Destiny's Forge (Man-Kzin Wars Series)
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Average Customer Rating: (18 reviews)

Reviews from Amazon customers:

Review by: Benjamin B. Pease
Rating:
Cat Scratch Fever!
This was the first Man-Kzin Wars book I read, and I was thoroughly impressed. The plot is dramatic and engaging from the get-go, with dynamic and interesting characters throughout. I especially liked the detailed descriptions of Kzin society and social behaviour. Some have criticized this work for being overlong, but I never found myself getting bored with the brisk pace and compelling weave of the story. Without a doubt, I would declare this book to be the Magnum Opus of the series, as I don't see an adventure of this scale and scope being topped easily. It has something for everyone; military action, intrigues and palace plotting, romance, social/political commentary, with just enough of the fantasy element to enrich the overall tale without discrediting the basis in hard sci-fi. <br />By the end of this book you will probably finding yourself loving the Kzin as a species, and admiring the nobility and strength of honor in the residents of Kzinhome.

Review by: Steven J. Greenwald, North Miami, Florida United States
Rating:
Bloated, with horrid editing errors and a cliche plot
I gave this two stars because I actually finished reading this overlong book. Otherwise I have to class it with one of the worst books I have ever read. <br /> <br />The book has unbelievably sloppy editing, with many mistakes in continuity. For example, in one scene a character gets out of a pool and dries himself off with a towel and then moments later hasn't left the pool yet (yes, I wrote the preceding deliberately and without any errors). These types of mistakes shocked me quite a bit until I realized that I would give good odds that some sort of fight erupted between the author and the editor because basic proofreading seems lacking. And to the publisher: for shame! <br /> <br />This really needed a lot of cutting. And I liked Heinlein's "I Will Fear No Evil" too (a book that he could not cut before publication due to an illness and who many critics think way too long). So if I think it needed tightening up it then it needed it. A lot. It read like the editor didn't exist at all. Maybe he didn't. <br /> <br />The writing plods. The plot enters the realm of the utterly predictable and boring. The Kzinti act like people (exotic people, but still people and not Kzinti). Niven hands over one of the most interesting aliens in Known Space to this writer, and he turns them into people from Dune, in effect. <br /> <br />I cannot even believe all the stuff ripped off from Dune, with the serial numbers filed off and repackaged as new. Just appalling. And the very amateurish style does not help; the sex scenes, in particular, just seemed sophomoric and embarrassing, as if a 12 year old virgin wrote them. The author has a particular problem with writing realistic dialog. <br /> <br />Did I mention his problem handling action? He had a basic repertoire of about four methods for Kzinti to dispatch each other when they fought and which he used almost exclusively. Boring. <br /> <br />I could make a large list of the inconsistencies present in this book, but if anyone actually decides to read it they can make up their own list and maybe get some credit on a book report or something. <br /> <br />Still, I finished this damnably long book, even though I could easily predict the ending (and much else) after about 100 pages into it. So I gave it two stars for that, instead of the one star that a boring, predictable, and poorly written novel deserves. But I did come very close to not finishing it. <br /> <br />I kind of wish I hadn't finished it, because I expected the ending to go on a little longer than it did. A short epilog would have improved things immensely. but I now see that the writer lacked the ability to "win the peace" and wrap things up in an interesting way at the end. <br /> <br />What I want to know: the author, I can forgive, up to a point; clearly he doesn't know any better. But what about the publisher and especially the editor? What happened with them? How could an editor not even do basic proofreading? <br /> <br />Oh, and the lack of chapters didn't help either. I suspect, again, some issue that the publisher had (trying to save paper?) and therefore removing the chapter headings, etc. I found that very annoying. And the pretentious sayings all over the place that purport to come from Kzinti sages just pained me (well, maybe this explains why they always lose). Worse, instead of feeling sympathy for the Kzinti, as I feel certain the author wished, I actually wanted to see them totally exterminated (unusual for me, to say the least). <br /> <br />Oh, well, why go on? Unless you just *have* to read a novel involving the Kzinti, I recommend you avoid this stinker. To the author: keep trying, but get yourself a good editor next time. Please.

Review by: Karen : ), NC
Rating:
this novel will suck you in...
This novel actually gives a great deal of backstory on Kzinti history & culture. it fills in a lot of the gaps that i wanted to know in prior Man-Kzin stories. if you are a fan of this series, you MUST read this book! i'm reading it for the 3rd time and STILL can't put it down! it is that good! anyone who says it's not worth it wouldn't be satisfied by ANYTHING published--EVER. <br /> go ahead and buy it--you WON'T be disappointed!!! <br />~karen ;)

Review by: Kris A. Buehler, Denver
Rating:
The best of the bunch
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!!!!!!!!!

Review by: Nathan Weyer
Rating:
"Enterprise" of the Niven Universe.
This book read more like a glorified fan-fic then a real franchise book. Flat characters that had to beat you over the head with their stereotype premise, early revelations of 'shocking' discoveries, reuse of noted keywords from other books to catch fans, etc. I also have no idea how this can fit back into the Known Space universe timeline since it introduces the Luck Psis and sentient Kzin females early. And of course throwing in a 'in the news' buzzword or two like frame dragging. <br /> <br />The Kzin come out of this book having lost any even vague plausibility and end up coming off as Klingon clones with a few extra zeros added to their civilization. <br /> <br />The author also doesn't seem to know what slingshotting is or what the effects of hard vacuum on tissue actually are. <br /> <br />All in all, I guess it's an ok science-fantasy book taken outside of the existing Known Space timeline. Lots of action, fighting, blood, etc... which if that is what you primarily look for in sci-fi it can be a good read. But if you are looking for character development, hard sci-fi concepts, or world building, look elsewhere. Niven's collaboration with Brenda Cooper might be a better choice there.