Madness from the Inconstant Moon Lib/E: A Collection of Short Works from Larry Niven

by Larry Niven

Madness from the Inconstant Moon is a collection of early short science fiction works by Larry Niven, the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Ringworld series. This classic collection includes "The Inconstant Moon," the basis for a forthcoming film by The Arrival producer Shawn Levy."All the Myriad Ways" (1968)"Passerby" (1969)"For a Foggy Night" (1968)"Wait It Out" (1968)"The Jigsaw Man" (1967)"Not Long Before the End" (1969)"Unfinished Story No. 1" (1970)"Unfinished Story No. 2" (1971)"Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (essay, 1969)"Exercise in Speculation: The Theory and Practice of Teleportation" (essay, 1969)"The Theory and Practice of Time Travel" (essay, 1971)"Inconstant Moon" (1971)"What Can You Say About Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers?" (1971)"Becalmed in Hell" (1965)

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Anthologies, Essays, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audio CD

Published September 19, 2017

About the author

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.

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...

Reviews

[Jeff Koeppen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of eleven short stories and three essays written between 1965 and 1971 was all over the place. I really only enjoyed two of the stories: "Inconstant Moon" about the mysterious brightening of the moon one evening, and "Becalmed in Hell" about a human mission to Venus. Most of the other entries were science fiction and just fine. One story I remember being fantasy.

The essays seemed to drag a bit, except "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" which was about Superman, more specifically his mating issues, and even more specifically his sperm. I wish I could unhear this. To say it was off-putting is an understatement. Maybe clever and funny to some, but not this geezer.

I'll give it two stars as the two stories I like nudged it in to "OK" status for me.

[Daniel Bensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Niven's best-known short works. My favorite was the one about the Warlock and the Barbarian, but it illustrates what frustrates me about Niven. He hasn't come to terms with death. In "Madness from the Inconstant Moon," for example, the set-up is excellent, but then what? I wish the characters did a better job of extracting meaning from their experiences. I do come back to Niven, though, for what I love about science fiction. He says "what if?" and then answers the question.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories and essays by Larry Niven. The stories are all enjoyable and a couple will really make you think. The title story, Inconstant Moon, is particularly touching. It is the essays, however, that really make the collection stand out. Keep in mind that Larry Niven has been a leading hard sf author for decades, so when he decides to write an essay on time travel or on Superman’s ability to have a child with Lois Lane, it is well worth reading.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Harding McFadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly solid collection of Mr. Niven's short fiction and articles, highlighted by Inconstant Moon (a favorite of mine), but by no means limited to it. Case in point: "What Can You Say About Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers," a great little yarn with far-reaching implications told in such a fun, lyrical way that I was pulled along for a nice, meandering ride from the very first sentence. If you've read Niven, you know what you're getting yourself into, so get into it already. If you're new to Niven, you're in for a treat. His novels are solid, full of mind boggling concepts and characters that are second to none; his short fiction is no less so. That being the case, if this is your first foray or if you're just visiting with some old friends, be prepared to enjoy yourself.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories and scientific speculation on such things as tele-transportation and time travel. Several of the short stories were also published individually. While I didn't like every last story, overall I really liked this collection.

Any modesty issues? Yes. One of the stories is actually a discussion about how Superman could make a woman pregnant. Also, how would a normal human woman carry her super-baby to term? She would be in fear of her life each time her super-baby kicked.

I'd probably read this book again.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read most of these short stories in high school. (That would've been the early 80's.) I've since been thinking about some of these stories and really enjoyed stumbling across this on a library search. The best part of this was Niven giving comments in between the stories. This is a good starter, if you've never read him and want a sample plate this is it.

[Keyla Damaer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Madness From The Inconstant Moon is an anthology of short sci-fi stories by Larry Niven.
A few months back, I borrowed a digital book—an anthology of short stories by the most famous authors in the genres. In that book, I discovered this fantastic sci-fi short story by Niven, Inconstant Moon, and fell in love with it. It’s basically a love story, which was a surprise to me because I find romance an utterly boring genre. Unless the author is really good either for worldbuilding or for style. In that case, genre doesn’t matter.
In Niven’s case, it’s the style that struck me as amazing.
The next thing I did was browsing the Amazon store looking for more and found this book.
Now, I gotta tell you, as a reader, I’m not a fan of short stories. If I like a story, I want novels, long and detailed. A short story is like being offered my favourite dish and then left looking and smelling at it, without the possibility to eat it. Why am I telling you this? Because I didn’t like this book. The only story I enjoyed was the one I bought it for, which I re-read over and over, and I strongly suggest everyone to read it. The rest of the stories never caught my interest, almost making me want to sleep. One day, I’ll try one of Niven’s novels, I’m really curious about them, but no more short stories for sure.

Perhaps this review is not helpful, I realise that, but that's my honest review. I'll give it 2 stars.

[Craig Amason · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the subtitle of this book, the phrase "short works" covers more than just fiction, and perhaps more than just science fiction. The collection includes a few essays that sound more like scientific explorations, speculative though they may be. This is particularly true of the ones on time travel and teleportation. I found them both entertaining and fascinating. Niven is no slouch when it comes to scientific theory and applied physics. For lay readers like me, this is pretty cool stuff.

As for the fiction, I really like the title story the best because it's more than just a tale of apocalyptic doom; it is also about human emotion and connection under the aspect of eternity, which is a common theme in the best literature anywhere in any genre. Niven's stories tend to have more abrupt endings than I'm accustomed to, but he is a good writer of plot and dialogue. Some of the metaphors have not aged too well, along with some of the technology (telephone lines, for instance), but we can't hold that against fiction that was written so many years ago. Overall, this is an easy read with a little weight to it along the way.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some pretty good stories and essays, but most are badly dated. The story that lends its name to the book, "Inconstant Moon," was fun to read (listen to) while the recent solar flare activity was going on. Niven was often cited as someone to read if you enjoyed Robert Heinlein's novels, so I read most of his books. His early stories and novels were pretty good, but he comes across as self-satisfied and nowhere near the storyteller Heinlein was. Still, for readable hard science fiction, he's hard to beat.

I listened to the audio version, narrated by Bronson Pinchot, who, as an actor, is on my "not a fan" list, but I have to admit he did a very good job on this bool

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, LOL, re-read/listen to some of Niven's short fiction with two new to me stories (Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex and ...Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers) and two essays. Even the essays have humour. Reminded of how much I enjoyed his storytelling and wit and trying to resist going down the "must read all of the author works" rabbit hole.

[Felicia B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like sci-fi and fantasy but this collection had very few works I could get into. I didn't like the author's style of abrupt endings for many stories, and I wasn't captivated listening to numbered lists of talking points on time travel, teleportation, or Superman's reproductive challenges. The ideas were all great but this wasn't what I was looking for.

[jazz weisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read most of the stories in this collection before at some point or other, but it was great to go back and see them again, and I think at least a couple were new to me. I love Niven’s work in general, and his short stories are a very classic part of his oeuvre, even if they are not usually the part I focus on. I also really enjoyed the authors notes that accompanied the stories.

[Stephen Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revisiting a classic collection of Niven's short stories and ideas.

In particular "For a foggy night" (1968) about jumping universes in the fog stuck with me for years after I first read it.

And of course, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (1969) is a classic.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little uneven, and some aren't really stories and more essays, but there are some creative ideas here. A little too into the science and physics for me, but if you're into speculative/theoretical science and math, this might be a good one for you.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mixture of science fiction and fantasy. The guy can tell a story.

[Lucía · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blast from the past.

[Cole Schoolland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories, thought experiments, and essays from Larry Niven.

[Ray Haleblian]

You may not look at chocolate manhole covers the same way ever again.

[Brett O'Callaghan]

Honestly, how many times can the same stories be anthologised?

[Chuy Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of science fiction short stories. Some much stronger than others, but the titular story alone makes it worth the read. Some pretty cool ideas and stories overall.

[Alicat]

DNF I did not read enough to rate it

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of these short stories were interesting, and some were funny. I went back and forth between three stars and two stars, but overall this wasn't quite as good as other short story compilations I have read.