New Releases by Larry Niven

THE LONG-AWAITED CONCLUSION OF THE HEOROT SERIES FROM GENRE LEGENDS LARRY NIVEN, JERRY POURNELLE, AND STEVEN BARNES Avalon was thriving. The cold sleep colonists from Earth had settled on a verdant, livable world. The fast and cunning predators humans named grendels were under control, and the mainland outposts well established. Avalon''s new mainland hydroelectric power station was nearly complete, and when on-line would compensate for the nuclear power systems lost in the Grendel Wars. Humans would have power, and with power came the ability to make all the necessities for life. They would survive. They would not survive as a spacefaring people. What they were losing faster than they knew was the ability to get to space. But unbeknownst to the planet-bound humans, something was moving out there in the stars, decelerating at a rate impossible for a natural object. And its destination was Avalon. The most probable origin was Earth''s Solar System. This is a novel of first contact—between the human Starborn and the self-named Godsons who followed on, between the first generation of Avalon born humans and their descendants, and between humans and the almost ineffably alien species native to their new world . . . . At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About prequel The Legacy of Heorot: "Page-turning action and suspense, good characterization and convincing setting . . . may be the best thing any of those authors has written.”—The Denver Post “Outstanding! …The best ever, by the best in the field . . . the ultimate combination of imagination and realism.”—Tom Clancy “Well written, action-packed, and tension filled … makes Aliens look like a Disney nature film."—The Washington Post “Spine-tingling ecological tale of terror.”—Locus About prequel Beowulf''s Children: "Few writers have a finer pedigree than those here . . . As one might suspect, Beowulf''s Children is seamless . . . absorbing, substantial . . . masterful novel."—Los Angeles Times "Panoramic SF adventure at its best."—Library Journal

"A Tor/Seven Seas paperbpack"--Colophon.

Scientists must stop nanites from driving an asteroid into Earth in this "brilliantly crafted . . . edge-of-the-seat thriller" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Twenty-five years ago, Doctor Toby Glyer and William Connors made a revolutionary breakthrough in nanotechnology. Their controversial nanites were capable of everything from miracle cures for the terminally ill to AI for asteroid-mining missions. But when the nanite-run Briareus mission to divert an Earth-crossing asteroid dropped out of contact soon after reaching its target, the entire program was shut down and the use of nanotechnology forcibly suppressed. Now a much, much larger asteroid is on a collision course with Earth—and the Briareus nanites may be responsible. While governments scramble to find a solution, Doctor Glyer knows that their only hope to avoid Armageddon lies in the nanites themselves. On the run, Glyer must track down Connors and find a way to make contact with their wayward children before a two-hundred-gigaton asteroid smashes into Earth. Will Glyer''s be Earth''s salvation, or destruction? Praise for The Goliath Stone "A fast read, filled with fascinating characters and mind-binding concepts. I should have worn a crash helmet." —Larry Bond, New York Times–bestselling author of Shattered Trident "A future so brilliantly rendered that it feels shockingly real. This stunning book is Niven at the absolute top of his game, a surefire award winner and fan pleaser." —Whitley Strieber, New York Times–bestselling author of The Grays "A rollicking good time." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "With witty dialogue and laugh-inducing prose, this is an incredible fun read, sure to entertain SF fans." — Booklist

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!

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.

The beginning of a hard sci-fi series , Deam Park is a visionary science fiction classic from Larry Niven and Steven Barnes A group of pretend adventurers suit up for a campaign called "The South Seas Treasure Game." As in the early Role Playing Games, there are Dungeon Masters, warriors, magicians, and thieves. The difference? At Dream Park, a futuristic fantasy theme park full of holographic attractions and the latest in VR technology, they play in an artificial enclosure that has been enhanced with special effects, holograms, actors, and a clever storyline. The players get as close as possible to truly living their adventure. All''s fun and games until a Park security guard is murdered, a valuable research property is stolen, and all evidence points to someone inside the game. The park''s head of security, Alex Griffin, joins the game to find the killer, but finds new meaning in the games he helps keep alive. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Allan Carpenter escaped from hell once but remained haunted by what he saw and endured. He has now returned, on a mission to liberate those souls unfairly tortured and confined. Partnering with the legendary poet and suicide, Sylvia Plath, Carpenter is a modern-day Christ who intends to harrow hell and free the damned. But now that he''s returned to this Dantesque Inferno, can he ever again leave? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

For too long, the Puppeteers have controlled the fate of worlds. Now Sigmund is pulling the strings... Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth''s secret weapon, humanity''s best defense against all conspiracies, real and potential - and imaginary - of foes both human and alien. Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others? He may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies. Nessus schemes in the shadows with Earth''s traitors and adversaries, even after the race he represents abruptly vanishes from Known Space. As a paranoid, Sigmund had always known things would end horribly for him. Only the when, where, how, why, and by whom of it all had eluded him. That fog has begun to lift... But even Sigmund has never imagined how far his investigations will take him - or that his destiny is entwined with the fates of worlds. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A brand-new novel set in Niven''s Known Space, two hundred years before the discovery of the Ringworld.

This retrospective collection of stories from all phases of Niven''s writing career is rich with gossip, storytelling vigor, and sheer science-fictional play.

The bestselling coauthors of Beowulf''s Children "have produced another compulsively readable, immensely enjoyable near-future yarn" ( Publishers Weekly). The future is a strange and dangerous place. Chaz Kato can testify to that. He is a citizen of Xanudu, a city-sized artificial island populated by some of the wealthiest men and women on future Earth. A place filled with hidden wonders and dark secrets of technology gone awry. Lenore Myles is a student when she travels to Xanadu and becomes involved with Chaz Kato. She is shocked when she uses Kato''s access codes to uncover the grizzly truth behind Xandu''s glittering facade. Not knowing who to trust, Lenore finds herself on the run. Saturn, a mysterious entity, moves aggressively to break the security breach. With the interests of the world''s wealthiest people at stake and powerful technology at Saturn''s fingertips, Lenore is in a race for her life, against a truly formidable foe. "A fast-paced cloak-and-dagger action adventure, this novel effortlessly moves from the depths of the ocean to the heights of VR to create a dazzling, seamless whole." — Publishers Weekly "Power struggles in a near-future world of privileged floating islands, desperate third-world billions, ninjas, intelligent dolphins, and sharks with arms and computer brains . . . Inventive and wide-ranging." — Kirkus Reviews

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 collection of stories set at the Draco Tavern, a bar in Siberia that caters to visiting aliens.

A "brilliantly conceived, funny" story cycle by the New York Times–bestselling author about a time-traveler''s quest to repopulate a far-future Earth ( Kirkus Reviews). Hanville Svetz was born into a future earth that matches the sorriest predictions of Greenpeace. With most of Earth''s original species extinct, Svetz travels back and forth in time retrieving them. And when he learns that Mars was inhabited, and how the sapient Martian species were wiped out, he foresees that Earth could soon fall victim to the same fate . . . In Rainbow Mars, multiple Hugo Award winner Larry Niven "combines an original novella and five related short stories revolving around the concept of time travel—with a fantastic twist. Known for his hard science and imaginative storytelling, Niven now illustrates his skill at offbeat seriocomic sf" ( Library Journal). "Niven''s masterly use of SF strategy hits every note, springing surprises and plot turns with dizzying pace." — Los Angeles Times

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...

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.

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

Following on from Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers, the ring is still home to many aliens, the puppeteer is still manipulating those he can, and Louis Wu must meet even more new challenges so that the hominid species can survive.

At last, all the Beowulf Shaeffer stories in one volume—plus a brand-new story and never-before-seen material linking them all together. Crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer has long been one of the most popular characters in Known Space. Now, for the first time ever, Larry Niven brings together all the Beowulf stories—including a breand-new one—in one long tale of exploration and adventure! Neutron Star Beowulf Shaeffer uncovers one of the puppeteers'' greatest secrets. At the Core Beowulf Shaeffer learns something that scares the puppeteers into fleeing Known Space. Flatlander Beowulf Shaeffer meets the love of his life and discovers a haunted planet. Grendel Beowulf Shaeffer solves a mystery, foils a kidnapping, and rescues an alien. The Borderland of Sol Beowulf Shaeffer stops a mass murderer and destroys the ultimate weapon. Procrustes An exciting new story in which Beowulff Shaeffer loses his head—literally. PLUS—an all-new framing story that pulls together all of Beowulf Shaeffer''s adventures and allows Shaeffer and his family to make a clean start at life once and for all!

Twenty-five years after the quarantine of the alien Moties within their own solar system, the walls separating them from the rest of the universe are beginning to crumble

Science fiction.

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel Four travelers come to the ringworld. . . Louis Wu: human and old; bored with having lived too fully for far too many years. Seeking a challenge, and all too capable of handling it. Nessus: a trembling coward, a puppeteer with a built-in survival pattern of nonviolence. Except that this particular puppeteer is insane. Teela Brown: human; a wide-eyed youngster with no allegiances, no experience, no abilities. And all the luck in the world. Speaker-To-Animals: kzin; large, orange-furred, and carnivorous. And one of the most savage life-forms known in the galaxy. Why did these disparate individuals come together? How could they possibly function together? And where, in the name of anything sane, were they headed?

To house the dying Earth''s inhabitants, a huge architectural ring is constructed in outer space. With gravity, an atmosphere, and a temperate climate, Ringworld gives humanity a new lease on life, but not without frightening consequences.