Larry Niven

Larry Niven
Larry Niven at Stanford University in May 2006
Born	Laurence van Cott Niven (1938-04-30) April 30, 1938 Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Novelist
Genre	Hard science fiction, Fantasy
Notable works	Ringworld (1970), The Mote in God's Eye (1974)
Website
http://larryniven.net/

Larry Niven at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, 2007

Laurence van Cott Niven (/ˈnɪvən/; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. It also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes the series The Magic Goes Away, rational fantasy dealing with magic as a non-renewable resource.

Biography

Niven briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. On September 6, 1969, he married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, a science fiction and Regency literature fan. He is an agnostic.

Work

Niven is the author of numerous science fiction short stories and novels, beginning with his 1964 story "The Coldest Place". In this story, the coldest place concerned is the dark side of Mercury, which at the time the story was written was thought to be tidally locked with the Sun (it was found to rotate in a 2:3 resonance after Niven received payment for the story, but before it was published).

In addition to the Nebula award in 1970 and the Hugo and Locus awards in 1971 for Ringworld, Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Neutron Star" in 1967. He won the same award in 1972, for "Inconstant Moon", and in 1975 for "The Hole Man". In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "The Borderland of Sol".

Niven has written scripts for three science fiction television series: the original Land of the Lost series; Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early story "The Soft Weapon"; and The Outer Limits, for which he adapted his story "Inconstant Moon" into an episode also entitled "Inconstant Moon".

Niven has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect.

Many of Niven's stories take place in his Known Space universe, in which humanity shares the several habitable solar systems nearest to the Sun with over a dozen alien species, including the aggressive feline Kzinti and the very intelligent but cowardly Pierson's Puppeteers, which are frequently central characters. The Ringworld series is set in the Known Space universe.

Niven has also written a logical fantasy series The Magic Goes Away, which utilizes an exhaustible resource called Mana to power a rule-based "technological" magic. The Draco Tavern series of short stories take place in a more light-hearted science fiction universe, and are told from the point of view of the proprietor of an omni-species bar. The whimsical Svetz series consists of a collection of short stories, The Flight of the Horse, and a novel, Rainbow Mars, which involve a nominal time machine sent back to retrieve long-extinct animals, but which travels, in fact, into alternative realities and brings back mythical creatures such as a Roc and a Unicorn. Much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes, but also Brenda Cooper and Edward M. Lerner.

Influence

Ringworld

Niven's most famous contribution to the SF genre is his concept of the Ringworld, a band of approximately the same diameter as Earth's orbit rotating around a star. The idea's genesis came from Niven's attempts to imagine a more efficient version of a Dyson Sphere, which could produce the effect of surface gravity through rotation. Given that spinning a Dyson Sphere would result in the atmosphere pooling around the equator, the Ringworld removes all the extraneous parts of the structure, leaving a spinning band landscaped on the sun-facing side, with the atmosphere and inhabitants kept in place through centrifugal force and 1000 mile high perimeter walls (rim walls). When it was pointed out to Niven that the Ringworld was dynamically unstable, in that once the center of rotation drifted away from the central sun, gravity would pull the ring into contact with the star, he used this as a plot element in the sequel novel, The Ringworld Engineers.

This idea proved influential, serving as an alternative to a full Dyson Sphere that required fewer assumptions (such as artificial gravity) and allowed a day/night cycle to be introduced (through the use of a smaller ring of "shadow squares", rotating between the ring and its sun). This was further developed by Iain M. Banks in his Culture series, which features about 1/100th ringworld–size megastructures called Orbitals that orbit a star rather than encircling it entirely (actual "Rings" and Dyson "Spheres" are also mentioned but are much rarer). Alastair Reynolds also uses ringworlds in his 2008 novel House of Suns. The Ringworld-like namesake of the Halo video game series is the eponymous Halo megastructure/superweapon.

The original release of Magic: The Gathering paid homage to Larry Niven on a card called "Nevinyrral's Disk," with Nevinyrral being "Larry Niven" spelled backwards. Subsequent sets have featured no new cards featuring Nevinyrral, although the character is sporadically quoted on the flavor text of various cards. Netrunner paid a similar homage to Larry Niven with the card "Nevinyrral".

Policy involvement

Larry Niven at Les Utopiales in 2010

According to author Michael Moorcock, in 1967 Niven was among those Science Fiction Writers of America members who voiced opposition to the Vietnam War. However, in 1968 Niven's name appeared in a pro-war ad in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.

Niven was an adviser to Ronald Reagan on the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative antimissile policy, as part of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy – as covered in the BBC documentary Pandora's Box by Adam Curtis. The council also convinced Vice President Dan Quayle to support the Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) concept for a reusable space ship that led to the building of the DC-X.

In 2007, Niven, in conjunction with a group of science fiction writers known as SIGMA, led by Pournelle, began advising the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as to future trends affecting terror policy and other topics.

Other works

One of Niven's best known humorous works is "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", in which he uses real-world physics to underline the difficulties of Superman and a human woman (Lois Lane or Lana Lang) mating.

Niven appeared in the 1980 science documentary film Target...Earth?.

Niven's Laws

Larry Niven is also known in science fiction fandom for "Niven's Law": There is no cause so right that one cannot find a fool following it. Over the course of his career Niven has added to this first law a list of Niven's Laws which he describes as "how the Universe works" as far as he can tell.

Bibliography

Known Space

• World of Ptavvs (1966)
• A Gift from Earth (1968)
• Neutron Star (1968 collection)
• The Shape of Space (1969 collection)
• Protector (1973)—Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1974
• Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven (1975 collection)
  • Three Books of Known Space (1996 reprint of Tales of Known Space, with "Madness Has Its Place" in place of "The Borderland of Sol", packed with World of Ptavvs and A Gift from Earth)
• The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton (1976 collection, reprinted as Flatlander, 1995 omnibus)
• The Patchwork Girl (1980)
• World of Ptavvs / A Gift From Earth / Neutron Star (1991 omnibus)
• Crashlander: The Collected Tales of Beowulf Shaeffer (1994 collection)

Ringworld companion series (with Edward M. Lerner)

1. Fleet of Worlds (2007)
2. Juggler of Worlds (2008)
3. Destroyer of Worlds (2009)
4. Betrayer of Worlds (2010)
5. Fate of Worlds (2012)

Ringworld

1. Ringworld (1970)— Nebula Award, 1970 Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1971
2. The Ringworld Engineers (1979)—Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1981
   • Guide to Larry Niven's Ringworld (1994, with Kevin Stein)
3. The Ringworld Throne (1996)
4. Ringworld's Children (2004)

Man-Kzin Wars

• Man-Kzin anthologies

1. The Man-Kzin Wars (1988)
2. Man-Kzin Wars II (1989)
3. Man-Kzin Wars III (1990)
4. Man-Kzin Wars IV (1991)
5. Man-Kzin Wars V (1992)
6. Man-Kzin Wars VI (1994)
7. Man-Kzin Wars VII (1995)
8. Man-Kzin Wars VIII: Choosing Names (1998)
   • The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man-Kzin Wars (1998)
9. Man-Kzin Wars IX (2002)
10. Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War (2003)
11. Man-Kzin Wars XI (2005)
12. Man-Kzin Wars XII (2009)
13. Man-Kzin Wars XIII (2012)
14. Man-Kzin Wars XIV (2013)

• Man-Kzin novels

1. Cathouse: A Novel of the Man Kzin-Wars (1990, with Dean Ing)
   • Cathouse compiles two stories from the first two "Man-Kzin Wars" books and contains no new material.
2. The Children's Hour: A Novel of the Man-Kzin Wars (1991, with Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling)
   • The Children's Hour contains some material previously published in "Man-Kzin Wars" volumes II and III.
3. Inconstant Star (1991, with Poul Anderson)
   • Inconstant Star compiles two stories from "Man-Kzin Wars" volumes I and III and contains no new material.
4. A Darker Geometry (1996, with Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford)
   • A Darker Geometry contains some material previously published in "Man-Kzin Wars" volume VII.
5. The Houses of the Kzinti (2002, with Dean Ing, Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling)
   • Houses of the Kzinti is a compiled edition of the previously-published Cathouse and The Children's Hour and contains no new material.
6. Destiny's Forge: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel (2007, with Paul Chafe)

Heorot

Heorot (with Steven Barnes and Jerry Pournelle)

1. The Legacy of Heorot (1987)
2. Beowulf's Children (1995, UK: The Dragons of Heorot)
3. Destiny's Road (1997, by Niven alone; not precisely a continuation of the Heorot series: located in the same universe, events from the first two novels are briefly mentioned)

with Jerry Pournelle

• Inferno (1976)—Hugo and Nebula Awards nominee, 1976
• Lucifer's Hammer (1977)—Hugo Award nominee, 1978
• Oath of Fealty (1982)
• Footfall (1985)—Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1986
• Escape from Hell (2009, sequel to Inferno)
• Moties — part of Pournelle's CoDominium fictional universe

1. The Mote in God's Eye (1974)—Hugo, Nebula and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1975
2. The Gripping Hand (1993, UK: The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye)

• Golden Road (set in the same "Magic Universe" as The Magic Goes Away)

1. The Burning City (2000)
2. Burning Tower (2005)
3. Burning Mountain (in progress)

with Steven Barnes

Dream Park

1. Dream Park (1981)—Locus SF Award nominee, 1982
2. The Barsoom Project (1989)
3. The California Voodoo Game (1992, UK: The Voodoo Game)
4. The Moon Maze Game (2011)

• The Descent of Anansi (1982)
• Achilles' Choice (1991)
• Saturn's Race (2001)

The State

1. A World Out of Time (1976)—Locus SF Award nominee, 1977
2. The Integral Trees (1984)—Nebula Award nominee, 1984; Locus SF Award winner, and Hugo nominee, 1985
3. The Smoke Ring (1987)

Magic Goes Away

1. Not Long before the End (1969)
2. What Good Is a Glass Dagger? (1972)
3. The Magic Goes Away (1978)
4. The Magic May Return (1981)
5. More Magic (1984)
6. The Time of the Warlock (1984)
   • The Magic Goes Away Collection (2005 omnibus)

Other novels

• The Flying Sorcerers (1971, with David Gerrold), previously serialized as "The Misspelled Magishun", includes portraits of other science fiction authors—e.g. the lead character name becomes translated into the local language as "As a color, shade of purple-gray" (or Purple for short), that is, "As-A-Mauve"
• Berserker Base: A Collaborative Novel (1984, with Poul Anderson, Edward Bryant, Stephen R. Donaldson, Fred Saberhagen, Connie Willis, and Roger Zelazny)
• Fallen Angels (1991, with Jerry Pournelle and Michael Flynn)
• Rainbow Mars (1999)
• Building Harlequin's Moon (2005, with Brenda Cooper)
• "Bowl of Heaven" (2012, with Gregory Benford)
• The Goliath Stone (2013, with Matthew Joseph Harrington)
• "Shipstar" (2014, with Gregory Benford)

Other collections

• All the Myriad Ways (1971)
• The Flight of the Horse (1973)
• Inconstant Moon (1973)
• A Hole in Space (1974)
• Convergent Series (1979)
• Niven's Laws (1984)
• Limits (1985)
• N-Space (1990)
• Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)
• Bridging the Galaxies (1993)
• Scatterbrain (2003)
• Larry Niven Short Stories Volume 1 (2003)
• Larry Niven Short Stories Volume 2 (2003)
• Larry Niven Short Stories Volume 3 (2003)
• The Draco Tavern (2006)
• Stars and Gods (August 2010, ISBN 0-7653-0864-9)
• The Best of Larry Niven (November 2010, ISBN 978-1-59606-331-0)

Graphic novels and comics adaptations

• "Not Long before the End" was adapted by Doug Moench and Vicente Alcazar (May 1975), and "All the Myriad Ways" by writer-artist Howard Chaykin (Sep 1975), both for Marvel Comics' black-and-white anthology magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction.
• The Magic Goes Away, graphic novel by Paul Kupperberg (writer) and Jan Duursema (artist), DC Comics (1986)
• A.R.M. (1990, Malibu Comics), adaptation of Death By Ecstasy
• Death by Ecstasy: Illustrated Adaptation of the Larry Niven Novella (1991)
• Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale (1992, DC Comics, ISBN 1-56389-026-7) (with John Byrne)

External links

• Official website
• Bibliography on larryniven.net
• Larry Niven at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Audio interview with Larry Niven
• An audio interview with Larry Niven (MP3 format) from Hour 25
• Works by Larry Niven at Open Library
• Larry Niven on Fantastic Fiction
• Larry Niven at IMDb