Three Books of Known Space
by Larry Niven
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Book Summary Information
Author: Larry NivenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-09-03
ISBN: 0345404483
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of Three Books of Known Space
Book Review: Simply: Masterful
Summary: 5 Stars
This collection is everything a Sci-Fi fan could ask for. Two great books (the third is a collection of short stories), lots of commentary from the author, a timeline to help you place events, and even a full author bibliography in case you want to do further reading. This collection sets the bar for all other collections- it's hard to imagine anything that could make this any better except for a minor update. The bibliography and commentary is only up-to-date as of 1995/6, and Niven has released a few more works in the Known Space line since then. The fact that the printing is a touch old is probably the biggest negative I can find here, and it's a tiny flaw at that.
Everything is set up such that the short stories from "Tales of Known Space" are split up between the novels, such that each tale and the two books are read in the order they happened in Niven's Known Space universe. Coincidentally, most of the stories were written in that same order, so the first stories you read are the first that the author wrote. In fact, the collection opens with "The Coldest Place", Niven's first published story. The first book, "World of Ptavvs", is his first book. You get to experience Niven's growth as an author at the same time as you experience the growth of Known Space.
Content-wise, everything is spectacular. All of the included works are well worth reading, and run the gamut from high-technology future cop chases to stories to space battles to stories of normal people just trying to make it on Niven's crazy worlds. "A Gift From Earth" probably stands out as the best of the bunch- it's the longest work, and certainly the most complex. It's full of wonderfully deep characters, high technology, and even some good commentary on how technology and politics go hand-in-hand.
This collection is excellent Sci-Fi reading on its own, and most of it isn't nearly as "hard" as other works like Ringworld, so more casual readers will fit in nicely. If you're new to the Known Space universe, the "Tales of Known Space" provide a very gentle and thought-provoking introduction as the pages move along. If you're a veteran of Known Space, you owe it to yourself to pick up on this rich tome of details and timelines and backstory that provide massive insight into the rest of Niven's works. Unless you have some severe aversion to Sci-Fi, there's no real reason not to pick this one up now.
Summary of Three Books of Known Space
Let three complete books in one take you on a dazzling journey into science fiction's most famous future history: Known Space!WORLD OF PTAVVS
Kzanol was a thrint from a distant galaxy. He had been trapped on Earth in a time-stasis field for two billion years. Now he was on the loose, and telepath Larry Greenberg knew everything he was thinking. Thrints lived to plunder and enslave lesser planets . . . and the planet Kzanol had in mind was Earth!
A GIFT FROM EARTH
Shrouded in lethal mists, the world named Mount Lookitthat was never meant for humans. Life existed only on one plateau, unreachable except from space. But still the planet had been colonized, and the settlers struggled to survive under a ruthless dictatorship on a rebellion-proof world . . . until fate dealt them a wild card named Matthew Keller, whose secret talent might just be their only hope!
TALES OF KNOWN SPACE
A classic collection of stories that traces humankind's expansion and colonization throughout the galaxy from the twentieth century to the thirty-first . . .
AND MORE: Larry Niven's latest thoughts on the evolution--both creative and "historical"--of known space, as well as an updated Timeline of Known Space and a complete Niven bibliography!
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