Return from the Ringworld (Fleet of Worlds series Book 5)

Man, talk about a "Corker Novel"! This is the direct culmination of the "[Something] Of Worlds" series, a very well-known "Known Space" series (don't want to give anything away :)), and indirectly the "Known Space" series as a whole. As such, hundreds of silk handkerchiefs are pulled from too many sleeves to count, and by the end, there is some risk the the universe will start to contract, just from the mass of all of those handkerchiefs!

Very enjoyable, very worth reading, but really full to the brim with kitchen sinks :)

I read Ringworld many years ago and recently learned that there are sequels. The original book was one of my all time favorites, and this was the next I tried. This book felt like I was reading children's literature and made me wonder if I had grown up too much to appreciate Niven at this point in my life. Disappointing. Do not despair, try Ringworlds Children, it is classic Niven and much more fulfilling to read. Now I need to locate the one that came between. I am guessing the collaboration is the problem, but since I haven't read any pure Lerner I don't actually know.

I loved Known Space for decades, and Niven was my favorite author. He's grown less prolific over the years, and he's become over-fond of collaboration to the point where his unique voice and flavor for Known Space has kind of eroded. The "Of World" series is a perfect excemple of this: the first book is pretty good, the second is awful, the third is a little better, the fourth is about the same as the third (Both third and fourth are rather pointless, though) and this one is just the most useless pile of crap imaginable.

This book functions as the fifth-and-final book in both the "Of World" series and the "Ringworld" series (Itself a victim of serious plot erosion). Be ye not fooled, however, there is no Ringworld in this, and much of the book contradicts (or simply ignores) the final scenes in "Ringworld's Children."

I don't honestly believe Niven had anything to do with this book, apart from sticking his head in the room occasionally to make sure Ed Lerner was still working. And maybe to poke him with a stick if Ed appeared to have fallen asleep. And cashed the checks.

I understand that Niven is an old man now, and doesn't have the energy or interest he once did, I get it. But increasingly his books are just cash grabs, and this is the worst of the bunch. Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

For more than 40 years, Larry Niven has been writing Known Space stories. Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld reaches back to plot threads from some of the very earliest short stories and, like the earlier Fleet of World stories, weaves them into the tale of what happened after the conclusion of Ringworld's Children and the plot twists at the end of Betrayer of Worlds (Fleet of Worlds). It's an okay story, although the ending has been telegraphed by "Ringworld's Children." But it's absolutely not the place to start exploring Known Space.

As told in Niven's Ringworld's Children, the Ringworld is gone, snatched from the increasingly dangerous Fringe War before it might have been destroyed. Louis Wu and the Puppeteer we know as Hindmost escaped (or perhaps were permitted to escape). The various species involved in the Fringe War, frustrated by the disappearance of the prize, turn their collective attention instead to the Puppeteers' migration, the Fleet of Worlds, with deadly intent. And the Puppeteers themselves are weakened and divided, as well as famously being cowards.

It's a possible conclusion to both the Ringworld series and the Fleet of Worlds series, although it doesn't have to be. And while it suffers from some logical flaws and more than a bit of ret-conning, on the whole it is a satisfactory, if not surprising, conclusion. There are still any number of loose ends: most of the Protector exodus from the Core is still out there. We still don't know what happened to Carlos Wu. The two new sets of aliens - one introduced in Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld are still Out There.

Other reviewers have provided a suggesting reading list to work through before undertaking Fate of Worlds: Return from the Ringworld. It's probably a good idea. Otherwise, you risk being completely baffled. Not Niven's best; not even the best of the Fleet of Worlds stories. But a good yarn for those who know the turf.

The greatest trove of ancient lore, the Ringworld, is gone. The huge fleets of all the major races must struggle to justify their existence and the lives lost. A prize exists, just a bit further in space. The Puppeteer fleet of worlds. Everyone knows the Puppeteers are cowards, plundering their planets will be easy.

But the fleet of worlds is more than just the Puppeteers and they have a centuries of experience at manipulation. To some in their government, defense of the fleet it is an opportunity to grab power. Larry Niven covers new territory: a scifi political thriller. Terrans, Kzin, Puppeteers, and others will clash in a tale that will keep you guessing until the end. Who will prevail in The Fate of Worlds

The Ringworld series has been a fun thought experiment. The idea of a single structure having the equivalent of three million times the surface area of our earth is more than just mind boggling. It is truly inconceivable.

"Fate of Worlds" is largely focused on the Puppeteers an alien race which has a trillion people on a planet flying through space. As the fleets which were attacking the ringworld find the Puppeter's planet the Puppeteers are threaten with being conquered or even destroyed.

The story ties up some plot threads. It also opens some possibilities, so if Larry Niven is bribed with enough money I'm sure there will be another book, or more.

I find Niven's understanding of science and economics to be lacking. There are several technologies which get tossed around for plot devices but for various hand waving reasons don't have anywhere nears the impact they should.

And Niven seems to think a planet can only support a small fixed number of jobs. He has a tosses out a line about how most of the Puppeteers don't have jobs because there isn't much work to do. A thousand billion people would be able to come up with lots of new jobs. The number and variety of jobs grows with the size of the population.

All in all the story was pleasant. If you have enjoyed other Niven stories from "Known Space" give this book a try.

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 speeding away from the explosion of the galactic core. The meddling Puppeteers fear, with plenty of reason, that the armadas will turn their attention away from the Ringworld and towards the Puppeteers' retreating planets. Unfortunately, the Puppeteers are beset by political strife caused by their megalomaniacal ex-leader; they are also secretly controlled by an alien race which may care little about the fate of the planets.

Meanwhile New Terra, a human colony which was set up by the Puppeteers but which has now broken away, also takes an interest in the Ringworld's disappearance. Its current leaders are keen to stay isolated from the troubles, but its legendary (and now disgraced) ex-Defense Minister and protector sees a way to use the strife to help re-connect New Terra with its long-lost home planet, Earth.

A human adventurer and an exiled Puppeteer spent years on Ringworld before its disappearance, and they may hold the key to technological marvels which could help ensure the survival of the Puppeteer race. But the two face a myriad of political, technical and personal hurdles - not least of which is the Puppeteers' determination that New Terrans must never find out the truth about their own history.

John's thoughts: This is the fourth of the Ringworld/Fleet of Worlds novels that I have read (I think there are nine in total?) and I have totally enjoyed each one of them. As I said in one of my earlier reviews "Niven and Lerner spin great stories that have complex plots, intrigue, strong characters, a creative foundation of believable technology and really well constructed worlds and races. They clearly give a lot of thought to the alien races that they create, and the attention to detail adds a lot to the stories". Having now read the latest and last in the series, I still couldn't put it any better - so I won't even try!

Fate of Worlds shares many of the alien races and plot foundations of the earlier novels, but gives extra emphasis to the artificial intelligence systems that have been developed. As the AI systems evolve at pace, I couldn't help being reminded somewhat of Webmind from Robert J. Sawyer's WWW novels - which certainly is no bad thing.

Do you have to read the previous novels in the series to enjoy this one? Absolutely not. While there is a progression to the novels and many connections, one thing that impressed me was that each of the four that I have read works as standalone piece with a clear beginning and ending. The extra nice thing about this one is that it ties together an awful lot of story threads in a coherent way. That is no mean feat given the complexity of the series.

The book isn't much over 300 pages in length, but there is an amazing amount of complex plot, intrigue and detail crammed into those pages; and it isn't tough to read. I found myself quickly drawn into the story and then read on whenever I had the opportunity. Will this really be the last in the series? Well, the book cover and marketing blurb say so, but I can see at least three parts of the story which could provide the foundation for future novels, so who knows.

I'd rate this book four stars. If you are a fan of Niven or Lerner, then this book is a "must read". You won't be disappointed. I'd also recommend it to anyone who enjoys hard science fiction.

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 precursor to a new series. The number of variables, races, venues and philosophies strains my recollection. I have only read 28 of Niven's books and have uniformly enjoyed them. Sadly I didn't really enjoy this because I have just enough recollection of the players but have trouble remembering the game they played. Some reviews I read stated it stands alone well, I would disagree and feel at least brushing up on the precursors would make the book more compelling.

I would recommend either going to Wikipedia and brushing up on background or tracking down all the books and reading them.
From Wikpedia:
* 1970: Ringworld
* 1980: The Ringworld Engineers
* 1996: The Ringworld Throne
* 2004: Ringworld's Children
* 2012: Fate of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
Five prequels have been written, set in the same Ringworld universe, and written in collaboration:
* 1988-2009: Man-Kzin Wars (by various edited by Niven)
* 2007-2011: Fleet of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
* 2008-2009: Juggler of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
* 2009-2010: Destroyer of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)
* 2010-2011: Betrayer of Worlds (by Niven and Edward M. Lerner)

I did enjoy the books when I read them and if it had been more recently I am sure I would have enjoyed this book more. I do recommend the Niven style of creating warm, memorable characters.

OK, a bit of perspective first. Dear Mr Niven effectively stopped writing Known Space stuff around 1970; there were Ringworld sequels of varying quality (Ringworld Throne was pants!), and there were the Man/Kzin Wars volumes; all very well, but the Kzinti have always been a bit 2D- and Wunderland is as boring as f@&£ people, get over it!

Er, anyway...

What I'm really trying to get at is that this series supplies depth, perspective, context and- godammit- surprises. The final twenty pages of this series is as good as yer man has ever come up with. But- caveat emptor- you are not going to get the sense of "oh Jesus h Christ" if this is your introduction to the canon. Start at the very beginning- absorb Tales of Known Space, move on to Neutron Star, then Ringworld and its sequels. Sit back, relax, re-read. Only then can you approach this five book series with the sense of wonder that it deserves. No-one has ever taken the breadth of an entire galaxy by the scruff of the neck like LN does, and perhaps now no-one ever will again.

Make the most of this guy because he won't be around for ever...

Like much of what has been published under Niven's name recently, this book has more the style of the co-author than Larry Niven himself. Disappointingly, the book has very little to say about the Ringworld and its inhabitants, and much to say about the political maneuverings of a rather large group of re-hashed characters form earlier published novels. Unfortunately, the very disjointed approach to covering too many characters resukts in little character development. Deus ex machina twists are again overused. I had to fight the urge to skip ahead to the final chapter to see if anything was ever revealed about the Ringworld. Nothing was. A big disappointment.

Larry Niven has been my favorite SF author for over 40 years and I have enjoyed the Fleet of World series more than anything Larry has written in many years. Larry has done a number of collaborations and I like the joint work with Edward Lerner better than his other collabos (except for maybe the Mote in God's Eye).

This was very sub-par compared to previous Niven stories. In fact, I doubt that Niven even had any thing to do with this book, other than to lend his name to it. If you liked the equally boring Star Trek Next Gen shows, you may like this. Those Next Gen stories were too often about how some technology discovery at the end of the story saves the day. There was little character or story development in them, even across all the years that the show was aired. This book is like that: disaster is impending, until some technical idea saves the day at the end of the story. I do hope that a good writer will be allowed to pick up the concept of the Ringworld and the Puppeteers and run with it with well developed characters and story line. About any one of the other writers who contributed to the Man-Kzin Wars volumes would likely do much better than Lerner has here. The previous Lerner collaboration in the World series was rather lacking, but this one really drove the nail home: no more Lerner collaborations for me.

All the spacefaring Known Space species covet the endless resources especially the technology of the Ringworld. However, to the shock of every one of the four rivals, Ringworld abruptly vanishes. Left behind are three hostile military fleets as war seems imminent between them even though the prize is gone.

Each species leaders are angry while their people rage over wasted deaths. Someone must pay for this affront with the craven Puppeteers as the obvious choice since they launched their entire Fleet of Worlds galactic empire to avoid a supernova core explosion over two centuries ago. Earthborn Louis Wu and Hindmost the exiled Puppeteer escaped from Ringworld just before the stunning disappearance. Hindmost covets regaining the power he lost when he was exiled while other Puppeteers likewise want control but most cowardly choose flight over fight.

This is not an easy read as the first part of the storyline parks at the "Strange" quark level with much of the early on being a rehash of minute particle data of what previously occurred. For die hard Ringworld fans only (see Destroyer of Worlds and Betrayer of Worlds), readers will wonder what happened to Ringworld?

Harriet Klausner

I'll get right to the point. The paperback edition of this book is four dollars cheaper than the kindle edition. This is ridiculous. There is no marginal cost in producing or selling additional copies of the kindle edition and the delivery costs are trivial.