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Man-Kzin Wars #5
Man-Kzin Wars V
After losing three significant battles to the humans, the Kzin begin to wonder if their combative diplomatic style is working, and they decide to reevaluate their strategy
331 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1992
10 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Larry Niven
687 books3,305 followersLaurence 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.
Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.
Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.
He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.
Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Neutron Star in 1967. In 1972, for Inconstant Moon, and in 1975 for The Hole Man. In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Borderland of Sol.
Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early Kzin story The Soft Weapon. He adapted his story Inconstant Moon for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.
He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...
Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.
Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.
He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.
Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Neutron Star in 1967. In 1972, for Inconstant Moon, and in 1975 for The Hole Man. In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Borderland of Sol.
Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early Kzin story The Soft Weapon. He adapted his story Inconstant Moon for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.
He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 23, 2009
Felinoid aliens with Klingon-like attitudes attack Known Space - humanity must re-learn how to wage war in a hell of a hurry.
Entertaining enough, if you're into shared world collaborations. The Kzin are formidable opponents; would be interesting to see this brought to TV/movies.
Entertaining enough, if you're into shared world collaborations. The Kzin are formidable opponents; would be interesting to see this brought to TV/movies.
May 10, 2015
An excellent volume in this shared world series. Great SiFi stories set in Larry Niven's "Known Space" setting. Recommended
December 1, 2021
Old Gold
These were well done I think that a truly good bunch of people have been interested enough in world created by Niven to get out many of them.
These were well done I think that a truly good bunch of people have been interested enough in world created by Niven to get out many of them.
June 3, 2019
Two short stories set in the Man-Kzin universe. Both focusing on how human and kzin cultures survive and interact after the wars. The first, a rather entertaining story of a group of miners striking it big, and the inevitable disasters that follow.
The second I enjoyed slightly less, but still worth reading. It provides some insights in to the culture and is an interesting hunt. However, the ending feels rushed and you are left wondering what happens after.
The second I enjoyed slightly less, but still worth reading. It provides some insights in to the culture and is an interesting hunt. However, the ending feels rushed and you are left wondering what happens after.
December 4, 2013
This is the fifth in the “Man Kzin Wars” series, and contains two stories. An initial comment: As I read more of these books, the characters, context and back stories become more familiar and the going gets much easier, so that this volume was a faster read.
The first, and longer, story, “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling, gives us a period between wars, starting out on Wunderland at Harold Yarthkin’s Interplanetary Bar (think of the bar on Alderan from “Star Wars”). Our out-of-work assassin Jonah Matthieson, and Tyra Nordbo, along with two equally idle Kzin, brothers Bigs and Spots, are recruited by former police chief Claude Monferrat-Palme to go on an expedition to find gold in a godforsaken part of the planet. Let’s add General Buford Early, who had sent Jonah and Ingrid (now wife to Harold) to assassinate Chuut-Ritt, leader of the Kzin in the last war, to the mix, and let’s also add Durvash, a tnuctipin (a slave race to the Thrint, but who are imbued with telepathy and a higher intelligence than their former masters), whose ship crashed in said godforsaken part of the planet. Durvash seems to have the ability to foment unrest and rebellion in the temporarily-cooperative kzin. How do these elements come together, especially if we add bands of bandits and citizens of outlying patches of humanity in aforementioned godforsaken part of Wunderland? Quite well, to my mind, very enjoyably, fun read.
The second story, “Hey Diddle Diddle,” by Thomas T. Thomas, describes a chance encounter between humans and Kzin on a remote planet that looks like a rainforest gone VERY wild. The object of their planetary stop is a “stasis-box,” which it Thrintun in origin and which contains both a creature and an object which resembles a clarinet. The creature is – well, if you’ve read any Dean Koontz, you will know of his affection for dogs and that, in fact, the dog ends up being the most intelligent and best-adjusted character. Keep that in mind as you read. The story leads to the inevitable bloody confrontation between humans and kzin, though on a much smaller scale. Very satisfying story.
The first, and longer, story, “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling, gives us a period between wars, starting out on Wunderland at Harold Yarthkin’s Interplanetary Bar (think of the bar on Alderan from “Star Wars”). Our out-of-work assassin Jonah Matthieson, and Tyra Nordbo, along with two equally idle Kzin, brothers Bigs and Spots, are recruited by former police chief Claude Monferrat-Palme to go on an expedition to find gold in a godforsaken part of the planet. Let’s add General Buford Early, who had sent Jonah and Ingrid (now wife to Harold) to assassinate Chuut-Ritt, leader of the Kzin in the last war, to the mix, and let’s also add Durvash, a tnuctipin (a slave race to the Thrint, but who are imbued with telepathy and a higher intelligence than their former masters), whose ship crashed in said godforsaken part of the planet. Durvash seems to have the ability to foment unrest and rebellion in the temporarily-cooperative kzin. How do these elements come together, especially if we add bands of bandits and citizens of outlying patches of humanity in aforementioned godforsaken part of Wunderland? Quite well, to my mind, very enjoyably, fun read.
The second story, “Hey Diddle Diddle,” by Thomas T. Thomas, describes a chance encounter between humans and Kzin on a remote planet that looks like a rainforest gone VERY wild. The object of their planetary stop is a “stasis-box,” which it Thrintun in origin and which contains both a creature and an object which resembles a clarinet. The creature is – well, if you’ve read any Dean Koontz, you will know of his affection for dogs and that, in fact, the dog ends up being the most intelligent and best-adjusted character. Keep that in mind as you read. The story leads to the inevitable bloody confrontation between humans and kzin, though on a much smaller scale. Very satisfying story.
August 24, 2011
A long running anthology series with stories set during the Man-Kzin Wars in Larry Niven’s Known Space universe. Niven started this thing up because while the Wars were very significant in the history of Known Space, he himself was not adept at writing about conflict. Niven has written some of the stories but most are by other authors. The writing ranges from average to excellent. Recommended if you are a fan of Known Space.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1026
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1026
July 28, 2020
This is a pair of novellas, that, overall, are a very good pair of stories. I had to forgo the 5th star though, as I have a pet peeve against plot errors for the sake of "action". Each story had a noticeable glitch, though nothing major. Unless you read with a mind automatically highly tuned to detail, as I do, you probably won't notice them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews