Come back to the Ringworld . . . the most astonishing feat of engineering ever encountered. A place of untold technological wonders, home to a myriad humanoid races, and world of some of the most beloved science fiction stories ever written! The human, Louis Wu; the puppeteer known as the Hindmost; Acolyte, son of the Kzin called Chmeee . . . legendary beings brought together once again in the defense of the Ringworld. Something is going on with the Protectors. Incoming spacecraft are being destroyed before they can reach the Ringworld. Vampires are massing. And the Ghouls have their own agenda—if anyone dares approach them to learn. Each race on the Ringworld has always had its own Protector. Now it looks as if the Ringworld itself needs a Protector. But who will sit on the Ringworld Throne? “Niven’s work has been an intriguing and consistent universe, and this book is the keystone of the arch. . . . [His] technique is wonderfully polished, his characters and their situations are nicely drawn . . . wraps up (maybe) a corner of a very interesting universe.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel Four travelers come to the ringworld. . . Louis Wu: human and old; bored with having lived too fully for far too many years. Seeking a challenge, and all too capable of handling it. Nessus: a trembling coward, a puppeteer with a built-in survival pattern of nonviolence. Except that this particular puppeteer is insane. Teela Brown: human; a wide-eyed youngster with no allegiances, no experience, no abilities. And all the luck in the world. Speaker-To-Animals: kzin; large, orange-furred, and carnivorous. And one of the most savage life-forms known in the galaxy. Why did these disparate individuals come together? How could they possibly function together? And where, in the name of anything sane, were they headed?
Welcome to a world like no other. The Ringworld: a landmark engineering achievement, a flat band 3 million times the surface area of Earth, encircling a distant star. Home to trillions of inhabitants, not all of which are human, and host to amazing technological wonders, the Ringworld is unique in all of the universe. Explorere Louis Wu, an Earth-born human who was part of the first expedition to Ringworld, becomes enmeshed in interplanetary and interspecies intrigue as war, and a powerful new weapon, threaten to tear the Ringworld apart forever. Now, the future of Ringworld lies in the actions of its children: Tunesmith, the Ghould protector; Acolyte, the exiled son of Speaker-to-Animals, and Wembleth, a strange Ringworld native with a mysterious past. All must play a dangerous in order to save Ringworld's population, and the stability of Ringworld itself. Blending awe-inspiring science with non-stop action and fun, Ringworld's Children, the fourth installment of the multiple award-winning saga, is the perfect introduction for readers new to this New York Times bestselling series, and long-time fans of Larry Niven's Ringworld. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
For decades, the spacefaring species of Known Space have battled over the largest artifactNand grandest prizeNin the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources and technology of the Ringworld. Without warning the Ringworld has vanished, leaving behind three rival war fleets.
BOOK TWO IN THE CLASSIC HEOROT SERIES FROM GENRE LEGENDS LARRY NIVEN, JERRY POURNELLE, AND STEVEN BARNES. Some twenty years have passed since the passengers and crew of the starship Geographic established a colony on the hostile alien world of Avalon. In that time, a new generation has grown up in the peace and serenity of the island paradise of Camelot, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars fought between their parents and grandparents and the monstrous inhabitants of Avalon. Now, under the influence of a charismatic leader, a group of young rebels makes for the mainland, intent on establishing their own colony, sure that they can vanquish any foe that should stand in their way. But they will soon discover that Avalon holds darker secrets still. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Beowulf's Children: "Few writers have a finer pedigree than those here. . . . As one might suspect Beowulf's Children is seamless . . . absorbing, substantial . . . masterful novel."—Los Angeles Times "Panoramic SF adventure at its best."—Library Journal About prequel The Legacy of Heorot: "Page-turning action and suspense, good characterization and convincing setting . . . may be the best thing any of those authors has written.”—The Denver Post “Outstanding! . . . The best ever, by the best in the field . . . the ultimate combination of imagination and realism.”—Tom Clancy “Well written, action-packed and tension filled . . . makes Aliens look like a Disney nature film."—The Washington Post “Spine-tingling ecological tale of terror.”—Locus About Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle: "Possibly the greatest science fiction novel I have ever read."—Robert A. Heinlein on The Mote in God's Eye About Larry Niven: “Larry Niven’s Ringworld remains one of the all-time classic travelogues of science fiction — a new and amazing world and fantastic companions.”—Greg Bear "Our premier hard SF writer.”—The Baltimore Sun"The scope of Larry Niven's work is so vast that only a writer of supreme talent could disguise the fact as well as he can."—Tom Clancy "Niven is a true master."—Frederik Pohl About Jerry Pournelle: "Jerry Pournelle is one of science fiction's greatest storytellers."—Poul Anderson "Jerry Pournelle's trademark is first-rate action against well-realized backgrounds of hard science and hardball politics."—David Drake "Rousing . . . The Best of the Genre."—The New York Times "On the cover . . . is the claim 'No. 1 Adventure Novel of the Year.' And well it might be."—Milwaukee Journal on Janissaries About Steven Barnes: “Brilliant, surprising, and devastating.”—David Mack “Sharp, observant and scary.”—Greg Bear "Profound and exhilarating."—Maurice Broaddus, author of The Knights of Breton Court “Barnes gives us characters that are vividly real people, conceived with insight and portrayed with compassion and rare skill and then he stokes the suspense up to levels that will make the reader miss sleep and be late for work.”—Tim Powers “[Barnes] combines imagination, anthropology and beautiful storytelling as he takes readers to the foot of the Great Mountain, today known as Mount Kilimanjaro.”—Durham Triangle Tribune on Great Sky Woman
The #1 New York Times–bestselling author presents twenty-six tales and vignettes from this interplanetary gathering place: “A must for Nivenites” (Booklist). When a tremendous spacecraft took orbit around the Earth’s moon and began sending smaller landers down toward the North Pole, the newly arrived visitors quickly set up a permanent spaceport at Mount Forel in Siberia. Their presence attracted many, and a few people grew conspicuously rich from secrets they learned from talking to the aliens. One of these men, Rick Schumann, opened the Draco Tavern, a public house catering to all species of visiting aliens. In “The Subject Is Closed”, a priest visits the tavern and goes one-on-one with a chirpsithra alien on the subject of God and life after death. Rick Schumann is invited to hunt with five folk aliens in “Table Manners”, but he begins to wonder if he will be the hunted. And in the never-before-published tale “Losing Mars”, a group of Martians arrive at the Tavern only to find that humans have mostly forgotten about their neighboring planet.
This retrospective collection of stories from all phases of Niven's writing career is rich with gossip, storytelling vigor, and sheer science-fictional play.
