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21st out of 27 books
—
6 voters
Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld (Known Space)
by
Larry Niven,
Edward M. Lerner (Goodreads Author)
This is the fifth and last novel in Larry Niven's "Ringworld" series. This series began in 1970, with the publication of Ringworld, now, in conjunction with Edward M. Lerner, Niven brings the series to its conclusion.
For decades, the spacefaring species of Known Space have battled over the largest artifact—and grandest prize—in the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources a...more
For decades, the spacefaring species of Known Space have battled over the largest artifact—and grandest prize—in the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources a...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
August 21st 2012
by Tor Books
(first published August 1st 2012)
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Nov 21, 2012
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
hard sci fi readers
Original review by John posted at Layers of Thought.
Another ambitious and excellent galaxy-spanning novel from Niven and Lerner – the conclusion to the award-winning “Ringworld” and “Fleet of Worlds” sagas.
About: Ringworld, the most stunning and mystifying discovery in known space, has suddenly and inexplicably vanished, leaving three competing war fleets battling over supremacy of – nothing! Most troubled by the disappearance are the Puppeteers, whose densely populated fleet of planets is speed...more
Another ambitious and excellent galaxy-spanning novel from Niven and Lerner – the conclusion to the award-winning “Ringworld” and “Fleet of Worlds” sagas.
About: Ringworld, the most stunning and mystifying discovery in known space, has suddenly and inexplicably vanished, leaving three competing war fleets battling over supremacy of – nothing! Most troubled by the disappearance are the Puppeteers, whose densely populated fleet of planets is speed...more
This book wraps up both the Worlds series and the Ringworld series, beginning not long after the events of Ringworld's Children, and encompassing New Terra, the Puppeteer worlds, and the fallout of the Fringe War.
All the way back to the first conception of the Protectors, in The Adults, later the novel Protector, the themes of Known Space have been about intelligence. Niven's writings predate the modern science fiction conceits of artificial intelligence, but the Worlds series can be read as a c...more
All the way back to the first conception of the Protectors, in The Adults, later the novel Protector, the themes of Known Space have been about intelligence. Niven's writings predate the modern science fiction conceits of artificial intelligence, but the Worlds series can be read as a c...more
This was *slightly* better than the children of Ringworld - which was illiterate trash. Slightly better.There are no characters in this series and the plot is often progressed (at times) literally by bullet points. This is a novel that you write when you don't want to write a novel, or maybe have no talent to write. Is it really over now. can I go back to Iain M Banks who can do his big dumb objects with real people and AIs that i might want to talk to.
about that moronic bullet point plot progre...more
about that moronic bullet point plot progre...more
Fate of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
I read Ringworld in the early 1970’s and frankly I know I liked it as I ranked it as an E for excellent in my book database but beside the basic premise, I don’t remember a great deal. This book would have served me better 20 years ago. As is it gathers together the characters from several books and a couple of series and attempts tie them together under the label of the Known Earth Series.
Frankly I’m not sure this was a wrap up and not a precur...more
I read Ringworld in the early 1970’s and frankly I know I liked it as I ranked it as an E for excellent in my book database but beside the basic premise, I don’t remember a great deal. This book would have served me better 20 years ago. As is it gathers together the characters from several books and a couple of series and attempts tie them together under the label of the Known Earth Series.
Frankly I’m not sure this was a wrap up and not a precur...more
I never know any more how much of these books is the product of Larry Niven and how much is the other guy (whichever other guy he's sharing the work with this time). Niven used to be one of my favorite authors, but now that he's farming out some of the work, I think the product is declining in quality. Of course, compared to the original Ringworld story, most other stories are going to seem lesser.
This book doesn't stand on it's own. I read the earlier books in the series and still felt a bit l...more
This book doesn't stand on it's own. I read the earlier books in the series and still felt a bit l...more
Ambitious is an understatement: the finale to both the Ringworld series and the Fleet of Worlds series, and indeed of the entire Known Space saga begun with 1966's "Neutron Star"! Forty-six years of real life and a few billion years of fictional history in the making -- so I suppose I can forgive Niven and Lerner that Fate of Worlds wasn't perfect.
Let us make use of a double standard here. Rate this work against Niven's other work, or even Niven & Lerner's, and this book earns a solid 4 out...more
Let us make use of a double standard here. Rate this work against Niven's other work, or even Niven & Lerner's, and this book earns a solid 4 out...more
A common complaint about Niven's recent offerings has been that they fall short of their illustrious predecessors from forty years ago or so. Let us concede from the start that Fate of Worlds is not the ground-breaking work that Ringworld or Protector were. However, anyone else should agree that few otherwise excellent instances of science fiction can match the audacity of a world that is the equatorial section of a Dyson Sphere or an extraterrestrial species, such as the Pak, that could conform...more
It's been years since I read any of the Ringworld/Known Space books, and I never read anything in the Fleet of Worlds series. So I found the book confusing and hard to follow.
But it's full of all the Puppeteers, hive minds and rogue AIs you might care for, two types of hyperdrive, S-disks to secret locations, hidden motives, space battles, wrathful Kzinti out to earn their names, and enormous amounts of destruction. Which is really the sort of thing I'm looking for in a Niven book.
But it's full of all the Puppeteers, hive minds and rogue AIs you might care for, two types of hyperdrive, S-disks to secret locations, hidden motives, space battles, wrathful Kzinti out to earn their names, and enormous amounts of destruction. Which is really the sort of thing I'm looking for in a Niven book.
This book is most frequently billed as the finale to The Ringworld series (despite the fact the fact that the cover clearly says that it wraps up BOTH The Fleet of Worlds and Ringworld series), but I think this book owes much more to the legacy of Fleet of Worlds than Ringworld. If I were reading it as the final to that series I would feel quite disappointed, if not outright cheated. But as a finale to Fleet it is quite good, even if it treads a little too close to tying everything up with a nea...more
Having read the original Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers many years ago I looked forward to revisiting this alternate universe. Sadly it was disappointing. Whereas the original books introduced new ideas there is none of that here. It is a space opera with little that is new to recommend it. It seems to wander about as if looking for a story to tell and never really finding it.
A mostly satisfying ending to the Ringworld series, although I can't recommend it as a standalone book. It fills in the gaps between books, makes some attempts to justify inconsistencies that have cropped up over the forty years it took to finish the series, and ties up some loose ends that should please fans of the books.
This is a satisfying end of both the Ringworld and the Puppeteer Fleet series. It tied up everything neatly, but I found myself having to distinguish between New Terra and Fleet often. There are so many parallel characters that it is hard keeping them apart. Thank God for the dramitis personae and the map in the front. I really liked this book.
This was a really good book. The story flowed quickly and for the most part made senese. Unlike previous books in the series which were filled with WTF moments and plot twists that broke my suspention of disbelief. This book was a great return the action packed, smart and quick reads of Larry Niven's classic work. I was entertained.
(I thought I had posted a longer review when I completed the book - wishing I had a backup).
(I thought I had posted a longer review when I completed the book - wishing I had a backup).
Like the rest of the Fleet of Worlds series, and indeed all books in the Ringworld saga save the original classic, this is a satisfying read if you want to keep your head in the world of the Puppeteers and the Ringworld all the way to the apparent conclusion of the series.
Typical work in the Larry Niven universe. If you've read the other books, read this one to complete the series. If you've never read Niven, read Ringworld. I fell in love with Ringworld 30 years ago and, of all the scifi planets, it the only one where I'd like to retire.
Although it was definitely amusing to pick up the adventures of characters I'd read a long time ago (I read Ringworld in high school, but never really thought about going back for more), I couldn't maintain a lot of interest in the characters, and only a little more in the story.
Finally, closure to the Ringworld saga? Or so it seems. Just a few hours since I finished this book and am already feeling withdrawal symptoms. What a guilty pleasure this series has been! 40+ years of slipping out of mundane reality and entering hyper-space. But all good things must come to an end. Including the most devious aliens of all. Nuff said!
If you're a fan, this book has all the endearing elements. If you're not a fan, well, this is probably not the right book to start.
If you're a fan, this book has all the endearing elements. If you're not a fan, well, this is probably not the right book to start.
Described as the conclusion of the Fleet of Worlds and the Ringworld sagas, I'd say it was mostly Fleet of Worlds. The Ringworld figured into only a small portion of the story, so don't read it expecting a true Ringworld story. Or even half of one.
But that didn't make it a bad read. It concluded both story lines, wrapped up various threads, yet opened a few new ones leaving the possibility of more stories open in the future. Not in a cliff-hanger sense, or an unfinished story sense, but like in...more
But that didn't make it a bad read. It concluded both story lines, wrapped up various threads, yet opened a few new ones leaving the possibility of more stories open in the future. Not in a cliff-hanger sense, or an unfinished story sense, but like in...more
Wishing for more, this helped feed my ringworld wants but still I felt it was missing something that the original series had.
Finishes off Known Space, resolving any remaining hints and threads like the bow on a present.
Too much reaching, too much inuendo, too many miraculous escapes. Not a worthy ending to the saga.
I found this one really hard to follow. I have not read the prequels, so I don't know if they would help with understanding.
The knot is too neat. Gaps creak. But a typically great read from Niven.
And in the whole series, I waited in vain for someone to shout "Devil take the Hindmost!"
A little difucult should have started the series off with book one but other than that I liked it.
eBook Purchase Date: November 20, 2012
Thoroughly enjoyable, I will miss all of these characters
My biggest problem with this book is that it's not just the fifth volume of the Fleet of Worlds series, it's also the fifth Ringworld book. If you haven't read all four Ringworld books, and especially Children of Ringworld, you're going to be struggling.
And while it looks like the authors are writing finis upon Known Space, when we actually reach the end, it turns out that there are more than a few threads left they could pick up for future novels.
And while it looks like the authors are writing finis upon Known Space, when we actually reach the end, it turns out that there are more than a few threads left they could pick up for future novels.
OK, but not great. Intended to tie up all the Niven stuff, protectors, ringworld, fleet of worlds.
One more end to the Ringworld saga. In short: the Puppeteer kidnapped humans discover the location of the Earth; political squabbling between the Puppeteers; war between the Puppeteers and other species; finally, the Puppeteers zoom away in hyperspace using advanced technology.
Overall, it was ok, but not thrilling. The last two novels in this series seem less well designed than the first three.
Overall, it was ok, but not thrilling. The last two novels in this series seem less well designed than the first three.
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Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths...more
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