Most Popular Books by Larry Niven

A return voyage to the astonishing world of Larry Niven’s Ringworld, with even more remarkable adventures and surprises, and a solution to that tantalizing question left from the earlier book: how was Ringworld built and by whom? It’s been twenty years since the quixotic and worldsweary Louis Wu discovered the Ringworld. Now he and Speaker-To-Animals are going back, captives of the Hindmost, a deposed puppeteer leader. With Louis’ help, the Hindmost intends to regain his status by bringing back such extraordinary treasures from the Ringworld that his fellow puppeteers will have to be impressed. But when they arrive, Louis discovers that the Ringworld is no longer stable . . . and will destroy itself within months. To survive he must locate the control center of the legendary engineers who built the planet. His quest becomes a wild and gripping venture, blended with the mysteries and spectacular technologies that only Larry Niven can conjure! Praise for Ringworld Engineers “For new readers, there’s fascinating adventure in plenitude. For old fans of Niven’s Known Space series, or of the original volume, there are all the fine, characteristic touches that delight us Niven fans, and which support his reputation for uncommon wittiness and fast narrative pace.”—Chicago Sun-Times “The Ringworld Engineers has all the imaginativeness, convincing detail, and narrative vivacity that have come to be associated with the works of Larry Niven. Furthermore, it answers a lot of questions that have been tantalizing his readers for a long time. Most highly recommended!”—Paul Anderson “When I finished The Ringworld Engineers, I cleared my calendar for a week, sat down, and reread every word of the Known Space cycle from scratch, then reread The Ringworld Engineers. It was worth the effort, and left me staggered by the breadth and scope of Larry’s vision. . . . If you count yourself as a true friend of Larry Niven, race right out and get this one.”—Analog Science Fiction Magazine “Another fine masterpiece from the master of science fiction . . . The coming conquest of space has always been a central myth of science fiction, and Larry Niven’s future worlds have made the most of it. The Ringworld itself is a dazzling notion, carrying the future evolution of technology about as far as possible.”—Jack Williamson “Adventurous exploration of a mind-boggling landscape.”—Publishers Weekly

Return to the "vivid and unusual" (Kirkus Reviews) world of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle''s The Burning City, where the fire god has retreated into myth, leaving the residents of Tep''s Town unprotected for the first time in their history. Unfortunately, a fiery fate isn''t the only danger the town is facing. From out of the desert come monsters -- great birds with blades instead of wings, driven by some unknown force. Although they can be killed, the threat these terror birds pose is worse than death. Danger on the roads means no trade. No trade means that Tep''s Town will be no more. Sent by the Lords of Lordshills to discover the source of the terror birds, Lord Sandry and his beloved, Burning Tower, must travel into a world where magic is still strong -- and where someone or something waits to destroy them! Filled with the sweeping adventure, memorable characters, and imaginative world-building that have defined the novels of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Burning Tower is another triumph.

A solitary mountain rises from the searing, toxic blackness of the planet. Forty miles below, the atmosphere is sixty times as thick as Earth''s, and hot enough to melt lead. The organ banks are the centre of this world. To them the subservient colonists contribute living limbs. And from them the overlords obtain the vital parts that keep them alive...

The Citizens Tree people rescue a family of loggers and learn for the first time of a society known as the Admiralty, which may have maintained intact the original computer library of the ship Discipline.

Fleeing the supernova chain reaction at the galactic core, the Puppeteers of the Fleet of Worlds seek a way to survive among enemies and crises.

A culture of evolved humans inhabits a doughnut-shaped gas tube that rotates around a neutron star.

Set in the world of Larry Niven''s popular The Magic Goes Away, The Burning City transports readers to an enchanted ancient city bearing a provocative resemblance to our own modern society. Here Yagen-Atep, the volatile and voracious god of fire, alternately protects and destroys the city''s denizens. In Tep''s Town, nothing can burn indoors and no fire can start -- except when the Burning comes upon the city. Then the people, possessed by Yagen-Atep, set their own town ablaze in a riotous orgy of destruction that often comes without warning. Whandall Placehold has lived with the Burning all his life. Fighting his way to adulthood in the mean-but-magical streets of the city''s most blighted neighborhoods, Whandall dreams of escaping the god''s wrath to find a new and better life. But his best hope for freedom may lie with Morth of Atlantis, the enigmatic sorcerer who killed his father!

SF masters Gregory Benford and Larry Niven spin a tale of alien encounters and strange technologies on an epic scale In Bowl of Heaven, the first collaboration by science fiction authors Larry Niven (Ringworld) and Gregory Benford (Timescape), the limits of wonder are redrawn once again as a human expedition to another star system is jeopardized by an encounter with an astonishingly immense artifact in interstellar space: a bowl-shaped structure half-englobing a star, with a habitable area equivalent to many millions of Earths...and it''s on a direct path heading for the same system as the human ship. A landing party is sent to investigate the Bowl, but when the explorers are separated—one group captured by the gigantic structure''s alien inhabitants, the other pursued across its strange and dangerous landscape—the mystery of the Bowl''s origins and purpose propel the human voyagers toward discoveries that will transform their understanding of their place in the universe. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Acclaimed writing pair Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle offer a new twist on Dante''s classic tale, Inferno. After being thrown out the window of his luxury apartment, science fiction writer Allen Carpentier wakes to find himself at the gates of hell. Feeling he''s landed in a great opportunity for a book, he attempts to follow Dante''s road map. Determined to meet Satan himself, Carpentier treks through the Nine Layers of Hell led by Benito Mussolini, and encounters countless mental and physical tortures. As he struggles to escape, he''s taken through new, puzzling, and outlandish versions of sin—recast for the present day.

Mind bending stories of Svetz, the Time Retrieval expert.

Fleet of Worlds marks Larry Niven''s first full novel-length collaboration within his Known Space universe, the playground he created for his bestselling Ringworld series. Teaming up with fellow SF writer Edward M. Lerner, Fleet of Worlds takes a closer look at the Human-Puppeteer (Citizens) relations and the events leading up to Niven''s first Ringworld novel. Kirsten Quinn-Kovacs is among the best and brightest of her people. She gratefully serves the gentle race that rescued her ancestors from a dying starship, gave them a world, and nurtures them still. If only the Citizens knew where Kirsten''s people came from.... A chain reaction of supernovae at the galaxy''s core has unleashed a wave of lethal radiation that will sterilize the galaxy. The Citizens flee, taking their planets, the Fleet of Worlds, with them. Someone must scout ahead, and Kirsten and her crew eagerly volunteer. Under the guiding eye of Nessus, their Citizen mentor, they explore for any possible dangers in the Fleet''s path—and uncover long-hidden truths that will shake the foundations of worlds.

The Barsoom Project is the direct sequel to 1981''s Dream Park. Eviane''s first visit to the-state-of-art amusement arena Dream Park ended in disaster: the special effects had seemed more real than life... until the holograms she was shooting with live ammunition turned out to be solid flesh and blood... and very, very dead. Haunted by the past, rebounding from a lengthy spell in a mental hospital, she has returned to Dream Park to exorcise a nightmare that has become reality. But in Dream Park, nothing is what it seems. The Inuit mythology controlling the images is part of a "Fat Ripper Special" designed to implant new behavioral memes. The players are struggling against the game master, one another, and their own demons. And there is a killer who wants to ensure Eviane never regains her memory...noo matter what it costs. Blending together hard science fiction with topical RPG-like fantasy games, The Barsoom Project is SF at the cutting edge and a classic creation from two of the genre''s most beloved writers. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Larry Niven''s bestselling Man-Kzin series continues! The kzin, formerly invincible conquerors of all they encountered, had a hard time dealing with their ignominious defeat by the leaf-eating humans. Some secretly hatched schemes for a rematch, others concentrated on gathering power within the kzin hierarchy, and some shamefully cooperated with the contemptible humans, though often for hidden motives. In war and in uneasy peace, kzin and humans continue their adventures with a masterful addition to the Man-Kzin Wars shared universe created by multiple New York Times best seller, incomparable tale-spinner, and Nebula- and five-time Hugo-Award-winner, Larry Niven. Stories by Jane Lindskold, Charles E. Gannon, and more. At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Gil Hamilton was more than an operative for ARM, the elite global police force. His intuition was peerless, his psychic powers were devastating. But he had enemies in inner and outer space. In order to stay alive, he always had to be armed for death.

The Goliath Stone is a visionary tale from Larry Niven and Matthew Joseph Harrington. Doctor Toby Glyer has effected miracle cures with the use of nanotechnology. But Glyer''s controversial nanites are more than just the latest technological advance, they are a new form of life-and they have more uses than just medical. Glyer''s nanites also have the potential to make everyone on Earth rich from the wealth of asteroids. Twenty-five years ago, the Briareus mission took nanomachinery out to divert an Earth-crossing asteroid and bring it back to be mined, only to drop out of contact as soon as it reached its target. The project was shut down and the technology was forcibly suppressed. Now, a much, much larger asteroid is on a collision course with Earth-and the Briareus nanites may be responsible. While the government scrambles to find a solution, Glyer knows that their only hope of avoiding Armageddon lies in the nanites themselves. On the run, Glyer must track down his old partner, William Connors, and find a way to make contact with their wayward children. As every parent learns, when you produce a new thinking being, the plans it makes are not necessarily your plans. But with a two-hundred-gigaton asteroid that rivals the rock that felled the dinosaurs hurtling toward Earth, Glyer and Connors don''t have time to argue. Will Glyer''s nanites be Earth''s salvation or destruction? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

On Planet Destiny, Jemmy Blocher kills a laborer and flees for his life along the long road forged by the mysterious Cavorite and its crew, who disappeared more than 250 years earlier.

The Year: 2085. Humanity has spread throughout the solar system. A stable lunar colony is agitating for independence. Lunar tourism is on the rise... Against this background, professional "Close Protection" specialist Scotty Griffin, fresh off a disastrous assignment, is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to shepherd the teenaged heir to the Republic of Kikaya on a fabulous vacation. Ali Kikaya will participate in the first live action role playing game conducted on the Moon itself. Having left Luna--and a treasured marriage--years ago due to a near-tragic accident, Scotty leaps at the opportunity. Live Action Role Playing attracts a very special sort of individual: brilliant, unpredictable, resourceful, and addicted to problem solving. By kidnapping a dozen gamers in the middle of the ultimate game, watched by more people than any other sporting event in history, they have thrown down an irresistible gauntlet: to "win" the first game that ever became "real." Pursued by armed and murderous terrorists, forced to solve gaming puzzles to stay a jump ahead, forced to juggle multiple psychological realities as they do...this is the game for which they''ve prepared their entire lives, and they are going to play it for all it''s worth. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The dramatic sequel to Larry Niven and Gregory Benford''s New York Times bestselling novel, Bowl of Heaven Science fiction masters Larry Niven (Ringworld) and Gregory Benford (Timescape) continue the thrilling adventure of a human expedition to another star system that is jeopardized by an encounter with an astonishingly immense artifact in interstellar space: a bowl-shaped structure cupping a star, with a habitable area equivalent to many millions of Earths. And which, tantalizingly, is on a direct path heading toward the same system the human ship is to colonize. Investigating the Bowl, or Shipstar, the human explorers are separated—one group captured by the gigantic structure''s alien inhabitants, the other pursued across its strange and dangerous landscape—while the mystery of the Shipstar''s origins and purpose propel the human voyagers toward discoveries that transform their understanding of their place in the universe. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

New from the New York Times bestselling author of A Taint in the Blood. Adrian Brézé defied his own dark heritage as a near-purebred Shadowspawn for years, until his power-hungry sister Adrienne kidnapped his human lover Ellen. Now, Adrienne is dead, and the Council of Shadows is gathering its strength. To stop the Council from launching an apocalypse, Adrian and Ellen must ally with the Brotherhood, a resistance group dedicated to breaking the Council''s hold on humankind...by any means necessary. In the coming confrontation, Adrian must fight not only the members of the Council but also his own nature-and, as he will come to suspect, traitors within the Brotherhood itself...

Light years from Earth, on Tau Ceti Four, two hundred colonists have created a thriving community, not realizing that they have upset a delicate ecological balance and have unleashed an unbelievable nightmare - NoveList.

It''s the American Revolution all over again. But this time it''s a ragtag band of space colonists vs. the United States. And the fate of the world hangs by a thread--200 miles above the earth.