Tales of Known Space

Known Space is the huge area of the galaxy in which man has explored, though not necessarily settled. In this vast area events occur that are filled with intrigue, wonder and adventure. In Howie's very unusual spacecraft has developed a fault that might require some canny thought to fix it. In the hero is marooned on Pluto trapped in an eternal vigil that may never end in rescue. In Lew Knowles bemoans the unfairness of both fate and the law, but will he escape both? Niven has a knack for entertaining his readers by including the surprising and unusual. Of course I cannot give you any examples as that would spoil the book. This is a collection of thirteen short stories, but has a little of the feel of a novel. Niven has invented a future history for mankind stretching from the 20th Century to the 31st. and all of these stories fit into that imagined chronicle. Some of these tales refer to one another, and others refer to other stories in this series that are published in other books. The book has a time line showing the major 'historical' events and most of the stories Niven has written in this series. This volume is arranged in time line order so the reader gets a sense of progression and development as he moves through the book. The best stories in this volume are and . The first gets my vote because of its wide-eyed, aghast humor and the second because of its relevant social comment. The least interesting are and . is Niven's first published story and unfortunately lacks plot. Niven explains in his introduction that he thought of rewriting it but eventually decided against that idea. At 47 pages is by far the longest tale in the book and unfortunately the quasi-scientific hoo-ha bored me. [...]

Known Space is the huge area of the galaxy in which man has explored, though not necessarily settled. In this vast area events occur that are filled with intrigue, wonder and adventure. In Howie's very unusual spacecraft has developed a fault that might require some canny thought to fix it. In the hero is marooned on Pluto trapped in an eternal vigil that may never end in rescue. In Lew Knowles bemoans the unfairness of both fate and the law, but will he escape both? Niven has a knack for entertaining his readers by including the surprising and unusual. Of course I cannot give you any examples as that would spoil the book. This is a collection of thirteen short stories, but has a little of the feel of a novel. Niven has invented a future history for mankind stretching from the 20th Century to the 31st. and all of these stories fit into that imagined chronicle. Some of these tales refer to one another, and others refer to other stories in this series that are published in other books. The book has a time line showing the major 'historical' events and most of the stories Niven has written in this series. This volume is arranged in time line order so the reader gets a sense of progression and development as he moves through the book. The best stories in this volume are and . The first gets my vote because of its wide-eyed, aghast humor and the second because of its relevant social comment. The least interesting are and . is Niven's first published story and unfortunately lacks plot. Niven explains in his introduction that he thought of rewriting it but eventually decided against that idea. At 47 pages is by far the longest tale in the book and unfortunately the quasi-scientific hoo-ha bored me. If you like this book, which on the whole I did, you will probably also enjoy Neutron Star, Protector, The World of Ptavvs (Tales of known space), Ringworld and The Ringworld Engineers (Ringworld) all of which are in this future history series.

Known Space is the huge area of the galaxy in which man has explored, though not necessarily settled. In this vast area events occur that are filled with intrigue, wonder and adventure. In Howie's very unusual spacecraft has developed a fault that might require some canny thought to fix it. In the hero is marooned on Pluto trapped in an eternal vigil that may never end in rescue. In Lew Knowles bemoans the unfairness of both fate and the law, but will he escape both? Niven has a knack for entertaining his readers by including the surprising and unusual. Of course I cannot give you any examples as that would spoil the book. This is a collection of thirteen short stories, but has a little of the feel of a novel. Niven has invented a future history for mankind stretching from the 20th Century to the 31st. and all of these stories fit into that imagined chronicle. Some of these tales refer to one another, and others refer to other stories in this series that are published in other books. The book has a time line showing the major 'historical' events and most of the stories Niven has written in this series. This volume is arranged in time line order so the reader gets a sense of progression and development as he moves through the book. The best stories in this volume are and . The first gets my vote because of its wide-eyed, aghast humor and the second because of its relevant social comment. The least interesting are and . is Niven's first published story and unfortunately lacks plot. Niven explains in his introduction that he thought of rewriting it but eventually decided against that idea. At 47 pages is by far the longest tale in the book and unfortunately the quasi-scientific hoo-ha bored me. [...]

I've read nearly all of Niven's sci-fi novels and short story collections, so I maintain certain expectations with Niven's work. His collection of work tends to have a certain amateurish feel, which is based off of his Known Universe. Now, not ALL of the work is of amateur quality, but some of the short stories seem straight forward dead ends (like A Hole in Space). Other collections seem so focused on one point that each story seems a rehash of the others (like Flatlander). Then, somehow, Niven manages to collect some stories which shine in the Known Universe (like Neutron Star). Here in Tales of Known Space, Niven repeats his flagship work in Neutron Star. Compared to other of Niven's work, this is a 5-star book. Compared to other sci-fi authors, this is a 3.5-star book.

thought provoking examinations of the social effects of technological change, which seems to me to be one of the primary purposes of sci-fi, and can therefore be forgiven for its failure to be perfectly accurate in predicting what will happen when (plus, i like the old stuff, and am willing to add 100 years to whatever the old stories come up with). i highly recommend these stories since niven's near-future look is worthwhile compliment to his distant galaxy hopping work, even if it may not perfectly fit in his later conception of his universe.