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Man-Kzin Wars #15
Man-Kzin Wars XV
THE POPULAR MAN-KZIN WARS SERIES ROARS BACK INTO ACTION! Stories of the war between humanity and the catlike Kzin from Brad R. Torgersen, New York Times best-selling author Brendan DuBois, Martin L. Shoemaker, and more!
The predatory catlike warrior race known as the Kzin never had a hard time dealing with all those they encountered, conquering alien worlds with little effort. That is until they came face to face with the leaf-eaters known as humans. Small of stature and lacking both claws and fangs, the humans should have been easy prey. But for years now the humans and the Kzin have been engaged in a series of wars, with neither side able to declare decisive victory once and for all.
A new collection of short stories set in the Man-Kzin Wars shared universe created by multiple New York Times best-seller, incomparable tale-spinner, and Nebula- and five-time Hugo Award–winner, Larry Niven.
Complete Contributor List:
Brad R. Torgersen
Brendan DuBois
Martin L. Shoemaker
Hal Colebach
Jessica Q. Fox
Jason Fregeau
About the Man-Kzin War Series:
“[The Man-Kzin Wars series is] excellent . . . gripping . . . and expands well on Larry Niven’s universe. . . .” —Locus
About series creator Larry Niven:
“Niven’s masterly use of SF strategies hits every note. . .“—Los Angeles Times
The predatory catlike warrior race known as the Kzin never had a hard time dealing with all those they encountered, conquering alien worlds with little effort. That is until they came face to face with the leaf-eaters known as humans. Small of stature and lacking both claws and fangs, the humans should have been easy prey. But for years now the humans and the Kzin have been engaged in a series of wars, with neither side able to declare decisive victory once and for all.
A new collection of short stories set in the Man-Kzin Wars shared universe created by multiple New York Times best-seller, incomparable tale-spinner, and Nebula- and five-time Hugo Award–winner, Larry Niven.
Complete Contributor List:
Brad R. Torgersen
Brendan DuBois
Martin L. Shoemaker
Hal Colebach
Jessica Q. Fox
Jason Fregeau
About the Man-Kzin War Series:
“[The Man-Kzin Wars series is] excellent . . . gripping . . . and expands well on Larry Niven’s universe. . . .” —Locus
About series creator Larry Niven:
“Niven’s masterly use of SF strategies hits every note. . .“—Los Angeles Times
- GenresScience FictionFiction
464 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2020
28 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Larry Niven
692 books3,332 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 9, 2024
Another nice book in this series. good read. Recommended
November 12, 2020
Good enough for Man-Kzin fans, and who else would want to read it?
It does assume that you are familiar with at least some of the Kzin series.
It won't hurt if you have read some of the Ringworld series too.
I like the way several of the stories really work the uneasy-peace angle, because that's how new ground gets covered.
It does assume that you are familiar with at least some of the Kzin series.
It won't hurt if you have read some of the Ringworld series too.
I like the way several of the stories really work the uneasy-peace angle, because that's how new ground gets covered.
March 7, 2019
Man-Kzin Wars XV by Larry Niven
This is a collection of short stories about the interrelationship of the Kzin, a race of feline carnivores, and man. Larry Niven was the editor of the project that included man name brand authors. The Kzin were the premier predator in their environment until they ran across man. War followed and the Kzin were contained by man much to their racially collective chagrin. Peace ensued but a very uneasy peace. These stories chronicle some of the incidents that continue to mar the enforced peace.
One of the stories told of Trask, a renegade Kzin warrior who refused to accept the patriarch’s down grading of the Kzin females’ intelligence. Trask ends up providing the basis for a legend.
Another shows the difficulty of Man-Kzin interaction on a mission to discover a new intelligent species with the hope of gaining a competitive edge in the uneasy peace.
I am not overly fond of short story collections but this was an entertaining read.
February 8, 2019
My Amazon review may be found HERE.
And my blog post, which has some brilliantly written introductory material, can be found HERE, at Papa Pat Rambles. PPR is also the home of other lovely & insightful writings; if you can find a better blog, you should support them.
Seems like decades, but it's only been six years since the last Man-Kzin Wars collection was released. SIX LONG, MISERABLE, STARVING YEARS!!!!! Maybe that's a good thing; they say "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", but that's only the pathetic solace sought by one who has been denied access to the object of affections.
And now, to the stories:
"Sales Pitch," by Hal Colebatch, one of the strong veterans of the series. I suspect he knows more about this aspect of Known Space than anyone else. Whether everything he knows is TRUE remains to be seen, but he tells an excellent story. In this one, he provides deep, deep, deep background to the conflict between Man and Kzin, giving us another reason to despise those who pull the strings.
"Singer of Truth," by Martin L Shoemaker, another long-time writer. This tale is set relatively early in the Wars, before much of the self-centered nastiness of the human race has been stripped away by the desperate need to unite for survival. A human psycho-therapist risks his life and well-being in order to make contact with the Kzinti, especially those who don't wish to make contact with him. His biggest struggles come from his own people, who fight over their own privileges as if that were the biggest deal in the world.
"The Third Kzin," by Jason Fregeau. WHO IN THE HECK IS JASON FREGEAU??? When I first heard about this volume, I went looking, and I could find NOTHING he had written. And yet, he does one of the most elaborate combinations of classic films and Man-Kzin conflicts I have read.I love this particular method, although I am partial to the Humphrey Bogart movies. This one, though, is just wonderfully satisfying, combining the best elements of the movie (including the zither) with the story of Wunderland after the war. I found "The Third Man" on a streaming service, and watched it in parallel with reading the story. I think that served to enhance my experience; YMMV. But, don't miss this one, and I hope we get more Jason Fregeau in ANY lit form.
"Excitement," by Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox." Both authors are veterans of this world, and it shows. I love the way in which they take pre-existing characters, ask 'What WOULD happen?' and then proceed to answer the question. In this case, it's the WunderKzin Vaermar-Ritt, who may yet solve the problem of a universe with both war cats and monkeys.
"Justice," by Jessica Q. Fox. As mentioned above, Fox is a MK veteran, and in this particular selection,l she appears to show some significant history with another thread that I don't recognize. Her characters seem to me to be too well developed to be created just for this story. THe Kzin morality is their primary influence on the plot, which involves probably the nastiest villain I have seen in Known Space.
"Saga," by Brendan duBois. I'm having difficulties remembering if I have duBois' name associated with the MK universe, and the fact that I have to pick up my daughter for a cheerleader function in 29 minutes prevents me from taking advantage of my usual google-fu. ( LATE INSERT: this is his very first contribution, unless my eyes have led me astray. I have just gone through all of MK War titles, plus the associated books, on my Kindle, and his name does not appear.) Regardless, the snapshot of a particular point in Kzin development rings just as true as anything could. There have been numerous stories about the change from sentient to non-sentient females, but this strikes EXACTLY at the cusp. Even better than that, it inserts Kzin into one of the oldest myths humans have.
"Scrith," by Brad R. Torgersen. This is my personal favorite in the book, for at least three reasons. In the first place, Torgerson, a fellow POG, has written magnificently of the way in which a POG (Person Other than Grunt) can be the source of the human race being saved from a novel type BEM. Secondly, I loved Ringworld, as well as the other novels in the series, and this goes very far in answering some of the itch from "but what about" questions that linger after Niven closed the last book. Finally, it does a Wonderful job of covering new territory, while reading EXACTLY like Niven. It is UTTERLY faithful to the entire series. If you read Jurassic Park II, the you know that one of the serious questions was "How did they get this dino-clone thing right straight off the bat?" Well, same question goes for the RingWorld.
Recommended without reservation (ummm... you do take walk-ins, don't you?).
And my blog post, which has some brilliantly written introductory material, can be found HERE, at Papa Pat Rambles. PPR is also the home of other lovely & insightful writings; if you can find a better blog, you should support them.
Seems like decades, but it's only been six years since the last Man-Kzin Wars collection was released. SIX LONG, MISERABLE, STARVING YEARS!!!!! Maybe that's a good thing; they say "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", but that's only the pathetic solace sought by one who has been denied access to the object of affections.
And now, to the stories:
"Sales Pitch," by Hal Colebatch, one of the strong veterans of the series. I suspect he knows more about this aspect of Known Space than anyone else. Whether everything he knows is TRUE remains to be seen, but he tells an excellent story. In this one, he provides deep, deep, deep background to the conflict between Man and Kzin, giving us another reason to despise those who pull the strings.
"Singer of Truth," by Martin L Shoemaker, another long-time writer. This tale is set relatively early in the Wars, before much of the self-centered nastiness of the human race has been stripped away by the desperate need to unite for survival. A human psycho-therapist risks his life and well-being in order to make contact with the Kzinti, especially those who don't wish to make contact with him. His biggest struggles come from his own people, who fight over their own privileges as if that were the biggest deal in the world.
"The Third Kzin," by Jason Fregeau. WHO IN THE HECK IS JASON FREGEAU??? When I first heard about this volume, I went looking, and I could find NOTHING he had written. And yet, he does one of the most elaborate combinations of classic films and Man-Kzin conflicts I have read.I love this particular method, although I am partial to the Humphrey Bogart movies. This one, though, is just wonderfully satisfying, combining the best elements of the movie (including the zither) with the story of Wunderland after the war. I found "The Third Man" on a streaming service, and watched it in parallel with reading the story. I think that served to enhance my experience; YMMV. But, don't miss this one, and I hope we get more Jason Fregeau in ANY lit form.
"Excitement," by Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox." Both authors are veterans of this world, and it shows. I love the way in which they take pre-existing characters, ask 'What WOULD happen?' and then proceed to answer the question. In this case, it's the WunderKzin Vaermar-Ritt, who may yet solve the problem of a universe with both war cats and monkeys.
"Justice," by Jessica Q. Fox. As mentioned above, Fox is a MK veteran, and in this particular selection,l she appears to show some significant history with another thread that I don't recognize. Her characters seem to me to be too well developed to be created just for this story. THe Kzin morality is their primary influence on the plot, which involves probably the nastiest villain I have seen in Known Space.
"Saga," by Brendan duBois. I'm having difficulties remembering if I have duBois' name associated with the MK universe, and the fact that I have to pick up my daughter for a cheerleader function in 29 minutes prevents me from taking advantage of my usual google-fu. ( LATE INSERT: this is his very first contribution, unless my eyes have led me astray. I have just gone through all of MK War titles, plus the associated books, on my Kindle, and his name does not appear.) Regardless, the snapshot of a particular point in Kzin development rings just as true as anything could. There have been numerous stories about the change from sentient to non-sentient females, but this strikes EXACTLY at the cusp. Even better than that, it inserts Kzin into one of the oldest myths humans have.
"Scrith," by Brad R. Torgersen. This is my personal favorite in the book, for at least three reasons. In the first place, Torgerson, a fellow POG, has written magnificently of the way in which a POG (Person Other than Grunt) can be the source of the human race being saved from a novel type BEM. Secondly, I loved Ringworld, as well as the other novels in the series, and this goes very far in answering some of the itch from "but what about" questions that linger after Niven closed the last book. Finally, it does a Wonderful job of covering new territory, while reading EXACTLY like Niven. It is UTTERLY faithful to the entire series. If you read Jurassic Park II, the you know that one of the serious questions was "How did they get this dino-clone thing right straight off the bat?" Well, same question goes for the RingWorld.
Recommended without reservation (ummm... you do take walk-ins, don't you?).
February 23, 2019
Wow, 25years
When I read book 1, I had NO idea that this series would run this long and STILL be going strong. Of course I wasn't familiar with the high-powered abilities of all these fine authors. I hope it continues for another 25years, myself included.
When I read book 1, I had NO idea that this series would run this long and STILL be going strong. Of course I wasn't familiar with the high-powered abilities of all these fine authors. I hope it continues for another 25years, myself included.
February 10, 2019
Who doesn't like rat-cats!
August 29, 2019
As a fan of Larry Niven's since high school - basically, since about the time he started getting published - I keep an eye open for anything new by him, or anything about Known Space that he has authorized, and buy it without question. I'm going to have to begin questioning my method.
This isn't *bad*, but over-all, it's on the mediocre side, which is a shame, because there is a lot of exploring to do in Known Space, whether about the kzinti, the Puppeteers, the Outsiders, the Humans... whoever. Thus, it is sad when stories come up short in the telling.
Not every story in here is weak. First off, there's Hal Colebatch, and his stories always have something to say, and say it well. Thus, his "Sales Pitch", which opens this collection, is marvelous, and it goes a long way to explaining a lot of things! Brendan DuBois's retelling of the Beowulf story ("Saga") is very clever. And "Singer-of-Truth", by Martin L. Shoemaker, gives us some interesting insight into how a Hero sees himself.
OTOH, "The Third Kzin", by Jason Fregeau, is poorly plotted and awkwardly told, which is unfortunate, as it could have been a lot better, possibly as a novella. And it took me two readings of the last 30 pages of "Scrith", by Brad Torgerson, to actually "get" what had happened, and sort of why, but I still don't see how the first 85% gives us any foreshadowing of the last 15%; in fact, it reads like two unrelated stories which were badly welded together.
The middle two stories, one a solo effort by Jessica Q. Fox, and one co-written by her and Hal Colebatch were good enough, but I found it peculiar that Fox got no cover credit, other than the early-Gilligan's-Islandesque "and more!"
Bottom Line: this is a middling effort, despite a couple of excellent stories, and a couple of good ones. I have to suspect that Niven's age, the occasional rumors (? - maybe they aren't rumors) of declining health, and the fact that almost everything that he has published in the past decade or more has been co-authored with younger writers (who I suspect have done the bulk of the actual writing), have resulted in others taking the lead in the editing and approving of stories in these collections. When I look over some of the early volumes, and the crackling-good space yarns therein, it is sad to see the plebeian efforts in the past two or three books, including this one.
Ah, well... nothing lasts forever.
This isn't *bad*, but over-all, it's on the mediocre side, which is a shame, because there is a lot of exploring to do in Known Space, whether about the kzinti, the Puppeteers, the Outsiders, the Humans... whoever. Thus, it is sad when stories come up short in the telling.
Not every story in here is weak. First off, there's Hal Colebatch, and his stories always have something to say, and say it well. Thus, his "Sales Pitch", which opens this collection, is marvelous, and it goes a long way to explaining a lot of things! Brendan DuBois's retelling of the Beowulf story ("Saga") is very clever. And "Singer-of-Truth", by Martin L. Shoemaker, gives us some interesting insight into how a Hero sees himself.
OTOH, "The Third Kzin", by Jason Fregeau, is poorly plotted and awkwardly told, which is unfortunate, as it could have been a lot better, possibly as a novella. And it took me two readings of the last 30 pages of "Scrith", by Brad Torgerson, to actually "get" what had happened, and sort of why, but I still don't see how the first 85% gives us any foreshadowing of the last 15%; in fact, it reads like two unrelated stories which were badly welded together.
The middle two stories, one a solo effort by Jessica Q. Fox, and one co-written by her and Hal Colebatch were good enough, but I found it peculiar that Fox got no cover credit, other than the early-Gilligan's-Islandesque "and more!"
Bottom Line: this is a middling effort, despite a couple of excellent stories, and a couple of good ones. I have to suspect that Niven's age, the occasional rumors (? - maybe they aren't rumors) of declining health, and the fact that almost everything that he has published in the past decade or more has been co-authored with younger writers (who I suspect have done the bulk of the actual writing), have resulted in others taking the lead in the editing and approving of stories in these collections. When I look over some of the early volumes, and the crackling-good space yarns therein, it is sad to see the plebeian efforts in the past two or three books, including this one.
Ah, well... nothing lasts forever.
July 7, 2020
A nice trip back to "Known Space" after many years away for me.
Set in the time after the liberation of Wunderland the theme running through the book is how you treat your enemy having won the war. There is also focus on how the Kzin evolve.
The stories themselves are very good and bring in lots of references from older Niven books. You don't need them, but I suspect anyone reading this will be a long term Niven fan and know the stories.
So perhaps not great as an introduction, but rewarding for the long term fan.
Set in the time after the liberation of Wunderland the theme running through the book is how you treat your enemy having won the war. There is also focus on how the Kzin evolve.
The stories themselves are very good and bring in lots of references from older Niven books. You don't need them, but I suspect anyone reading this will be a long term Niven fan and know the stories.
So perhaps not great as an introduction, but rewarding for the long term fan.
July 13, 2025
the latest, for at least the time being, the last volume of the Man-Kzin wars series of short story collections. This volume, expands beyond the typical stories from the war on Wunderland, that some of the previous volumes contain. Stritch is story about an expedition to a prototype ringworld. Ghost makes place years after the fleet of world series. The Murder Mystery was alright, but I don't usually enjoy convuluted murders and how they are solved.
May 26, 2020
Thank you so much!
I’ve collected the entire series of the Man-Kzin wars, and have never tired of reading them.
It’s so enjoyable just going back over the previous issues.
I’d rate number 15 as one of the best.
Well done to all of the authors.
I’ve collected the entire series of the Man-Kzin wars, and have never tired of reading them.
It’s so enjoyable just going back over the previous issues.
I’d rate number 15 as one of the best.
Well done to all of the authors.
June 18, 2020
I'm a lifetime fan of Niven's writing, and love the Man-Kzin Wars series of anthologies. This one does not disappoint. Stories from other authors set in the Man-Kzin universe, filling in interesting bits and corners of the mythos.
April 26, 2023
Can't go wrong with Man-Kzin wars
"Known space" is a vast & believeable universe for "hard sci-fi" authors to play in. Many tales have told there & I've yet to come across a "bad" story.
"Known space" is a vast & believeable universe for "hard sci-fi" authors to play in. Many tales have told there & I've yet to come across a "bad" story.
February 23, 2019
A great addition to a great series
I've been reading this series since the dawn of time. It's great to finally read a new installment to the Man-Kzin War series.
I've been reading this series since the dawn of time. It's great to finally read a new installment to the Man-Kzin War series.
March 14, 2019
I only read the third short story, The Third Kzin, by Jason Fregeau. It was my first foray into science fiction. I found it captivating and thoroughly enjoyable.
March 20, 2019
Good but not great!
Some of the stories were good but lacked the magic of the early books. I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans.
Some of the stories were good but lacked the magic of the early books. I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans.
April 18, 2019
Another really good collection of stories set in Larry Niven's Known Space series. It's particularly focused on the relationship between Humans and Kzin.
July 5, 2021
Kind of love everything Known Universe. It's a functioning reality more concrete than The Dark Tower universe, except according to Dark Tower canon, the Known Universe would be part of DT canon.
October 23, 2021
Been a while since I read one of this series, and I'm glad to see it has retained its ability to entertain and expand the Kzinti.
April 6, 2024
Not the best of the series, but far from the worst. Worth the read.
June 21, 2025
A good read
Many good stories, all along the same ideas as the first 14 books. The last one a bit confusing but made sense nonetheless.
Many good stories, all along the same ideas as the first 14 books. The last one a bit confusing but made sense nonetheless.
March 9, 2019
A solid entry in the venerable series, MKWXV features a joint ARM-Patriarchy expedition beyond the bounds of Known Space and the Kzinti origins of the Beowulf legend. recommended for fans of military scifi.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews