I’ve just finished reading “Fleet or Worlds” by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner.
This book has few surprises for Niven readers. It’s set on the Puppeteer “Fleet” 200 years prior to the events fo “Ringworld.” As such it holds few surprises, although it does expand on some aspects of Puppeteer society. It’s not a prequel to “Ringworld,” either, although some revelations shown in “Ringworld” and its sequels are given in “Fleet,” such as the manner in which Puppeteers mate and reproduce.
The novel deals with the relationship between Puppeteers and a human colony existing in one of their worlds. Now, that’s ok, but the prologue does interfere with latter developments. The prologue takes place 600 years before the novel aboard a human starship, the “Long Pass.” So we already know why the humans are inhabiting a Puppeteer world and how they got there. When some humans begin to question their sparse history, we also know they’ve been lied to.
Another problem is that the novel attempts to stay faithful to other Known Space stories. That’s good, as SF readers are notorious nitpickers and would howl if the continuity were breached. So there’s mention of the Core Explosion, Sigmund Ausfaller (from the Beowulf Schaefer stories), Dr. Forward from “Borderlans of Sol,” and a few other things. No mention of the “Long Shot,” tough.
One of the novel’s protagonists is the Puppeteer Nessus, whom Niven readers should know well by now. The other is a human “Colonist” named Kirsten Quinn-Kovacs, who’s a math genius and who begins to question the Puppeteer version of human history. The two interact a lot, given Kirsten is part of a crew of the first Colonist scout ship; these are ships that scout ahead for the fleet. Puppeteers being cowardly, it makes sense for them to use humans instead. Of course the thing backfires.
In their first mission, three humans and Nessus scout a new species known as the Gw’oth(sp?). Niven outdoes himself in a new, strange species, but ultimately the Gw’oth and their impressive technological progress are of no consequence to the story. The real story is what happens when the Colonists learn about their past, and how they go about it. Plus a filling of Nessus’ back-story, including his work on Earth and his relationship to the Hindmost (I apologize if I’m talking about this book as though I were an avid Niven reader, but that’s just what I am).
Overall the novel feels like the setup for a bigger story. Hopefully that’s just what it is, as there is a second novel concerning this era, called “Juggler of Worlds.” I’ll know more when I read it. One thing about niven is that he does sequels and long series, but he doesn’t plan them ahead. That’s why there are decades between “Ringworld” and its sequels, and between “Mote” and its sequel. Most likely “Juggler” complements “Fleet” and that will be that.
Next I’m reading “Building Harlequin’s Moon” by Niven and Brenda Cooper, not a Known Space story.