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Larry Niven


(Laurence Van Cott Niven)
USA flag (b.1938)

Born in Los Angeles in 1938, Larry Niven has been a full-time writer since leaving UCLA in 1963. A worldwide bestseller, he is best known for the legendary RINGWORLD series, which THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION called "the most energetic future history series ever written". A multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards, Niven was once named by Arthur C Clarke as his favourite author, and his rigorous scientific consistency has earned a reputation as the premier modern author of "hard" SF.
 

Awards: Nebula (2015), Prometheus (1992), Hugo (1976)  see all

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy
 
Series
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Ringworld
   1. Ringworld (1970)
   2. The Ringworld Engineers (1979)
   Guide to Larry Niven's Ringworld (1994) (with Kevin Stein)
   3. The Ringworld Throne (1996)
   4. Ringworld's Children (2004)
   5. Fate of Worlds (2012) (with Edward M Lerner)
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Moties (with Jerry Pournelle)
   1. The Mote in God's Eye (1974)
   2. The Gripping Hand (1993)
     aka The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye
continued in the series by J R Pournelle
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Inferno (with Jerry Pournelle)
   1. Inferno (1976)
   2. Escape from Hell (2009)
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State
   1. A World Out of Time (1976)
   2. The Integral Trees (1984)
   3. The Smoke Ring (1987)
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Magic Goes Away
   1. The Magic Goes Away (1978)
   2. The Magic May Return (1981)
   3. More Magic (1984)
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Dream Park (with Steven Barnes)
   1. Dream Park (1981)
   2. The Barsoom Project (1989)
   3. The California Voodoo Game (1991)
     aka The Voodoo Game
   4. The Moon Maze Game (2011)
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Heorot (with Steven Barnes and Jerry Pournelle)
   1. The Legacy of Heorot (1987)
   1.5. The Secret of Black Ship Island (2012)
   2. Beowulf's Children (1995)
     aka The Dragons of Heorot
   3. Starborn and Godsons (2020)
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Golden Road (with Jerry Pournelle)
   1. The Burning City (2000)
   2. Burning Tower (2005)
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Known Space (with Edward M Lerner)
   1. Fleet of Worlds (2007)
   2. Juggler of Worlds (2008)
   3. Destroyer of Worlds (2009)
   4. Betrayer of Worlds (2010)
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Bowl of Heaven (with Gregory Benford)
   1. Bowl of Heaven (2012)
   2. Shipstar (2014)
   3. Glorious (2020)
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Novels
   The Flying Sorcerers (1971) (with David Gerrold)
   Protector (1973)
   Lucifer's Hammer (1977) (with Jerry Pournelle)
   The Patchwork Girl (1980)
   Oath of Fealty (1981) (with Jerry Pournelle)
   The Descent of Anansi (1982) (with Steven Barnes)
   The Time of the Warlock (1984)
   Footfall (1985) (with Jerry Pournelle)
   Achilles' Choice (1991) (with Steven Barnes)
   Fallen Angels (1991) (with Michael Flynn and Jerry Pournelle)
   Destiny's Road (1995)
   Rainbow Mars (1999)
   Saturn's Race (2000) (with Steven Barnes)
   Building Harlequin's Moon (2005) (with Brenda Cooper)
   The Goliath Stone (2013) (with Matthew Joseph Harrington)
   The Seascape Tattoo (2016) (with Steven Barnes)
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Collections
   Neutron Star (1968)
   The Shape of Space (1969)
   All the Myriad Ways (1971)
   Inconstant Moon (1973)
   The Flight of the Horse (1973)
   A Hole in Space (1974)
   The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton (1976)
   Convergent Series (1980)
   Niven's Laws (1984)
   Limits (1985)
   Three Books of Known Space (1989)
   N-Space (1990)
   Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)
   Crashlander (1994)
   Flatlander (1995)
   Larry Niven Short Stories Volume 1 (2003)
   Larry Niven Short Stories Volume 2 (2003)
   Scatterbrain (2003)
   The Draco Tavern (2006)
   Stars and Gods (2010)
   Ringworld's Children / Fleet of Worlds (2016) (with Edward M Lerner)
   Madness from the Inconstant Moon (2017)
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Novellas and Short Stories
   Becalmed In Hell (1965)
   The Jigsaw Man (1967)
   Wait It Out (1968)
   Not Long Before the End (1969)
   Rammer (1997)
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Series contributed to
Man-Kzin
   1. The Man-Kzin Wars (1988)
   2. The Man-Kzin Wars II (1989)
   3. Man Kzin Wars III (1990)
   4. Man-kzin Wars IV (1991)
   5. Man-Kzin Wars V (1992)
   6. Man-Kzin Wars VI (1994) (with Gregory Benford)
   7. Man-Kzin Wars VII (1995)
   8. Choosing Names (1998)
   9. Man-Kzin Wars IX (2002)
   10. Wunder War (2003) (with Hal Colebatch)
   11. Man-Kzin Wars XI (2005)
   12. Man-Kzin Wars XII (2009)
   13. Man-Kzin Wars XIII (2012)
   14. Man-Kzin Wars XIV (2013)
   The Best of All Possible Wars (1998)
   Destiny's Forge (2005) (with Paul Chafe)
   Man-Kzin Wars XV (2019)
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Stellar Guild
   Red Tide (2014) (with Matthew Joseph Harrington and Brad R Torgersen)
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Graphic Novels show
 
Omnibus editions show
 
Books containing stories by Larry Niven
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Speaking of the Fantastic V (2024)
(Speaking of the Fantastic, book 5)
edited by
Darrell Schweitzer
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They're Here! (2023)
edited by
Hank Davis and Sean C W Korsgaard

More books 


Awards
2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
1992 Prometheus Award : Fallen Angels
1985 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel : The Integral Trees
1980 Locus Award for Best Collection : Convergent Series
1976 Hugo Award for Best Novelette : The Borderland of Sol
1975 Hugo Award for Best Short Story : The Hole Man
1972 Hugo Award for Best Short Story : Inconstant Moon [short story]
1971 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel : Ringworld
1971 Hugo Award for Best Novel : Ringworld
1970 Nebula Award for Best Novel : Ringworld
1967 Hugo Award for Best Short Story : Neutron Star [short story]

Award nominations
2011 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : The Best of Larry Niven
2008 Prometheus Award (nominee) : Fleet of Worlds
2001 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : Fly-by-Night
2000 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : Rainbow Mars
1998 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Destiny's Road
1997 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Ringworld Throne
1995 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : Crashlander
1994 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Gripping Hand
1992 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : Playgrounds of the Mind
1991 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : N-Space
1990 Hugo Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : The Return of William Proxmire
1988 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Smoke Ring
1988 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Legacy of Heorot
1986 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Footfall
1986 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee) : Limits
1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Footfall
1985 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Integral Trees
1984 Nebula Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Integral Trees
1983 Prometheus Award (nominee) : Oath of Fealty
1983 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Descent of Anansi
1982 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Oath of Fealty
1982 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Dream Park
1981 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Ringworld Engineers
1981 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Patchwork Girl
1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Ringworld Engineers
1980 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Ringworld Engineers
1980 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : Spirals
1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette (nominee) : The Locusts
1979 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : The Magic Goes Away [short story]
1978 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Lucifer's Hammer
1978 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Lucifer's Hammer
1977 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : A World Out of Time
1977 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Inferno
1976 Nebula Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Inferno
1976 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Inferno
1976 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Borderland of Sol
1976 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : ARM
1976 Hugo Award for Best Novella (nominee) : ARM
1976 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Inferno
1975 Nebula Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Mote in God's Eye
1975 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : The Mote in God's Eye
1975 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : The Mote in God's Eye
1974 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee) : Protector
1974 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Defenseless Dead
1974 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Protector
1973 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : What Good Is a Glass Dagger?
1972 Hugo Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Fourth Profession
1970 Nebula Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Not Long Before the End
1970 Hugo Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Not Long Before the End
1969 Hugo Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : All the Myriad Ways [short story]
1968 Nebula Award for Best Novelette (nominee) : Flatlander [short story]
1968 Hugo Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : The Jigsaw Man
1966 Nebula Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Wrong Way Street
1966 Nebula Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Becalmed In Hell


Larry Niven recommends
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Extinction (2024)
Douglas Preston
"The novel moves like a bullet, and I was hooked throughout. Preston's research and scientific acumen were especially impressive. He really puts you there in the scene and convinces you . . . this is happening! An amazing achievement."
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Hot Moon (2022)
(Apollo Rising, book 1)
Alan Smale
"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles."
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Space Station Down (2020)
Doug Beason and Ben Bova
"An awesomely realistic thriller."

More recommendations 


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