Larry Niven’s writing, according to this book, comes with accolades that would make the most publicity-hungry celebrity blush. First published in 1990, the first thirty or so pages are filled with glowing prose about the author and his work; from writers, both SF and non-SF: editor and writer Frederik Pohl, collaborator Steven Barnes, (though interestingly, no Jerry Pournelle), fellow SF writer David Brin and mainstream blockbuster Tom Clancy, amongst others. (How many other writers would kill to get a quote like “A writer of supreme talent” from Clancy in order to boost sales?)
This is clearly a book which is designed to illustrate a writer not short of admirers, being a fairly large short-story ‘best-of’ collection which highlights and emphasises Larry’s first 25 + years of writing. The title is even a comment on Niven’s own created universe in this time – Niven-Space.
To examine Larry’s curriculum vitae then, here is his first short story published – Inconstant Moon, 1971 – as well as Award Winners and nominees, up to 1990. (For the work post-1990, see the collections Playgrounds of the Mind (1991) and Scatterbrain, originally published in 2003.)
I have read most of what is here before. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Niven was one of the relatively few SF writers that was fairly easy to get here in the UK. From the perspective of a teenager, his stories were usually enjoyable and full of neat scientific ideas. It was with Niven that I first came across the idea of organ banks: stocks of human body parts made to be distributed off the peg, so to speak, from convicted criminals. There were worlds to explore, and images to cherish. (Though rather implausible now, setting fire to Pluto’s methane atmosphere by a rocket’s exhaust was a fantastic image that I remembered for a long while.) There were also bizarre aliens: the weird Puppeteers from the Ringworld books (and Neutron Star), and the warlike Pak from the book Protector, for example. Alien, yet interesting.
In time though, such stories have been replaced in my memory by others. The passage of more than two decades (Edit: now three!) has meant that Niven’s stories in the main have been regarded as entertaining, though not necessarily memorable. His more recent output, often in collaboration, has been rather underwhelming by comparison.
So why look at N-Space? It is, in essence, a varied sample of the early work, the stuff that Larry became known for. This is not just his fiction, however. The book does collect a ragbag of oddities as well as stories. There are political rants, weird cartoons, lists of things that shouldn’t happen in Known Space (which will mystify any readers new to Niven here) and an extensive bibliography, for example (useful for reference, but rather intimidating to read.)
There are also extracts from some of Larry’s longer novels, which I concede are necessary and useful but, for me, are usually annoying or, at best, a reminder that I should go and re-read the full-blown version. (I know – I realise that that may be the point.) I always have found extracts frustrating as I often want to read the rest (and don’t always have it close to hand.) Taking extracts out of context is always a bit of a no-no anyway for me, as you lose the book’s narrative pace and structure. Nevertheless, it would perhaps be wrong to ignore some of Niven’s finer extended work, so there are parts from some of his novels – A Gift from Earth (1968), The Mote in God’s Eye (Hugo & Nebula Award nominee, 1975), Ringworld (Hugo & Nebula Award Winner, 1970/71), Neutron Star (1968) and Protector (1973), amongst others.
But if we concentrate on the stories, then what we do get here are stories that are – well, old. In some of the earlier stories it shows – clunky exposition and dodgy dialogue can appear, and Niven knows it, but accepts that his writing has erm, evolved. (‘Think of it as Evolution in Action’ is one of Niven & Pournelle’s catchphrases.) As you get to some of the stories though, I felt that unlike many of today’s (in comparison) protracted mood pieces, some of the better ones are taut, relatively straightforward (though skills proficient), plot-centred short stories. As a reader who has felt disappointed by Larry’s output since about 2000, this has been a plus. Personal favourites here are Bordered in Black, Inconstant Moon and The Hole Man (winner of the Hugo Award for Best Story in 1975) and humorous essay, Man of Steel Woman of Kleenex.
For more contemporary readers (and, dare I say it, perhaps younger readers than myself) there may be a degree of disappointment that these stories do not show the pyrotechnic flair of newer writers. The characterisation may not be as multifaceted as say, in an Alastair Reynolds story, nor as cutting edge as a Charles Stross; the big opera events of an Iain M Banks are much more muted here. Yet for me, and for those readers able to forgive some of the earlier errors, there is still a pleasant sense of satisfaction on reading (or perhaps rereading) these stories: big science, interesting twists in the tale, different concepts.
What N-Space also does here is one of the things I enjoy most in these types of books, which is to include a narrative of comments and afterwords from Larry about the writing of the stories and what they mean to him. It soon becomes apparent that most of these stories happen in Niven’s carefully thought out universe. Whereas such a structure may limit some author’s work, Niven clearly revels in it. At times, this can read rather as a blatant attempt at self-publicity, but here it comes across as a conversation between reader and writer.
In summary, if you’ve ever wondered what Larry Niven’s fiction is like and wanted to try some, or if you are looking for a Niven sampler, this is not a bad start*. If you like what you read, then Mote, Ringworld and, for a more contemporary feel, Lucifer’s Hammer and Oath of Fealty are what you need to progress to.
*Later edit: The Subterranean Press volume, The Best of Larry Niven (2010) is a bigger book (658 pages), published after this review was written, and concentrates on the fiction. It is also a great read.
N-Space by Larry Niven
Published by TOR, 1990
ISBN: 0-8125-1001-1
527 pages
Review by Mark Yon, Hobbit. Originally written in 2006.
