7816 522aecd6-143b-4791-9931-27b239b9b19f The Integral Trees Larry Niven Michael Whelan calibre (0.9.26) [http://calibre-ebook.com] 1984-03-12T04:00:00+00:00 <div>For five centuries they had survived, descendants of the mutinous crew of the starship Discipline. The Smoke Ring is all they know: an immense gaseous envelope formed around a neutron star and inhabited by free-fall life forms. Slowly, they begin the long climb from barbarism.<h3>Review</h3>''Niven's masterly use of sf strategies once more hits every note, springing surprises and plot turns with dizzying pace.'' --Los Angeles Times ''Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get . . . This is certainly classic science fiction--the idea is truly the hero.'' --Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''A complex plot, involving spacecraft sent out from Earth to prepare star systems for colonization; makes the story extremely interesting.'' --AudioFile ''Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get . . . This is certainly classic science fiction--the idea is truly the hero.'' --Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''A complex plot, involving spacecraft sent out from Earth to prepare star systems for colonization; makes the story extremely interesting.'' --AudioFile ''Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get . . . This is certainly classic science fiction--the idea is truly the hero.'' --Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''A complex plot, involving spacecraft sent out from Earth to prepare star systems for colonization; makes the story extremely interesting.'' --AudioFile<h3>From the Inside Flap</h3>?Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get. . . . This is certainly classic science fiction?the idea is truly the hero.? ?Asimov?s Science Fiction Magazine* When leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline was prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided (and secretly spied upon) by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. But what they weren?t prepared for was the smoke ring?an immense gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free-fall. When Discipline* encountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis. Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children. <ul><li>*</li></ul></div> Ballantine Books 0345460367 ChhbAAAAMAAJ 9780345312709 eng Fiction Science Fiction General Science Fiction; American Adventure Neutron Stars Nonfiction - General Space Colonies Non-Classifiable Reduced Gravity Environments