7941 9f0fd9d7-9d0a-4b01-b6e5-21f11a4c90ea Scatterbrain Larry Niven calibre (0.9.26) [http://calibre-ebook.com] 2002-12-31T05:00:00+00:00 <div><h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>Scatterbrain</em> is an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink collection of writings from award-winning science fiction master Larry Niven. Perhaps best known for his novel <em>Ringworld</em> and <em>Three Books of Known Space</em>, Niven is a highly versatile writer with a lengthy and notable history. <em>Scatterbrain</em> includes excerpts from his more recent novels and short stories, as well as letters, editorials, and other non-fiction pieces he's written over the past decade or so. This collection will particularly appeal to Niven fans who've read the writer's previous collections, <em>N-Space</em> and <em>Playgrounds of the Mind</em>. </p><h3>From Booklist</h3><p>The title appropriately describes the book, and Niven claims it also describes him, at least when he is creating mental playgrounds. Certainly, this is as eclectic a volume as Niven has ever issued. It includes excerpts with comments from novel collaborations with Jerry Pournelle (_The Burning City_, 2000, and <em>Burning Tower</em>, forthcoming) and Steve Barnes (_Saturn's Race_, 2000) and a story cowritten with Brenda Cooper that throw light on collaborators and the dynamics of collaboration. There are also several short stories, including "Procrustes," about aging Niven creation Beowulf Schaeffer, and "Smut Talk," a Draco Tavern story originally and aptly published in <em>Playboy</em>. There is much literate space advocacy that avoids extremism, and in the epilogue, Niven's recovery from a torn knee tendon segues into a presentation to librarians on what they can do to encourage curiosity in young readers. Niven started writing during the original era of "the sense of wonder" (about space exploration); now he is readably, vigorously advancing a new one. <em>Roland Green</em><br><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p></div> B0006H8NVA HYbvbbBOqWUC 9780765301376 n/larry-niven/scatterbrain en Fiction Science Fiction Fantasy General Science Fiction; American Short Stories High Tech Horror Short Stories (Single Author) Authors; American Comics & Graphic Novels