Customer Reviews

A Darker Geometry: A Man-Kzin Novel

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I have read all works in Known Space save that which is not yet available in paperback. This is one of the few titles that was a disappointment. As others have mentioned, it does get off to a good start. Things get a little bit odd, though, and I found myself pushing myself through to get to the ending. The ending was the biggest let down.

Before I talk about why the ending was such a let down, I should mention something about this work. Most of this novel already appears as a part of "Man Kzin Wars VII." The last portion of the novel is the only portion that appears only in this printing, and it contradicts some of what is known about Niven's Known Space. Even with that contradiction, the ending doesn't serve as a satisfying way to end this particular story, which means those who aren't familiar with the Known Space world will probably be less disappointed with it than those that are.

My advice to Known Space fans is to pick up "Man Kzin Wars VII" instead of this. You'll get two other stories, and the best parts of "A Darker Geometry" without the worst parts. If you aren't already familiar with Known Space, get the "Ringworld" novels, "Protector," "Three Books of Known Space," or some other work written by Niven himself that serves as a better introduction to a complex universe.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a slightly different universe than pure Known Space. I happen to like Benford, despite his slightly unpolished style compared to Niven, or compared to some of the other authors that contributed to Man-Kzin wars. (In particular, Mathew Joseph Harrington really nails it - check out "Peace" and "War and Peace" for the best Man-Kzin action to date - ties together Pak, Outsiders and more. HIGHLY recommended).

That having been said, I liked this book even more than the segment that appeared in the Man-Kzin series. If you have experience with Benford and can tolerate his foibles, get this book. If you are a known-space purist, just read the section that appeared in Man-Kzin Wars VII. Both are great, and the imagery of the earth ship fighting the three Kzin craft with a system-long directed spear of fusion flame is compelling.

This book promised to answer a lot of questions left hanging in Larry Niven's "Know Space" universe. On this score, it delivers. We learn more about the enigmatic Outsiders and their motivations, we learn more about the Pak and about the Puppeteers. We even learn a bit of explanation for the existence of the Ringworld. All of these make the book worthwhile. I just wish that the story which containted these snippets of information had been more enjoyable.

The story concerns two people from Earth on a suicide mission headed for Wunderland to fight the Kzin. Along the way, they are abducted by Outsiders and used as pawns for the purposes of the outsiders who are themselves just pawns for other beings. It is in the telling of this story that much background for Known Space is filled in. The problem is that the story starts out well and then just gets more and more abstruse. While incorporating cosmological physics the story degenerates to metaphysics. Part of this is due to the nature of cosmology itself. It is a weird science. Much of it, though, is just because the story is entirely too strange to be enjoyed, at least by me.

Still, I did enjoy having the gaps filled in. It was not a wasted day.

I enjoyed this story very much. The answers it provides to many of the questions unanswered yet by Larry Niven are indeed covered, but per Mr. Niven's co-author Edward M. Lerner in both Fleet of Worlds and Juggler of Worlds, it is in Juggler of Worlds that will provide true answers about the Outsiders and the Pak. Since Larry Niven is co-author for this later tome, it clearly overrules A Darker Geometry. Accept the novel for it's entertainment, but do not consider it a part of Known Space's history.

A pretty decent Known Space story with some decent characters and an initially exciting premise leading to a letdown. Weak ending. Shine it on

The problem with this book is it "reveals" all the mysteries of Known Space back to before the Big Bang -- the ultimate spoiler. Worse, it's neither a very convincing or interesting set of revelations. A bad idea, with mediocre execution.

Though fairly new to SF I've read a lot of Benford
over the last year. This book though enjoyable is not up to the standard of works like Timescape or Across the Sea of Suns. The plot is somewhat confused beginning with the sort 'War In Space' I associate with the chessy SF I knew in my teen years. Then it branches off into broader notions of cosmology first explored in the Galactic Centre series and mixes in a love triangle in which 2 of the parties are different representations of the same person

A good read. If you enjoy Benford as I do, I think it's worthwhile

As I picked this book up off the shelf without prior knowledge to whatever fiction universe it belongs to, I must base my review solely on this book. In other words, other books in the "Known Space" series may very well be better, but I couldn't stand "A Darker Geometry".

The first three or four chapters are intriguing, and kept me reading. I must say I enjoyed the way life in space and the kzinti perspective were handled -- you really got into the minds of the characters for a while. However, incomprehensible nonsense such as the conversations between the "Outsiders" added absolutely nothing to the book, and probably took a lot away. Physics and philosophy bogged the story down rather than giving it flight. I barely made it through the book. The ending was also poor.

All in all, I think the only people I could recommend this book to are fans of the Known Space novels, or people with lots of free time to try and figure out the philosophical aspects of this book.