Procrustes or the most recent Gil Hamilton story bound up in a volume. And the book benefits nicely from Niven's "Harlan Ellison-esque" personal introductions, foreward and epilogue.On the downside, the back of this book is a bit thin on content and there are lengthy email exchanges with his collaborators reproduced. It's amusing "inside baseball" stuff, but really there isn't enough material to sustain this book (certainly in hardcover).The fiction is worth the price of admission, for me at least, and the personal pieces are all good fun. Still, I'd prefer if Niven wrote some more fiction...

Scatterbrain (2003) is the third general collection of the author's works, much like N-Space and Playgrounds of the Mind. This volume contains 26 works of various kinds, all previously published except for the Introduction and the Epilogue. The Introduction is an interesting discussion of how the author comes up with his crazy ideas. It seems that he is "scatterbrained", notions just pop up in his mind and stick to each other. More than that, he has a tendency to daydream almost anywhere as these ideas pop up and breed. This volume contains excerpts and other material from four recent novels: Destiny's Road, The Ringworld Throne, The Burning City and Saturn's Race. It also contains previously uncollected tales about Gil Hamilton and Beowulf Shaeffer, a recent Draco Tavern story, a couple of articles about the Man-Kzin Wars series, assorted other non-fiction, and two other stories. Loki is a tale about a space probe on an alien world that gets to talking with the natives. Ice and Mirrors describes an ecological survey of an ice world for a group of aliens. The Epilogue is also about the way the author thinks. As he summed up his talk to a convention of librarians: "If there is only one thing you could teach a child, it ought to be this: play with his mind". He further elaborated: "To make his own homework". Highly recommended for Niven fans and for anyone else who enjoys reading about the author as well as samples of his works. -Arthur W. Jordin

Like 'All the Myriad Ways' or 'Neutron Star', this is Niven collection of good short stories. He gets into teleoperation, though he's yet to do a 'Theory and Practice of Teleoperation' like he did for time travel and teleportation; like some of us are waiting for. How long, o Lord, How long? If you like clean chaste prose and loony slutty ideas you love Niven.

This collection is for the most loyal of Larry Niven fans though those science fiction readers who have tried him might enjoy a taste of the award-winning author. SCATTERBRAIN is all over the spectrum ranging from extracts from recent novels such as THE RINGWORLD THRONE to non-fiction philosophical ramblings on Mars and saving civilization and some cold cash as well as short stories and interviews with co-authors.The anthology is zany and all over the place. Though each item is well written and catches the reader's mind and especially that of Mr. Niven, the collection can prove difficult to find a pattern - duh - SCATTERBRAIN. The book reminds this reviewer of Jahn's (not sure of the spelling being a geriatric, perhaps Jan's?) ice cream parlor in the Bronx where they offered a dish called the "kitchen Sink". Eat one without puking and get a second one free. In other words readers will either full appreciate Mr. Niven's assortment of "crazy ideas' and seek previous wild but fun rides or puke out of the total lack of discipline. This reviewer fully enjoyed the trek to the center of the mind and heart of Larry Niven.Harriet Klausner