Man-Kzin Wars

One of the many SF books I own which I am embarassed to read on the subway. Hell, I'm embarassed to bring it up in polite conversation with other SF readers. It's because of the goofy cover and the later books, with their generic numbers - it's like admitting you really enjoyed Austin Powers 3 or Debbie Does Dallas Vol. 12.
Of course, in a series like this one, collections of novellas by different authors all in a single setting, you don't run into the problem of sequel fatigue, but numbered books are always a little embarassing.

And you know what? It's really damn good. In particular, I have returned to Dean Ing's "Cathouse" many times over the years; it's a wonderful combination of archaic Kzin domestic life and Robinson Crusoe-style show more wilderness survival by ingenuity. show less

Brief Thoughts
I hadn't heard much about the Kzin, so it was pretty cool.

The first story got right into the action and had great characterization of the Kzin. This one was the best of the three.

The second one got too bogged down in the politics and hard science, but ended with good action. I would say the same for the third one too.

Perhaps that shows my bias towards military sci-fi.

Man vs Cats (very large, intelligent cats...).
There are times one appreciates a bit of space-opera. Mind-candy. A diversion from some of the more weighty books that I read.
This fit that need.
I've been in possession of this volume for a long time, probably having purchased it back shortly after it was published (this is the July 1990 printing...) but do not think I ever read it... none of the novellas in the book seemed familiar.

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer Title: The Man-Kzin Wars Series: The Man-Kzin Wars Author: Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Dean Ing Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 389 Synopsis: Mankind meets the warlike Kzin [cat empire that is conquering everything they can] and we kick their freaking butts. These 3 stories show First Contact and then some activities AFTER the war. My Thoughts: In all honesty, I was expecting more of the War and less show more whatever these stories were. Social commentaries or longwinded SFF monologues about science'y things. Boring, pointless and non-war oriented science'y things no less. I was expecting something more like Alan Fosters trilogy, The Damned, where the fighting was what it was all about. This was just some rather generic space adventures. Not really sure how these 3 stories spawned over 10 books worth of stories. It wasn't bad, it simply wasn't engaging or interesting enough. I won't be reading any more in this series. " show less

Brilliant, detective stories in a new universe which is totally coherent and follows its own rules meticulously.

The first compendium of short stories written by a number of authors and set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe, except that it concentrates on the conflict between humans and their first alien encounter with the tiger-like warrior race called the Kzin.

1. The Warriors by Larry Niven - is an account of the first encounter between a unarmed human colony ship and an armed to the teeth Kzin ship. This demonstrates the Kzin propensity to under estimate their opponents.

2. Iron by Poul Anderson - starts with conflict between a man and a Kzin on an asteroid colony in the asteroid belt around Alpha Centaurus A. Then graduates to an exploration to a newly discovered star system where they encounter a Kzinti warship. They one of the human crew show more is a traitor who has passed information about hyperspace travel to the Kzin. The latter are now building a fleet of hyperspace ships to attack humanity. How can they stop or even stall the Kzin?

3. Cathouse by Dean Ing - the story of one man's survival after the spaceship he was on was ambushed by a Kzin warship & he, the sole survivor, is captured. They end up on a deserted planetary zoo orbiting an uncharted brown dwarf where the real survival story begins. show less

Pretty good so far. Not what I expected. May or may not read the rest.
Edit: It got better. Better enough that I will pick up more if they present themselves.