The Man Kzin Wars (Man Kzin Wars, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Larry Niven (Author), Poul Anderson (Author), Dean Ing (Author)

Book Description

Series: Man-Kzin Wars | Publication Date: January 31, 1991

At the dawn of interstellar exploration, an unarmed human vessel was attacked by a warship of Kzinti, the fiercest warriors in Known Space. That was a fatal mistake for the Kzinti, of course. . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

." . . grimly funny . . . irony and heroics. . . ." --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Baen (January 31, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671720767
• ISBN-13: 978-0671720766
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,597,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Man Meets his Match!, June 8, 2000

By 

Richard Rivera (Plantation, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Kzin Wars (Man Kzin Wars, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to warn readers of this novel! You will become addicted! Prepare yourself to buy all books in the Man Kzin war series!

Humankind is still in the infancy of type 2 civilization and is still lumbering around in Reaction Mass Relativistic Starships, not having discovered how to manipulate gravity yet. At least we have learned to control our own predatory inclination toward war. Or so we thought.

In the middle of nowhere, humans encounter a technological race. Assumptions about star faring civilizations nearly cost us our hides, literally. The Kzin are not only aggressive, they are carnivorous. Man learns war all over.

Larry Niven uses the concept of parallel evolution to create a world in which the Great Cats, not primates, evolve into intelligence. The Kzin bring back the ancient battle between primitive man and the saber tooth. and the excitement of the hunt.. Only this time the cat has Gravity Polarizer starships! This novel is only the beginning of the fun! read on!

Niven does not use a progressive time line in his novels. These are individual, albeit connected stories of the Man Kzin Wars. The characters might or might not know or associate with one another, and the series encompasses long periods of time.

But once you read the first book, and get hooked on the rest, You will never look at kitty the same way again!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, May 21, 2000

By 

Les Baldwin (south charleston, WV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Kzin Wars (Man Kzin Wars, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book, the publisher did a poor job of manufacturing the book, the cover came off and the book came apart prior to finishing the book. The content was excellent however.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting the First Chapter, March 29, 2008

By 

Richard Schneider (Catonsville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Man-Kzin Wars (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a reissue of the first short-story incursion into this world by Larry Niven, complete with a retrospective introduction, in which Larry reflects on how much his "universe" has grown in detail and characterization since that story first saw the light of day. Still thoroughly enjoyable, with believable characters on both sides of the species divide. Coupled with the original Niven story are two more stories, contrubutions to the genre by Poul Anderson and Dean Ing, two master craftsmen of the Sci-Fi art. A thoroughly enjoyable trip to alternate reality.