Pierson's puppeteers, strange, three-legged, two-headed aliens, have discovered an immense structure in a hitherto unexplored part of the universe. Frightened of meeting the builders of such a structure, the puppeteers set about assembling a team consisting of two humans, a puppeteer and a kzin, an alien not unlike an eight-foot-tall, red-furred cat, to explore it. The artefact is a vast circular ribbon of matter, some 180 million miles across, with a sun at its centre - the Ringworld. But the expedition goes disastrously wrong when the ship crashlands and its motley crew faces a trek across thousands of miles of the Ringworld's surface.

When the Sunseeker laves Earth, bound for the planet called "Glory", its crew knows they will never see home again. None of them can ever have imagined, however, what they will find along the way. A gargantuan object, with its own star nettled inside. The bowl shaped structure is following the same path as the Sunseeker and it has a habitable are the size of millions of Earths, A landing party is sent to the surface, where they encounter some of the structures inhabitants - wildly differing species, and not all of them friendly.

The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....@lt;br@gt;"Massively entertaining."@lt;br@gt;CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER

Writing separately, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are responsible for a number of science fiction classics, such as the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ringworld, Debt of Honor, and The Integral Trees. Together they have written the critically acclaimed bestsellers Inferno, Footfall, and The Legacy of Heorot, among others.

The Mote In God's Eye is their acknowledged masterpiece, an epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends the genre.

"This rousing sequel to the classic Ringworld continues the adventures of Louis Wu and Speaker-to-Animals on that fantastic planet."--School Library Journal An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Come back to the Ringworld . . . the most astonishing feat of engineering ever encountered.  A place of untold technological wonders, home to a myriad humanoid races, and world of some of the most beloved science fiction stories ever written!

The human, Louis Wu; the puppeteer known as the Hindmost; Acolyte, son of the Kzin called Chmeee . . . legendary beings brought together once again in the defense of the Ringworld. Something is going on with the Protectors. Incoming spacecraft are being destroyed before they can reach the Ringworld.  Vampires are massing. And the Ghouls have their own agenda--if anyone dares approach them to learn.

Each race on the Ringworld has always had its own Protector. Now it looks as if the Ringworld itself needs a Protector. But who will sit on the Ringworld Throne?

"Niven's work has been an intriguing and consistent universe, and this book is the keystone of the arch. . . . [His] technique is wonderfully polished, his characters and their situations are nicely drawn . . . wraps up (maybe) a corner of a very interesting universe."
--San Diego Union-Tribune

"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.

Larry Niven is the "New York Times" bestselling author of such classic science fiction novels as Ringworld and Destiny's Road. One of his previous collections, "N-Space," was lauded by the "Houston Post" as "Outstanding . . . hours of entertainment," while "Publishers Weekly" called it "A must for science fiction fans." A follow-up volume, "Playgrounds of the Mind," was praised by "Kirkus Reviews" as "Grand Entertainment." Niven returns with the sequel to his most recent collection, "Scatterbrain," which gathers an equally engaging assortment of Niven's latest work, all in one captivating volume. Here are choice excerpts from his most recent novels, including "Ringworld's Child," as well as short stories, non-fiction, interviews, editorials, collaborations, and correspondence. "Stars and Gods "roams all over a wide variety of fascinating topics, from space stations to conventional etiquette.
Give yourself a treat, and feel free to pick the brain of one of modern science fiction's most fascinating thinkers.

The Ringworld is dying. And this time even Louis Wu - captive of the hyper-intelligent alien Tunesmith - may be unable to save it. Even if Louis can escape he will then have to survive in a galaxy ravaged by interstellar war and deadly political intrigue. For the Ringworld is no longer a secret and entire civilisations now battle to control its power. The victorious race that conquers the Ringworld will conquer the galaxy ... and no one will be able to stop them. But Louis Wu is going to try.

"Once upon a long, long time ago, our parents and grandparents left a place called Earth. They traveled across the stars in a ship called Geographic to find paradise." Camelot is an island paradise for some perhaps, but not for us. There dwell monsters. These huge hulking inhabitants, called Grendels, bring only death and destruction to humankind. That we survived those first battles at all is a miracle. That we came to prosper is, for those who endured those awful times, beyond comprehension. Amazingly enough, Camelot, for most, will come to be the paradise we dreamed of. But a new generation is growing up, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars. Setting out for the mainland, these rebellious men and women are bent on exploration, ready to fight any Grendels that get in their way, indifferent to their parents' past. On the mainland called Avalon, however, there are monsters that dwarf the ones their parents fought, and as the young people will learn, monsters also dwell in the human heart. For Avalon does not give up her secrets easily, and some of those mysteries are wicked as sin, blacker than the grave.

This funny and insightful science fiction classic introduces Shoogar, the greatest wizard ever known in his village. His spells can strike terror in the hearts of even his most powerful enemies. But the enemy he faces now is like none he has ever seen before. The stranger has come from nowhere and is ignorant of even the most basic principles of magic. But the stranger has an incredibly powerful magic of his own. There is no room in Shoogar's world for an intruder whose powers match his own, let alone one whose powers might exceed his. So before the blue sun can cross the face of the red sun once more, Shoogar will show this stranger just who is boss.

Ringworld: the most stunning artifact in known space, an articficial world with three million times Earth's surface area. Who built it? And where are they? In this stunning sequel to Larry Niven's Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel, Louis Wu (now a near-hopeless lirehead hooked on electrical ecstasy), the aged Kzin warrior, Speaker-to-Animals, and the Hindmost, puppeteer mate of mad Nessus, return to Ringworld. Their aim is to prevent cataclysm. IN the process, they find themselves learning Ringworld's incredible secrets...