Tales Of Known Space

Before humanity discovers Ringworld, it must first survive Mercury, Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, organ transplantation, alien contact and several ingenious applications of physics that respectable people would ordinarily avoid. Tales of Known Space collects thirteen stories tracing nearly a thousand years of Larry Niven’s future history, from the early exploration of the Solar System to humanity’s increasingly complicated adventures among the stars.

The collection begins with “The Coldest Place,” set on the permanently dark side of Mercury. Unfortunately for the story, astronomers established shortly before its original publication that Mercury was not actually locked with one face towards the Sun. It was an early lesson in the dangers of writing hard science fiction: the universe may issue corrections before the magazine reaches its readers. The tale remains a fascinating starting point for both Niven’s career and his imagined future.

“Becalmed in Hell” takes explorers into the atmosphere of Venus, where survival depends upon machinery, cooperation and the hope that the spacecraft has not chosen this particular moment to develop personality problems. “Wait It Out” deals with an accident on Pluto and the remarkable lengths to which a stranded astronaut may go to remain available for eventual rescue. Known Space is an optimistic future, provided optimism is defined as believing somebody may find your frozen body within the next several centuries.

The Martian stories “Eye of an Octopus” and “How the Heroes Die” explore a colony where the environment is hostile, resources are scarce and interpersonal disputes cannot be resolved simply by moving to another neighbourhood. Niven’s settlers are engineers, scientists and fallible human beings required to make practical decisions in places where a small mistake becomes an obituary.

“The Jigsaw Man” introduces one of Known Space’s darker developments: advanced organ transplantation has made every healthy body extremely valuable as spare parts. Society responds by expanding the death penalty to cover increasingly minor crimes, because governments have always been quick to discover moral principles that produce useful inventory. Medical progress has saved countless lives, although defendants may feel the allocation system lacks certain safeguards.

As humanity moves beyond the Solar System, the stories expand in scale. “The Warriors” presents the first encounter with the Kzinti, an aggressive feline species whose military doctrine is based largely upon confidence, appetite and the assumption that peaceful herbivores will be easy prey. The Kzinti are about to discover that humans did not become peaceful because they were incapable of violence; they became peaceful after accumulating extensive practical experience.

“The Borderland of Sol,” winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novelette, follows Beowulf Shaeffer and Carlos Wu as they investigate the disappearance of ships near the Solar System. It combines detective work, exotic technology and an astronomical weapon of unusual elegance, demonstrating Niven’s particular talent for turning a scientific concept into something that threatens everybody nearby.

Other stories examine anarchist parks, alien commerce, political deception and the considerable distance between a technology being advertised as safe and its actual behaviour under exceptional conditions. Throughout, Niven treats the laws of physics as both the foundation of the universe and an unusually well-stocked cupboard of plot devices. His characters survive by understanding how things work, ideally several minutes before those things kill them.

First published as a collection in 1975, Tales of Known Space includes Niven’s introduction, chronology and reflections upon the construction of his future history. The timeline helps place the stories within the larger sequence that includes Ringworld, Protector and numerous other novels and collections. It is an excellent entry point for newcomers and a useful piece of structural engineering for readers already wandering through Known Space without a map.

This 1980 Futura edition is in Good condition. It shows the ordinary signs of previous exploration but remains sound, complete and capable of travelling through another millennium without requiring replacement organs.

Sold by Crappy Old Books, where space is limited, knowledge is uncertain and all encounters with hostile alien cats are handled by the dispatch department.

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