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Man-Kzin Wars XI
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Average Customer Rating: (12 reviews)

Reviews from Amazon customers:

Review by: Joy V. Smith, Lakeland, FL United States
Rating:
So many fascinating characters!
There are six good stories in XI. The first three are by Hal Colebatch. Three at Table was suspenseful with intriguing characters and a satisfying ending. Grossgeister Swamp was scary; I certainly wasn't expecting those aliens, and I enjoyed meeting Karan. Vaemar learned a lot on that trip... Catspaws was also challenging for everyone involved--humans and aliens. I enjoyed meeting Leonie (the explanation for her survival was a great idea!), Dimity, Guthlac, Raargh, Cumpston (whom I've always liked) Karan, Big John, Gale, et al again. Good save by Dimity... The Protectors are so scary! Also, the Morlocks. <br /> <br />Teacher's Pet and War and Peace are by Matthew Joseph Harrington. I love Peace Corben! Her early adventures were fun, and then ... Interesting companions; the relationships are well done. I liked Buckminster in War and Peace too. And the two related scenes with Peace and then Buckminster hopping up and down really tickled me. (Readers, I don't want to reveal too much and spoil it for you. You have to read it for yourselves.) The only thing I didn't like about War and Peace was the fact that four pages (separate) were black with ink and almost impossible to read. I hated to miss what was happening because I was so caught up in the story. I will look for another copy so I can reread it completely. <br /> <br />The Hunting Park by Larry Niven was an interesting change of pace. A safari of kzin in Africa on Earth ran into unexpected problems. Great last line--what the kzin thought about humans. <br /> <br />I really would like a companion volume for this series.

Review by: Monkey, Seattle
Rating:
Man Kazin Wars XI excellent
This was one of those books that got read a couple of times in succession. The book covers a small time on wonderland, where the Man Kzin war is over with, and how both humanity and Kzin try to live together on what was once a battlefield. The central character is a Kzin, who is being trained and groomed to help run the Kzin survivors on the planet so that they can learn to co-exist with humans, rather than how it had been in the past, where the Kzin were the masters. <br /> <br />The book takes place over an unspecified period of time with flashbacks to war time wonderland and post war wonderland, we also get to have a great story towards the end with a protector and how that also influenced a later man Kzin war. Overall, the stories are rich and rewarding to read, with a lot of detail to pick up (making rereading a must to pick up the nuances). There are interesting viewpoints and commentary on how to integrate a planet after a major war. There is a great balance in the stories, and how all the stories work well together. The protector story is by far the longest and the most in-depth of all the stories to read. Probably the most entertaining is the second one, Grossgeister Swamp, as it also looks at one of the other races the Kzin have taken into service and as lunch. <br /> <br />Overall this is a 5 of 5 book, with a needed reread to pick up on some of the story that is very deep in how it is presented. <br /> <br />

Review by: Brendan T. Walsh, Western Washington
Rating:
War in Known Space?
Three new short stories from Hal Colebatch, two from a new M-K-Wars author, and a rare new story from Larry Niven himself. This is an excellent addition to the M-K-Wars series. With five engaging stories, and well developed characters, it's easy for a dedicated fan to get lost in this book.

Review by: Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI USA
Rating:
Larry Niven's Man-Kzin characters are brought to renewed life
Larry Niven's Man-Kzin characters are brought to renewed life in Hal Colebatch, Matthew Harrington and Larry Niven's MAN-KZIN WARS XI, a collection of stories which includes a new story by Niven and others expanding the Man-Kzin Wars series. Here a secret agenda affects a safari even as a woman lands on a plague world only to find something even more dangerous than plague. Familiarity with Niven's Man-Kzin series lends a special appreciation to this book.

Review by: Jas B, Bellevue, WA
Rating:
Skip the Hal Colebatch stories
Niven, of course, is great. How did Hal Colebatch get included. He knows nothing of soldiers or professional warriors, and his depictions of such are just stupid. The first story almost made me chuck out the whole book. I'm glad I didn't but honestly, Colebatch must be Niven's nephew or something. He can garner zero credibility for action/adventure-type sci-fi. His characters and their relationships (huh?) are really shallow. But if you like to read about people doing one stupid thing after another to cause their own demise and then pulling through due to even more stupidity on their part, you'll love Colebatch's stories. Better yet, skip Colebatch's stuff and read the good ones.