Customer Reviews

Destiny's Forge: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a long book that I planned to savour over a week of lunch hours. I wound up reading it cover to cover, just couldn't put it down. Great characters, amazing alien worlds, a very sophisticated plot. There are several nice easter eggs hidden in there for the true fan to find too. Good hard SF is rare these days, but this writer really did his homework and it shows. I put it up with Red Mars and Ender's Game. Highly recommended.

Larry Niven may have invented the Kzin, but Paul Chafe has revealed them. There is more brilliant imagination and invention in this novel than I have seen in almost any other story in the MKW series. The story starts fast, then picks up speed. I usually read novels in fits and starts, often taking weeks to finish them; this one I completed in less than a week, making preferential time for it over other reading and tasks. And I was sorry to see it end.

And Mr. Chafe, among other fine touches, draws in an element from the work of Cordwainer Smith. Bravo, Mr. Chafe! I am envious of your talent.

Highly recommended for any SF reader.

I have long loved the Man-Kzin stories but they developed a sameness about them in recent years. This book blows that away. It was compelling from the very first page and it takes a closer look at the Kzin than any previous work. It is a masterpiece of the series.

Most of the book takes place on the Kzin home world and the heir to the patriarchy is one of the central characters. His ancient dynasty has been undone in a coup and his only chance at restitution lies with the primitive Kzin who are assumed to have nothing to offer and a few human diplomats caught on Kzin at the wrong time. One of the human diplomats is a naval officer who hates the Kzin. Her attitudes change over time, though, and she becomes a hero of the Patriarchy.

This book fill in a lot of background but, mostly, it is fun to read. It is worth all 5 stars.

The previous reviewer's reference to "Dune" is absolutely correct; indeed, I would have given the novel four (4) stars if the plot and style were not so obviously Xeroxed from Mr. Herbert's classic. On the other hand, this is an entertaining work that will keep you occupied for a few days. I do question why Larry Niven has permitted other authors to adopt his creations; to each his own.

Back to "Dune" for some spice: one does get the feeling that we are in the midst of a remake, with Paul, Gurney and Duncan dressed in their best furs. The wholesome little nuggets of wisdom that precede the chapters may even have been proof read by a Bene Gesserit. I have not yet figured out who the old Reverent Mother is; however, I am sure she is wearing mink.

I do have a few serious (tongue in cheek) quibbles: A Kzin, albeit an intelligent, space faring mammal, does not seem suited to philosophical psycho-babble. For heaven's sake, he worships the Fanged God, not Kant or Spinoza. Kzinti are a species of direct action and had to have their more aggressive instincts bred out of them by the Puppeteers. Rather than listen to a Conserver, they would probably rip his throat out.

Finally, how can a warrior such as a Kzin be rendered utterly useless by the mating call of a female? Want to win a war? Scatter a few females, in heat, on the battlefield and your enemy will be distracted. ("Distracted" is a benign term; I am trying to be discrete, here.).

This is a pleasant book; however, some of the humor was not intended by the author.

This book is great...it's back to the quality the very best novellas from the Man-Kzin series. It gets into Kzin psychology as only the best of the M-K stories have. And it is a full novel length! And it is on the Kzin home world! And there are compelling new characters! (I got really tired of Robert Saxtorph)

And in addition while it fills in some holes and invents a few new concepts, it is not gratuitously re-writing the Known Space concepts as I felt some of the M-K stories were.

A great new book!

I've read the entire series, and this is easily the best. Now we know why a Kzin is a Kzin. The writing is superb and the character development is something we haven't seen before. Bravo!!!!!!!!!

It's a good book, but the review title says it all. There were times that I laughed out loud at the similarities. You have been warned.

I was halfway through this novel before I realized that it was a retelling of Dune set in the Man-Kzin Wars universe. Despite that, it was an excellent read. The story is epic and fits in well with other M-K stories. The Kzin can be one-dimensional in many M-K stories, but here they are more realistically portrayed as a varied civilization with well defined rules.

Funny how the previous reviewer mentioned Robert Saxtorph - Paul Anderson is my least favorite contributor to MKW series, and I find all of his MKW characters implausible in the context of when the stories take place (although Saxtroph is not the worst).

OTOH, Paul Chafe's characters and setting are superb, and his insights into Kzinti society are excellent. I am giving the book 4 stars because despite Chafe's attempts to justify it (see Prologue), Kzin ecology, and particularly tuskvors, are just plain impossible. No amount of photosynthesis will support herbivores THAT large and in THOSE numbers. In most books that would be a minor oversight, but in "Destiny's Forge" tuskvores are a large (pun intended) plot point, and spoil the book somewhat.

Larry Niven may not like this tale, or accepted the changes it put on his Kzinti construct, but this is a good tale and well worth living in that universe.