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Fleet of Worlds
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Larry NivenLerner Edward M;
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Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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*Amazon: £2.01
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 Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
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Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.51
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Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of course the humans ultimately run into and then the Covenant turn up, as they wouldn't mind a look either.
If you haven't played the Halo games or read any of the other books, I strongly suggest you do before tackling this one. It gives you a bit more depth to the overall plot of the series and lays some hints in the direction of Halo 3.
It's also Nylund's weakest Halo novel. The central premise is stretched awfully thin, and although the new characters are better drawn than previously, I found some of them I didn't care about as much as I would have liked. Elements of the story are confusing, and as another reviewer has mentioned, I had to re-read certain sections earlier on in the book as I was getting a little lost.
The story winds its way to the end without much in the way of ultimate resolution, which although not surprising is still disappointing. Worth a read if you enjoy the series, but not the best example.
Great books for people who never read!, 20 Dec 2007
If you're the kind of person who doesn't actually read much and just plays lots of videogames I'm sure the Halo books are a great waste of time. For people who read real books however the plots are predictable, shallow, and jingoistic, and the writing's terrible. If you've friends recommending you these books first think: are they primarily readers or gamers? It's bound to be the latter, because somebody who reads widely but acknowledge these books to be trite crap.
Just when you think you have a handle on this writer...., 12 Mar 2007
If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration.
It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people.
Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3.
Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier.
Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin.
The end is near my friends.
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Product Description
In Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers Larry Niven created Known Space, a universe in the distant future with a distinctive and complicated history. The centre of this universe is Ringworld, an expansive hoop-shaped relic 1 million miles across and 600 million miles in circumference that is home to some 30 trillion diverse inhabitants. As in his past novels, Niven's characters in The Ringworld Throne spend their time unravelling the complex problems posed by their society.
Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of course the humans ultimately run into and then the Covenant turn up, as they wouldn't mind a look either.
If you haven't played the Halo games or read any of the other books, I strongly suggest you do before tackling this one. It gives you a bit more depth to the overall plot of the series and lays some hints in the direction of Halo 3.
It's also Nylund's weakest Halo novel. The central premise is stretched awfully thin, and although the new characters are better drawn than previously, I found some of them I didn't care about as much as I would have liked. Elements of the story are confusing, and as another reviewer has mentioned, I had to re-read certain sections earlier on in the book as I was getting a little lost.
The story winds its way to the end without much in the way of ultimate resolution, which although not surprising is still disappointing. Worth a read if you enjoy the series, but not the best example.
Great books for people who never read!, 20 Dec 2007
If you're the kind of person who doesn't actually read much and just plays lots of videogames I'm sure the Halo books are a great waste of time. For people who read real books however the plots are predictable, shallow, and jingoistic, and the writing's terrible. If you've friends recommending you these books first think: are they primarily readers or gamers? It's bound to be the latter, because somebody who reads widely but acknowledge these books to be trite crap.
Just when you think you have a handle on this writer...., 12 Mar 2007
If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration.
It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people.
Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3.
Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier.
Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin.
The end is near my friends.
Masterpiece, 03 Jun 2008
Without question this novel is one of the finest science fiction novels ever written. It completely fulfills the purpose of a science fiction novel without the slightest pretense or facade literary worthiness. It presents a traditional adventure - a classic journey on a epic scale. It is filled with tantalising mystery and hundreds of unanswered questions in the finest tradition of adventure writing. It rarely descends into fashionable populism and never expects the reader to indulge it nor assumes them to be a incapable of rational thought. It is meant to be entertaining and it has successfully entertained me every single summer since I first read it in 1984, when I always set aside time to read both this and Ringworld Engineers again.
One of the redeeming features of this novel (or any of its peers) is that it will never ever appear in the latest selection of recommended High School English novels - which I would regard as easily all the endorsement it needs.
The most awful book in the galaxy? , 23 Dec 2007
Only one book has ever come close to the drivel written in this 'sci fi' novel, and that was 'Battlefield Earth'. (A book which I promptly threw away after forcing myself to read it - it was not even worthy of donating to charity)
I cannot comprehend how this book got so many positive reviews, nor can I comprehend how it won an award for sci fi writing, as someone else has pointed out, the writing is substandard and akin to the efforts of a 12 year old.
To start off the story is totally disjointed, the author will be talking about one subject and then in the next line he talks about something else entirely, there is no flow.
For instance Louis Wu is in love with a woman one moment, and the next she's presumed dead (in an accident) there are no tears, no remorse he simply didn't care, but when she 'returns' a few chapters later with a new lover (dressed as Tarzan with a black sword...) he suddenly has feelings for her again. And then a few lines later he has sold her to the new lover... if this makes no sense to you, then you can see where I am coming from!
Another character a 'Cat' who is big, and angry and doesn't like humans (yet he goes out of his way to help them any chance he can get)apparently he doesn't like humans because 'we' won the 'war', but this plot line is as shallow as paddling pool as its never fleshed out with more than a few angry comments.
Despite being a sci fi book, it reads more like a trashy romance novel, the authors skill at writing love scenes is totally comical, and read like they have been written by an adolescent.
The ending was a farce and tied up no loose ends at all.
Borrow it from a library if you must, but please don't waste your money on this utter drivel.
I still can't get over how such a crap piece of literature even got published.
Ringworld is amazing!!, 17 Dec 2007
The ringworld (quadrilogy) are some of the best SciFi ever written, Larry Niven's mastery of mathematics and boundless imagination creates an entire imaginary universe "known space", and Mr Niven is careful who he lets into his playground, as it were.
These books are full of showstopping concepts and storylines. The characters are gracefully constructed and integrated into your perceptions as a reader of the story in the most skillful manner. These books are hard to put down and leave you wanting more and more!
Awesome, astounding stories from one of the world's greatest authors. Thankyou, Larry Niven, for these wonderful books.
Banks is better but Niven was first, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this book or why I should have read all of Iain M Banks books first. Clearly Banks HAS read this. The outrageous scale of the ringworld and the human-alien interaction are obvious pointers to the Culture world of Banks. Banks is much more slick and has an ability to describe the hugeness or unbelievable speed of a structure much more eloquently and in a way which is more easily understandable. Niven knows his physics but is often clumsy in explanation and despite re-reading some sections several times you get the feeling he has missed something out of his explanation. He also has afew annoying stylistic affectations such as starting a section with what is meant to be a shocking 'leap' without bothering to fill in the details for a while - again you have to stop and re-read.
However, this is a really good sci fi book. I was very doubtful on his characters early on. By the end I still wasn't attached to them but the banter between them was working quite well and each had clearly defined personalities. Sci fi fans should read this book but it's nothing more than a good sci fi read - this isn't Philip K Dick or some kind of 'master piece' - but give it a go.
ringworld, 27 Jul 2007
Ringworld, one of the most exciting and inventive concepts that ever came out of any writer's imagination. A group of explorers seeks the secrets of a circular ribbon of matter, 600 million kilometres long and more than 90 million kilometres in radius, surrounding a star in an otherwise deserted solar system.
Unfortunately, what it has in setup and technology it lacks in character development and plot.
Read it for the Ring itself but don't expect anything else from it.
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Halo: The Fall of Reach
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.99
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Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of course the humans ultimately run into and then the Covenant turn up, as they wouldn't mind a look either.
If you haven't played the Halo games or read any of the other books, I strongly suggest you do before tackling this one. It gives you a bit more depth to the overall plot of the series and lays some hints in the direction of Halo 3.
It's also Nylund's weakest Halo novel. The central premise is stretched awfully thin, and although the new characters are better drawn than previously, I found some of them I didn't care about as much as I would have liked. Elements of the story are confusing, and as another reviewer has mentioned, I had to re-read certain sections earlier on in the book as I was getting a little lost.
The story winds its way to the end without much in the way of ultimate resolution, which although not surprising is still disappointing. Worth a read if you enjoy the series, but not the best example.
Great books for people who never read!, 20 Dec 2007
If you're the kind of person who doesn't actually read much and just plays lots of videogames I'm sure the Halo books are a great waste of time. For people who read real books however the plots are predictable, shallow, and jingoistic, and the writing's terrible. If you've friends recommending you these books first think: are they primarily readers or gamers? It's bound to be the latter, because somebody who reads widely but acknowledge these books to be trite crap.
Just when you think you have a handle on this writer...., 12 Mar 2007
If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration.
It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people.
Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3.
Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier.
Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin.
The end is near my friends.
Masterpiece, 03 Jun 2008
Without question this novel is one of the finest science fiction novels ever written. It completely fulfills the purpose of a science fiction novel without the slightest pretense or facade literary worthiness. It presents a traditional adventure - a classic journey on a epic scale. It is filled with tantalising mystery and hundreds of unanswered questions in the finest tradition of adventure writing. It rarely descends into fashionable populism and never expects the reader to indulge it nor assumes them to be a incapable of rational thought. It is meant to be entertaining and it has successfully entertained me every single summer since I first read it in 1984, when I always set aside time to read both this and Ringworld Engineers again.
One of the redeeming features of this novel (or any of its peers) is that it will never ever appear in the latest selection of recommended High School English novels - which I would regard as easily all the endorsement it needs.
The most awful book in the galaxy? , 23 Dec 2007
Only one book has ever come close to the drivel written in this 'sci fi' novel, and that was 'Battlefield Earth'. (A book which I promptly threw away after forcing myself to read it - it was not even worthy of donating to charity)
I cannot comprehend how this book got so many positive reviews, nor can I comprehend how it won an award for sci fi writing, as someone else has pointed out, the writing is substandard and akin to the efforts of a 12 year old.
To start off the story is totally disjointed, the author will be talking about one subject and then in the next line he talks about something else entirely, there is no flow.
For instance Louis Wu is in love with a woman one moment, and the next she's presumed dead (in an accident) there are no tears, no remorse he simply didn't care, but when she 'returns' a few chapters later with a new lover (dressed as Tarzan with a black sword...) he suddenly has feelings for her again. And then a few lines later he has sold her to the new lover... if this makes no sense to you, then you can see where I am coming from!
Another character a 'Cat' who is big, and angry and doesn't like humans (yet he goes out of his way to help them any chance he can get)apparently he doesn't like humans because 'we' won the 'war', but this plot line is as shallow as paddling pool as its never fleshed out with more than a few angry comments.
Despite being a sci fi book, it reads more like a trashy romance novel, the authors skill at writing love scenes is totally comical, and read like they have been written by an adolescent.
The ending was a farce and tied up no loose ends at all.
Borrow it from a library if you must, but please don't waste your money on this utter drivel.
I still can't get over how such a crap piece of literature even got published.
Ringworld is amazing!!, 17 Dec 2007
The ringworld (quadrilogy) are some of the best SciFi ever written, Larry Niven's mastery of mathematics and boundless imagination creates an entire imaginary universe "known space", and Mr Niven is careful who he lets into his playground, as it were.
These books are full of showstopping concepts and storylines. The characters are gracefully constructed and integrated into your perceptions as a reader of the story in the most skillful manner. These books are hard to put down and leave you wanting more and more!
Awesome, astounding stories from one of the world's greatest authors. Thankyou, Larry Niven, for these wonderful books.
Banks is better but Niven was first, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this book or why I should have read all of Iain M Banks books first. Clearly Banks HAS read this. The outrageous scale of the ringworld and the human-alien interaction are obvious pointers to the Culture world of Banks. Banks is much more slick and has an ability to describe the hugeness or unbelievable speed of a structure much more eloquently and in a way which is more easily understandable. Niven knows his physics but is often clumsy in explanation and despite re-reading some sections several times you get the feeling he has missed something out of his explanation. He also has afew annoying stylistic affectations such as starting a section with what is meant to be a shocking 'leap' without bothering to fill in the details for a while - again you have to stop and re-read.
However, this is a really good sci fi book. I was very doubtful on his characters early on. By the end I still wasn't attached to them but the banter between them was working quite well and each had clearly defined personalities. Sci fi fans should read this book but it's nothing more than a good sci fi read - this isn't Philip K Dick or some kind of 'master piece' - but give it a go.
ringworld, 27 Jul 2007
Ringworld, one of the most exciting and inventive concepts that ever came out of any writer's imagination. A group of explorers seeks the secrets of a circular ribbon of matter, 600 million kilometres long and more than 90 million kilometres in radius, surrounding a star in an otherwise deserted solar system.
Unfortunately, what it has in setup and technology it lacks in character development and plot.
Read it for the Ring itself but don't expect anything else from it.
The Fall of Reach, detailed to perfection..., 07 Dec 2008
Well from the offset this book is just HALO, awesome, addictive, and i must say was everything i hoped it would be. Most importantly it didnt change anything that shouldnt be changed, you know what i mean, it IS HALO, not just called it.
The story blends perfectly with the gamess too, which is fine, but just through Spartan-117's eyes would be no where near as good a\s its multi-layered storyline and including the use of the Covenant in the story too, i didnt expect that!
BUT, its only a small but, there is a few typo errors iin there, they dont spoil it as these are minor, but i noticed one thing that was actually WRONG with the story, the year of HALO:Combat Evolved was in 2552, there is absolutly no dening that, but in The Fall Of Reach, that battle was set in 2542! through the whole ending chapters it was like this, a shame really, otherwise from the small typos to the slightly bigger typo, this really does live up to the high expectations i had for it!
Must read for all serious halo fans, 06 Dec 2008
the book is fairly well written
their are a lot of mentions to ONI, a past bungie game
this confused me but oh well
the story is very good and tells your about the SPARTAN programme,and Captain Keys.
its also £2 cheaper than the highstreet.
thanks amazon
thnx eric nyland
thnx for halo!
A MUST for any halo fans!, 22 Oct 2008
Like many others, I played Halo 1 and fell in love with the game and the plot, but the game dosent tell you about how the Spartans came about and what went on before the game. This book was amazing and ridiculously compelling. It explains how the Spatarn(s) came to be, and the story of the Master Cheif from a boy to the first game. The book also tells the story of "The Rall of Reach" believe it or not!! and battles that went prior to that event.
If you enjoyed the game (Halo 1), this book is a must!!!!
Loved it! (:
Overated Tosh, 11 Aug 2008
I feel so sorry for this book. Eric Nylund describes the halo world with grate style. He tells the story of how the master chief as a boy until he becomes a Spartan. I am not a hard core Halo fan but I decided to give the book a go and was very disappointed. The mane problem was that he was so un-addictive.At time it felt like reading sluge and some of the characters are really week. I normally read at night but never felt motivated to read it in the morning. Too sums up I only recommend it to light readers who like Halo. (But you have to have played to the gams to read this) Its not boring just so un-addictive.
Fills in the history and enjoyable at the same time, 30 Jun 2008
Covering the history prior to the first Halo game this book is easy to read and begins by chronicling the creation of the Spartan program and the participant's subsequent training and first missions up to the first appearance of the Covenant. It can be a bit slow during these sections but it then picks up and expands on both the fall of Reach and the supposed destruction of all the other Spartans and how the Pillar of Autumn came to crash on Halo.
OK, so it isn't high art or ever going to be listed next to Shakespeare, etc., but for a novel based on a video game it is enjoyable and will be so even more to anyone who has played the games. The character of Keyes is expanded upon and there is a plausible explanation of why the Pillar could survive the impact it suffered on Halo and it is this and other fine detail not evident in the games that add to the enjoyment of the whole Halo storyline.
Extended universe has worked for Star Wars and in this instance it has also worked here.
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Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of course the humans ultimately run into and then the Covenant turn up, as they wouldn't mind a look either.
If you haven't played the Halo games or read any of the other books, I strongly suggest you do before tackling this one. It gives you a bit more depth to the overall plot of the series and lays some hints in the direction of Halo 3.
It's also Nylund's weakest Halo novel. The central premise is stretched awfully thin, and although the new characters are better drawn than previously, I found some of them I didn't care about as much as I would have liked. Elements of the story are confusing, and as another reviewer has mentioned, I had to re-read certain sections earlier on in the book as I was getting a little lost.
The story winds its way to the end without much in the way of ultimate resolution, which although not surprising is still disappointing. Worth a read if you enjoy the series, but not the best example.
Great books for people who never read!, 20 Dec 2007
If you're the kind of person who doesn't actually read much and just plays lots of videogames I'm sure the Halo books are a great waste of time. For people who read real books however the plots are predictable, shallow, and jingoistic, and the writing's terrible. If you've friends recommending you these books first think: are they primarily readers or gamers? It's bound to be the latter, because somebody who reads widely but acknowledge these books to be trite crap.
Just when you think you have a handle on this writer...., 12 Mar 2007
If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration.
It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people.
Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3.
Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier.
Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin.
The end is near my friends.
Masterpiece, 03 Jun 2008
Without question this novel is one of the finest science fiction novels ever written. It completely fulfills the purpose of a science fiction novel without the slightest pretense or facade literary worthiness. It presents a traditional adventure - a classic journey on a epic scale. It is filled with tantalising mystery and hundreds of unanswered questions in the finest tradition of adventure writing. It rarely descends into fashionable populism and never expects the reader to indulge it nor assumes them to be a incapable of rational thought. It is meant to be entertaining and it has successfully entertained me every single summer since I first read it in 1984, when I always set aside time to read both this and Ringworld Engineers again.
One of the redeeming features of this novel (or any of its peers) is that it will never ever appear in the latest selection of recommended High School English novels - which I would regard as easily all the endorsement it needs.
The most awful book in the galaxy? , 23 Dec 2007
Only one book has ever come close to the drivel written in this 'sci fi' novel, and that was 'Battlefield Earth'. (A book which I promptly threw away after forcing myself to read it - it was not even worthy of donating to charity)
I cannot comprehend how this book got so many positive reviews, nor can I comprehend how it won an award for sci fi writing, as someone else has pointed out, the writing is substandard and akin to the efforts of a 12 year old.
To start off the story is totally disjointed, the author will be talking about one subject and then in the next line he talks about something else entirely, there is no flow.
For instance Louis Wu is in love with a woman one moment, and the next she's presumed dead (in an accident) there are no tears, no remorse he simply didn't care, but when she 'returns' a few chapters later with a new lover (dressed as Tarzan with a black sword...) he suddenly has feelings for her again. And then a few lines later he has sold her to the new lover... if this makes no sense to you, then you can see where I am coming from!
Another character a 'Cat' who is big, and angry and doesn't like humans (yet he goes out of his way to help them any chance he can get)apparently he doesn't like humans because 'we' won the 'war', but this plot line is as shallow as paddling pool as its never fleshed out with more than a few angry comments.
Despite being a sci fi book, it reads more like a trashy romance novel, the authors skill at writing love scenes is totally comical, and read like they have been written by an adolescent.
The ending was a farce and tied up no loose ends at all.
Borrow it from a library if you must, but please don't waste your money on this utter drivel.
I still can't get over how such a crap piece of literature even got published.
Ringworld is amazing!!, 17 Dec 2007
The ringworld (quadrilogy) are some of the best SciFi ever written, Larry Niven's mastery of mathematics and boundless imagination creates an entire imaginary universe "known space", and Mr Niven is careful who he lets into his playground, as it were.
These books are full of showstopping concepts and storylines. The characters are gracefully constructed and integrated into your perceptions as a reader of the story in the most skillful manner. These books are hard to put down and leave you wanting more and more!
Awesome, astounding stories from one of the world's greatest authors. Thankyou, Larry Niven, for these wonderful books.
Banks is better but Niven was first, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this book or why I should have read all of Iain M Banks books first. Clearly Banks HAS read this. The outrageous scale of the ringworld and the human-alien interaction are obvious pointers to the Culture world of Banks. Banks is much more slick and has an ability to describe the hugeness or unbelievable speed of a structure much more eloquently and in a way which is more easily understandable. Niven knows his physics but is often clumsy in explanation and despite re-reading some sections several times you get the feeling he has missed something out of his explanation. He also has afew annoying stylistic affectations such as starting a section with what is meant to be a shocking 'leap' without bothering to fill in the details for a while - again you have to stop and re-read.
However, this is a really good sci fi book. I was very doubtful on his characters early on. By the end I still wasn't attached to them but the banter between them was working quite well and each had clearly defined personalities. Sci fi fans should read this book but it's nothing more than a good sci fi read - this isn't Philip K Dick or some kind of 'master piece' - but give it a go.
ringworld, 27 Jul 2007
Ringworld, one of the most exciting and inventive concepts that ever came out of any writer's imagination. A group of explorers seeks the secrets of a circular ribbon of matter, 600 million kilometres long and more than 90 million kilometres in radius, surrounding a star in an otherwise deserted solar system.
Unfortunately, what it has in setup and technology it lacks in character development and plot.
Read it for the Ring itself but don't expect anything else from it.
The Fall of Reach, detailed to perfection..., 07 Dec 2008
Well from the offset this book is just HALO, awesome, addictive, and i must say was everything i hoped it would be. Most importantly it didnt change anything that shouldnt be changed, you know what i mean, it IS HALO, not just called it.
The story blends perfectly with the gamess too, which is fine, but just through Spartan-117's eyes would be no where near as good a\s its multi-layered storyline and including the use of the Covenant in the story too, i didnt expect that!
BUT, its only a small but, there is a few typo errors iin there, they dont spoil it as these are minor, but i noticed one thing that was actually WRONG with the story, the year of HALO:Combat Evolved was in 2552, there is absolutly no dening that, but in The Fall Of Reach, that battle was set in 2542! through the whole ending chapters it was like this, a shame really, otherwise from the small typos to the slightly bigger typo, this really does live up to the high expectations i had for it!
Must read for all serious halo fans, 06 Dec 2008
the book is fairly well written
their are a lot of mentions to ONI, a past bungie game
this confused me but oh well
the story is very good and tells your about the SPARTAN programme,and Captain Keys.
its also £2 cheaper than the highstreet.
thanks amazon
thnx eric nyland
thnx for halo!
A MUST for any halo fans!, 22 Oct 2008
Like many others, I played Halo 1 and fell in love with the game and the plot, but the game dosent tell you about how the Spartans came about and what went on before the game. This book was amazing and ridiculously compelling. It explains how the Spatarn(s) came to be, and the story of the Master Cheif from a boy to the first game. The book also tells the story of "The Rall of Reach" believe it or not!! and battles that went prior to that event.
If you enjoyed the game (Halo 1), this book is a must!!!!
Loved it! (:
Overated Tosh, 11 Aug 2008
I feel so sorry for this book. Eric Nylund describes the halo world with grate style. He tells the story of how the master chief as a boy until he becomes a Spartan. I am not a hard core Halo fan but I decided to give the book a go and was very disappointed. The mane problem was that he was so un-addictive.At time it felt like reading sluge and some of the characters are really week. I normally read at night but never felt motivated to read it in the morning. Too sums up I only recommend it to light readers who like Halo. (But you have to have played to the gams to read this) Its not boring just so un-addictive.
Fills in the history and enjoyable at the same time, 30 Jun 2008
Covering the history prior to the first Halo game this book is easy to read and begins by chronicling the creation of the Spartan program and the participant's subsequent training and first missions up to the first appearance of the Covenant. It can be a bit slow during these sections but it then picks up and expands on both the fall of Reach and the supposed destruction of all the other Spartans and how the Pillar of Autumn came to crash on Halo.
OK, so it isn't high art or ever going to be listed next to Shakespeare, etc., but for a novel based on a video game it is enjoyable and will be so even more to anyone who has played the games. The character of Keyes is expanded upon and there is a plausible explanation of why the Pillar could survive the impact it suffered on Halo and it is this and other fine detail not evident in the games that add to the enjoyment of the whole Halo storyline.
Extended universe has worked for Star Wars and in this instance it has also worked here.
The Fall of Reach, detailed to perfection..., 07 Dec 2008
Well from the offset this book is just HALO, awesome, addictive, and i must say was everything i hoped it would be. Most importantly it didnt change anything that shouldnt be changed, you know what i mean, it IS HALO, not just called it.
The story blends perfectly with the gamess too, which is fine, but just through Spartan-117's eyes would be no where near as good a\s its multi-layered storyline and including the use of the Covenant in the story too, i didnt expect that!
BUT, its only a small but, there is a few typo errors iin there, they dont spoil it as these are minor, but i noticed one thing that was actually WRONG with the story, the year of HALO:Combat Evolved was in 2552, there is absolutly no dening that, but in The Fall Of Reach, that battle was set in 2542! through the whole ending chapters it was like this, a shame really, otherwise from the small typos to the slightly bigger typo, this really does live up to the high expectations i had for it!
Must read for all serious halo fans, 06 Dec 2008
the book is fairly well written
their are a lot of mentions to ONI, a past bungie game
this confused me but oh well
the story is very good and tells your about the SPARTAN programme,and Captain Keys.
its also £2 cheaper than the highstreet.
thanks amazon
thnx eric nyland
thnx for halo!
A MUST for any halo fans!, 22 Oct 2008
Like many others, I played Halo 1 and fell in love with the game and the plot, but the game dosent tell you about how the Spartans came about and what went on before the game. This book was amazing and ridiculously compelling. It explains how the Spatarn(s) came to be, and the story of the Master Cheif from a boy to the first game. The book also tells the story of "The Rall of Reach" believe it or not!! and battles that went prior to that event.
If you enjoyed the game (Halo 1), this book is a must!!!!
Loved it! (:
Overated Tosh, 11 Aug 2008
I feel so sorry for this book. Eric Nylund describes the halo world with grate style. He tells the story of how the master chief as a boy until he becomes a Spartan. I am not a hard core Halo fan but I decided to give the book a go and was very disappointed. The mane problem was that he was so un-addictive.At time it felt like reading sluge and some of the characters are really week. I normally read at night but never felt motivated to read it in the morning. Too sums up I only recommend it to light readers who like Halo. (But you have to have played to the gams to read this) Its not boring just so un-addictive.
Fills in the history and enjoyable at the same time, 30 Jun 2008
Covering the history prior to the first Halo game this book is easy to read and begins by chronicling the creation of the Spartan program and the participant's subsequent training and first missions up to the first appearance of the Covenant. It can be a bit slow during these sections but it then picks up and expands on both the fall of Reach and the supposed destruction of all the other Spartans and how the Pillar of Autumn came to crash on Halo.
OK, so it isn't high art or ever going to be listed next to Shakespeare, etc., but for a novel based on a video game it is enjoyable and will be so even more to anyone who has played the games. The character of Keyes is expanded upon and there is a plausible explanation of why the Pillar could survive the impact it suffered on Halo and it is this and other fine detail not evident in the games that add to the enjoyment of the whole Halo storyline.
Extended universe has worked for Star Wars and in this instance it has also worked here.
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Juggler of Worlds
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Larry NivenEdward M. Lerner;
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Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of course the humans ultimately run into and then the Covenant turn up, as they wouldn't mind a look either.
If you haven't played the Halo games or read any of the other books, I strongly suggest you do before tackling this one. It gives you a bit more depth to the overall plot of the series and lays some hints in the direction of Halo 3.
It's also Nylund's weakest Halo novel. The central premise is stretched awfully thin, and although the new characters are better drawn than previously, I found some of them I didn't care about as much as I would have liked. Elements of the story are confusing, and as another reviewer has mentioned, I had to re-read certain sections earlier on in the book as I was getting a little lost.
The story winds its way to the end without much in the way of ultimate resolution, which although not surprising is still disappointing. Worth a read if you enjoy the series, but not the best example.
Great books for people who never read!, 20 Dec 2007
If you're the kind of person who doesn't actually read much and just plays lots of videogames I'm sure the Halo books are a great waste of time. For people who read real books however the plots are predictable, shallow, and jingoistic, and the writing's terrible. If you've friends recommending you these books first think: are they primarily readers or gamers? It's bound to be the latter, because somebody who reads widely but acknowledge these books to be trite crap.
Just when you think you have a handle on this writer...., 12 Mar 2007
If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration.
It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people.
Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3.
Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier.
Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin.
The end is near my friends.
Masterpiece, 03 Jun 2008
Without question this novel is one of the finest science fiction novels ever written. It completely fulfills the purpose of a science fiction novel without the slightest pretense or facade literary worthiness. It presents a traditional adventure - a classic journey on a epic scale. It is filled with tantalising mystery and hundreds of unanswered questions in the finest tradition of adventure writing. It rarely descends into fashionable populism and never expects the reader to indulge it nor assumes them to be a incapable of rational thought. It is meant to be entertaining and it has successfully entertained me every single summer since I first read it in 1984, when I always set aside time to read both this and Ringworld Engineers again.
One of the redeeming features of this novel (or any of its peers) is that it will never ever appear in the latest selection of recommended High School English novels - which I would regard as easily all the endorsement it needs.
The most awful book in the galaxy? , 23 Dec 2007
Only one book has ever come close to the drivel written in this 'sci fi' novel, and that was 'Battlefield Earth'. (A book which I promptly threw away after forcing myself to read it - it was not even worthy of donating to charity)
I cannot comprehend how this book got so many positive reviews, nor can I comprehend how it won an award for sci fi writing, as someone else has pointed out, the writing is substandard and akin to the efforts of a 12 year old.
To start off the story is totally disjointed, the author will be talking about one subject and then in the next line he talks about something else entirely, there is no flow.
For instance Louis Wu is in love with a woman one moment, and the next she's presumed dead (in an accident) there are no tears, no remorse he simply didn't care, but when she 'returns' a few chapters later with a new lover (dressed as Tarzan with a black sword...) he suddenly has feelings for her again. And then a few lines later he has sold her to the new lover... if this makes no sense to you, then you can see where I am coming from!
Another character a 'Cat' who is big, and angry and doesn't like humans (yet he goes out of his way to help them any chance he can get)apparently he doesn't like humans because 'we' won the 'war', but this plot line is as shallow as paddling pool as its never fleshed out with more than a few angry comments.
Despite being a sci fi book, it reads more like a trashy romance novel, the authors skill at writing love scenes is totally comical, and read like they have been written by an adolescent.
The ending was a farce and tied up no loose ends at all.
Borrow it from a library if you must, but please don't waste your money on this utter drivel.
I still can't get over how such a crap piece of literature even got published.
Ringworld is amazing!!, 17 Dec 2007
The ringworld (quadrilogy) are some of the best SciFi ever written, Larry Niven's mastery of mathematics and boundless imagination creates an entire imaginary universe "known space", and Mr Niven is careful who he lets into his playground, as it were.
These books are full of showstopping concepts and storylines. The characters are gracefully constructed and integrated into your perceptions as a reader of the story in the most skillful manner. These books are hard to put down and leave you wanting more and more!
Awesome, astounding stories from one of the world's greatest authors. Thankyou, Larry Niven, for these wonderful books.
Banks is better but Niven was first, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this book or why I should have read all of Iain M Banks books first. Clearly Banks HAS read this. The outrageous scale of the ringworld and the human-alien interaction are obvious pointers to the Culture world of Banks. Banks is much more slick and has an ability to describe the hugeness or unbelievable speed of a structure much more eloquently and in a way which is more easily understandable. Niven knows his physics but is often clumsy in explanation and despite re-reading some sections several times you get the feeling he has missed something out of his explanation. He also has afew annoying stylistic affectations such as starting a section with what is meant to be a shocking 'leap' without bothering to fill in the details for a while - again you have to stop and re-read.
However, this is a really good sci fi book. I was very doubtful on his characters early on. By the end I still wasn't attached to them but the banter between them was working quite well and each had clearly defined personalities. Sci fi fans should read this book but it's nothing more than a good sci fi read - this isn't Philip K Dick or some kind of 'master piece' - but give it a go.
ringworld, 27 Jul 2007
Ringworld, one of the most exciting and inventive concepts that ever came out of any writer's imagination. A group of explorers seeks the secrets of a circular ribbon of matter, 600 million kilometres long and more than 90 million kilometres in radius, surrounding a star in an otherwise deserted solar system.
Unfortunately, what it has in setup and technology it lacks in character development and plot.
Read it for the Ring itself but don't expect anything else from it.
The Fall of Reach, detailed to perfection..., 07 Dec 2008
Well from the offset this book is just HALO, awesome, addictive, and i must say was everything i hoped it would be. Most importantly it didnt change anything that shouldnt be changed, you know what i mean, it IS HALO, not just called it.
The story blends perfectly with the gamess too, which is fine, but just through Spartan-117's eyes would be no where near as good a\s its multi-layered storyline and including the use of the Covenant in the story too, i didnt expect that!
BUT, its only a small but, there is a few typo errors iin there, they dont spoil it as these are minor, but i noticed one thing that was actually WRONG with the story, the year of HALO:Combat Evolved was in 2552, there is absolutly no dening that, but in The Fall Of Reach, that battle was set in 2542! through the whole ending chapters it was like this, a shame really, otherwise from the small typos to the slightly bigger typo, this really does live up to the high expectations i had for it!
Must read for all serious halo fans, 06 Dec 2008
the book is fairly well written
their are a lot of mentions to ONI, a past bungie game
this confused me but oh well
the story is very good and tells your about the SPARTAN programme,and Captain Keys.
its also £2 cheaper than the highstreet.
thanks amazon
thnx eric nyland
thnx for halo!
A MUST for any halo fans!, 22 Oct 2008
Like many others, I played Halo 1 and fell in love with the game and the plot, but the game dosent tell you about how the Spartans came about and what went on before the game. This book was amazing and ridiculously compelling. It explains how the Spatarn(s) came to be, and the story of the Master Cheif from a boy to the first game. The book also tells the story of "The Rall of Reach" believe it or not!! and battles that went prior to that event.
If you enjoyed the game (Halo 1), this book is a must!!!!
Loved it! (:
Overated Tosh, 11 Aug 2008
I feel so sorry for this book. Eric Nylund describes the halo world with grate style. He tells the story of how the master chief as a boy until he becomes a Spartan. I am not a hard core Halo fan but I decided to give the book a go and was very disappointed. The mane problem was that he was so un-addictive.At time it felt like reading sluge and some of the characters are really week. I normally read at night but never felt motivated to read it in the morning. Too sums up I only recommend it to light readers who like Halo. (But you have to have played to the gams to read this) Its not boring just so un-addictive.
Fills in the history and enjoyable at the same time, 30 Jun 2008
Covering the history prior to the first Halo game this book is easy to read and begins by chronicling the creation of the Spartan program and the participant's subsequent training and first missions up to the first appearance of the Covenant. It can be a bit slow during these sections but it then picks up and expands on both the fall of Reach and the supposed destruction of all the other Spartans and how the Pillar of Autumn came to crash on Halo.
OK, so it isn't high art or ever going to be listed next to Shakespeare, etc., but for a novel based on a video game it is enjoyable and will be so even more to anyone who has played the games. The character of Keyes is expanded upon and there is a plausible explanation of why the Pillar could survive the impact it suffered on Halo and it is this and other fine detail not evident in the games that add to the enjoyment of the whole Halo storyline.
Extended universe has worked for Star Wars and in this instance it has also worked here.
The Fall of Reach, detailed to perfection..., 07 Dec 2008
Well from the offset this book is just HALO, awesome, addictive, and i must say was everything i hoped it would be. Most importantly it didnt change anything that shouldnt be changed, you know what i mean, it IS HALO, not just called it.
The story blends perfectly with the gamess too, which is fine, but just through Spartan-117's eyes would be no where near as good a\s its multi-layered storyline and including the use of the Covenant in the story too, i didnt expect that!
BUT, its only a small but, there is a few typo errors iin there, they dont spoil it as these are minor, but i noticed one thing that was actually WRONG with the story, the year of HALO:Combat Evolved was in 2552, there is absolutly no dening that, but in The Fall Of Reach, that battle was set in 2542! through the whole ending chapters it was like this, a shame really, otherwise from the small typos to the slightly bigger typo, this really does live up to the high expectations i had for it!
Must read for all serious halo fans, 06 Dec 2008
the book is fairly well written
their are a lot of mentions to ONI, a past bungie game
this confused me but oh well
the story is very good and tells your about the SPARTAN programme,and Captain Keys.
its also £2 cheaper than the highstreet.
thanks amazon
thnx eric nyland
thnx for halo!
A MUST for any halo fans!, 22 Oct 2008
Like many others, I played Halo 1 and fell in love with the game and the plot, but the game dosent tell you about how the Spartans came about and what went on before the game. This book was amazing and ridiculously compelling. It explains how the Spatarn(s) came to be, and the story of the Master Cheif from a boy to the first game. The book also tells the story of "The Rall of Reach" believe it or not!! and battles that went prior to that event.
If you enjoyed the game (Halo 1), this book is a must!!!!
Loved it! (:
Overated Tosh, 11 Aug 2008
I feel so sorry for this book. Eric Nylund describes the halo world with grate style. He tells the story of how the master chief as a boy until he becomes a Spartan. I am not a hard core Halo fan but I decided to give the book a go and was very disappointed. The mane problem was that he was so un-addictive.At time it felt like reading sluge and some of the characters are really week. I normally read at night but never felt motivated to read it in the morning. Too sums up I only recommend it to light readers who like Halo. (But you have to have played to the gams to read this) Its not boring just so un-addictive.
Fills in the history and enjoyable at the same time, 30 Jun 2008
Covering the history prior to the first Halo game this book is easy to read and begins by chronicling the creation of the Spartan program and the participant's subsequent training and first missions up to the first appearance of the Covenant. It can be a bit slow during these sections but it then picks up and expands on both the fall of Reach and the supposed destruction of all the other Spartans and how the Pillar of Autumn came to crash on Halo.
OK, so it isn't high art or ever going to be listed next to Shakespeare, etc., but for a novel based on a video game it is enjoyable and will be so even more to anyone who has played the games. The character of Keyes is expanded upon and there is a plausible explanation of why the Pillar could survive the impact it suffered on Halo and it is this and other fine detail not evident in the games that add to the enjoyment of the whole Halo storyline.
Extended universe has worked for Star Wars and in this instance it has also worked here.
Disapointing, 01 Nov 2008
Following on from last year's "fleet of worlds" this book continues the story of known space, primarily from the viewpoint of the puppeteers and Niven's 2nd best characterised ARM agent, Sigmund Ausfaller, who as an extremely talented hyper paranoid hunts down and blocks perceived and real threats to Earth. This narrative again mixes several threads, Ausfaller's partial unravelling of the puppeteer conspiracies on Earth and elsewhere, Beowulf Schaeffer's entanglement with Ausfaller and his attempts to get free and the various political machinations of characters from earlier works and the puppeteers themselves, especially Nessus. It's a fast paced book and highly readable with a satisfying structure which builds to a series of revelations about events described in other known space books.
But if you are new to Niven's known space works, don't start here.
Basically Larry Niven is using this latest set of novels to tie up every element of his previously published known space works into a single cohesive narrative, where all characters, events, "use one time" plot devices, simple mistakes, throw away concepts, pretty turns of phrase etc are tied up and wrapped behind the over arching puppeteer conspiracies and the very human-centric events of the earlier works are illuminated by the larger scale, longer time frame point of view of the puppeteer homeworlds.
Now I'll take any new writings about known space with little complaint and I'll devour them in a single session. I've been reading Larry Niven stories since I was 7 and I've always loved the known space stories for their cohesive narrative/history without Larry being too being forced to concede too much detail to the reader, letting my imagination run riot with known space and "fill in the gaps myself" so to speak.
For that reason I have trouble with this exercise in over-explaining or rationalising known space. Niven flagged this idea in some of his anthologies as a way of "destroying" known space as an ongoing narrative playground by exposing all the human and other events he'd described as being driven by an alien conspiracy.
Frankly, Niven was right to ditch this idea back in the 70s, reviving it now and changing the conspirators to the Puppeteers doesn't make it any better and unless Niven is using this as the basis of a very complex role playing computer game (which BTW I'd buy in a flat second) I'd give this up as a bad idea.
And finally, a direct appeal to Larry Niven himself, what have you done to the outsiders? Without spoiling anything for other readers this is a pointless and terrible plot device with limited payback for either the reader or your new view of known space. It's just removal of yet more magic from the whole narrative playground, utter madness.
Not the best point of entry for those new to Known Space, 20 Sep 2008
This novel, for most of its length, runs parallel to the events of Niven's short stories about Beowulf Shaeffer, collected in "Crashlander", which it reinterprets from the viewpoints of Sigmund Ausfaller and Nessus: minor characters in the "Crashlander" sequence, but central to "Juggler of Worlds". We also revisit the events of his short story "The Soft Weapon", in which Nessus has a major role.
This must have been an awkward one to write, since the authors try to avoid confusing readers who have no knowledge of the other stories, while not boring hard-core fans who have committed the plots to memory.
As a fan, I found the reinterpretation of old plots in a wider new scheme was interesting, but lacked the entertainment value of an entirely new story. Walking through well-remembered events made certain passages drag. In contrast, I suspect a newcomer would be baffled and frustrated by the speed with which events and characters come and go.
At the end, this story picks up events from the previous novel by these authors, "Fleet of Worlds". There's a twist involving one of the characters, and a revelation about Known Space history which is rather neatly tied to "clues" taken from previous works by Niven and rehearsed in the present volume.
If you're new to Niven's universe, you should certainly go for the old favourites like "Ringworld" and "Protector" first, which stand alone much better than the present volume.
If you haven't read the "Crashlander" sequence of short stories, you might consider doing so before reading this work.
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Ringworld's Children
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Product Description
Ringworld's Children returns series protagonist Louis Wu to the titular world. Louis and his friend The Hindmost, an alien of the Pierson's puppeteer race, are prisoners of the Ghoul protector Tunesmith, a Ringworld native, who is deliberately provoking the warships that surround his world. All the star-faring races of Known Space have sent warships to the Ringworld, and they are already at the brink of war. If fighting breaks out, the near-indestructible Ringworld will be destroyed and dissolved by antimatter weapons. The Ringworld series is so complex and ambitious that Ringworld's Children opens with a glossary and a cast of characters, inclusions that even many Known Space fans will need. Newcomers to Niven's artificial planet should start with Ringworld. --Cynthia Ward, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews
Words fail me ..., 13 Oct 2008
... as they obviously did the authors. Still, I'll try. Flat; insipid; and lightweight all point toward the disaster that is Fleet of Worlds. I found nothing there that had not been either explicit or implicit in previous works with the possible exception of the Puppeteers' supposed "final" destination - and even this was suggested as a possibility rather than a fact. If you must read this effort - and believe me, it was an effort - go to the library.
They're too Human!, 09 Sep 2008
A reasonable addition to the 'Known Space' universe but the Aliens are just too human in behavoiur and attitudes.
They were distinctly alien in the other books
Average read, 20 Jan 2008
Fleet of Worlds, in my opinion, was more enjoyable than some of Niven's work. I liked it better than the last two Ringworlds, or his books about the fire god magic. The scene is set well enough. Familiarity with Known Space is not really necessary. The characters feel similar to a lot of other Niven protagonists. Not a bad thing, but they are not unique in the same way some of his earlier heroes are.
The plot is OK and there is some interest maintained in the Puppeteer culture. All in all, an average read.
Never enough fiction about the puppeteers but....., 14 Jan 2008
Pacey novel dealing with the human refugees on the fleet of worlds alluded to by the Hindmost in Ringworld Engineers. Simply structured conspiracy, betrayal, conflict and escape narrative which neatly delivers an excellent page turning story with lovely descriptive nuances about the fleet of worlds and the lives of the human travellers.
My only gripes are about the characterisations of the Puppeteers themselves, to me they felt too human, they are utterly alien and pictured in their home setting, so why did they come across as more human than the human refugees? Assigning human emotions and motives to alien creations is a mistake all too often made by Science Fiction writers as a short cut to enable the reader to empathise with or at least understand the motives of alien characters but it's the last mistake I'd have expected Larry Niven to make after his utterly compelling alien characterisations of the past, from Moties to Puppeteers in other "known universe" tales.
Additionally, in an attempt to contextualise the puppeteers, some of their glamour has been removed, they don't come across as quite as god like as they appear in other novels and tales and for me that slightly diminishes the whole body of their stories. I liked them inhumanly powerful, conservative, careful and ruthless. These pseudo human aliens were a bit too wet for my tastes.
Secrets of the Puppeteers - before the Ringworld's discovery, 18 Nov 2007
It's always a pleasure to learn a little more about Known Space and especially the fearsomely clever but cowardly Puppeteers.
This is a satisfying and typically pacy romp through that world. I was left with two nagging doubts. Do Niven and Lerner achieve the difficult job of persuading us that it is believable that Humans could compete against superior numbers and intelligence? Is the Puppeteers Fleet of Worlds exodus really the least risk even for a cowardly herd of herbivores?
Still the sheer exuberance of the story telling and the beautiful ideas that spin out make this an entertaining read
A Great Book, 07 Sep 2008
This book is amazing i listen to the audio book unabridged (No Deleted Parts) and i have to say the that the science is acurate but i some of it you cannot say weither it is true or not. An amazing book.
He's not the last one, 28 Apr 2008
Very enjoyable book, was gripped right up to the end. I know some people were bothered about it not having Spartan 117 in the book an awful lot, but that made the book even more compelling to read on. Again still none the wiser as to what happened to all the forerunner even after the discovery of the shield world. Although playing Halo 3 and actively searching out the 'terminals' and reading them you get a slight picture as to what happened to them. (A clue to this - IT INVOLVES 343 GUILTY SPARK)
Although i am beginning to see another book coming out or maybe a spin off. If you have completed Halo 3 on 'legendary' you get a sneaky wee cutscene showing the remains of the frigate 'Forward Unto Dawn' containing the chief and Cortana tumbling towards Onyx which contains various people whom you will know if you have read the book. (Geek moment: on seeing this i actually leapt up of my sofa screaming OMG)
Worth a read if you're a big Halo fan, 13 Mar 2008
This latest novel in the Halo series is a slight departure from the others in that it barely features the Master Chief and instead focuses on a top secret ONI training centre on the mysterious planet Onyx. Here the UNSC are training a new breed of super soldier, the SPARTAN-III.
It also (conveniently) turns out that Onyx houses a Forerunner installation, which of cours | | |