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Ask Larry Niven

Posted by Roblimo on from the hanging-out-at-the-Draco-Tavern dept.

If you read science fiction at all, you're familiar with Larry Niven. (If you don't, his work is a great place to start.) Anyway, this is a golden opportunity to learn more about a truly innovative author. (Thanks go to Chris DiBona for arranging this interview; he met Larry during one of his TechTV appearances.) One question per post, please. We'll post Larry's answers to 10 of the highest-moderated questions shortly after he gets them back to us.

4 of 531 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Rip-off? by the+bluebrain · · Score: 2, Informative

    Huh? It's obvious that there are similarities, but that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have any aspect of a rip-off. I have the impression that one of the things Terry Pratchett was saying with that particular novel is something along the lines of "No Larry - *this* is how it should go".
    "Dark Side of the Sun" is, as far as I know, as original as it gets. Discworld, ditto, with shades of Jonathan Swift, albeit more in intent that content. The "Johnny" series - original, as far as I can tell.
    "Turning it up to 11 and seeing what breaks" is a nice turn of phrase, and something I agree Terry Pratchett does - but "similar milieu"? What are the other connections to other milieus I am missing? Under that aspect, "Strata" stands out like a sore thumb ...
    ... and with this post I am guilty of bad form - asking one author about another, but gosh, I do wonder what Larry Niven thinks about this "homage".

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  2. Re:Have you read no Niven? by spyderbyte23 · · Score: 2, Informative

    See also Inferno. It's set in the Christian hell -- you don't get much more explicitly religious than that.

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  3. Re:Rip-off? by spyderbyte23 · · Score: 2, Informative
    I do wonder what Larry Niven thinks about this "homage".
    In the introduction to Rainbow Mars (I think) Niven mentions having met Pratchett and being a fan of the Discworld series. I haven't read strata.
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  4. Re:MODERATORS: This is a valid question by Dawn+Falcon · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, I refer you to this webpage:

    http://marathon.bungie.org/story/halo_culture.ht ml

    " Jones explains. "In Niven's books, the Ringworld completely encircles a star, and is thus hundreds of millions of miles in diameter, whereas Halo is just a satellite orbiting a gas giant and is considerably smaller. In fact, structurally it's more similar to the "orbitals" in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels."

    There are a LOT more similarities between the culture Orbitals and Halo than between Halo and Ringworld.