This is almost a return to form for Larry Niven. It revisits almost all of the Known Space stories of the Beowulf Schaeffer era and gives a different viewpoint. Maybe it does too much of that, but it doesn't turn the previous stories on their head as some authors might. It's still annoying that a series of insights by a single character can completely change the plot in a couple of pages.
Biggest scientific blooper - as soon as an object leaves the constricted radius of Known Space, it is treated in the plot as though it is gone forever. It isn't the distances in Known Space that are the problem - it's the volume of the space, and the difficulty of finding something, and matching its velocity.

http://www.fast-forward.tv/bookreview... ( )

My enjoyment of this book was definately hampered by the fact that I did not actually like (empathize with?) any of the characters. So I wasn't exactly rooting for anyone to accomplish their goals...

Also at least two scenes out of the book gave me a sense of "deja vu" - I doubt I have read this book before (as it was published in 2008) - but I knew the details of two separate encounters in the book - perhaps they were published as short stories or included in other works in the series?...I would love it if someone would clue me in as to where I have read the same scene before (I don't want to spoil a scene for anyone so I will be vague - one scene involved a device that shifted in form and/or function - the other involved trapping a person into doing what they had contracted to do ....)

Please contact me via my profile if you know where I have read these scenes previously - review will be updated to reflect new information.

Not being a fan/follower of the series I can't say if this work (billed as "A lively prequel to Niven's 1970 classic Ringworld...") adds significantly to the backstory....but, as a stand alone book, I wouldn't bother.

**UPDATE**

Regarding my invitation to contact me about the scenes that seemed familiar - LTer death4breakfast took me up on it and provided the following information which he gave me permission to reproduce here:

(Some details included may be considered **SPOILERS** by those who are sensitive to such things so BE WARNED! - PL)

Regarding your questions about familiar scenes in Niven and Lerner's "Juggler of Worlds", I think I can explain it.

A several of the scenes in it are the Sigmund Ausfaller character's point of view of much earlier short stories of Niven's. The book doesn't go into a lot of detail on any of them, so it's still possible, in my opinion, to read and enjoy all of the stories in question. (And they are very good stories, some of them Hugo Award winners for the years they came out.)

The story of Bey Shaeffer being blackmailed into taking a ship to visit BVS-1 can be found as the Hugo winning short story, "Neutron Star", and the story involving Bey, Carlos Wu, Dr. Forward, and the ship, _Hobo Kelly_ can be found in the Hugo winning story, "Borderland of Sol".

The story you get a tiny hint of from the Puppeteer's viewpoint that regards the discovery of the antimatter world, is another Bey Shaeffer story, "Flatlander". The story with the shifting weapon and the Kzin that you see from Nessus' point of view, is Niven's "The Soft Weapon".

(The story, "The Soft Weapon" also has the dubious distinction of having been made into the Star Trek Animated Series episode, "Slaver Weapon", which replaces the _Jester_ with a shuttle craft, and substitutes Uhura, Sulu, and Spock for Anne,Jason and Nessus respectively.)

All of these stories are available in Niven's short story collection, "Neutron Star", (Which is unfortunately out of print, but cheaply and easily available used on Amazon.) or in his two current collections, _Flatlander_ (The Soft Weapon) and _Crashlander_ (Everything else.)

_Crashlander_ also uses a framing story to tie all of the stories together, which gives you the real view of what happened to Sherrol, Bey, Carlos, Feather, etc.and winds up, again, making things a lot clearer.

Anyway, I hope that that helps. :)

Sincerely, Richard

Turns out that I have a copy of Neutron Star that I must have read at some point and the mystery is solved! (Thanks Richard!) ( )