Juggler of Worlds
	Release Date: 2008-09-16
	Amazon Price: $12.32 (51% off the list price of $24.95) Sales Rank: 239463
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Average Customer Rating: (24 reviews)

Reviews from Amazon customers:

Review by: Craig Peterson, Glendale, CA USA
Rating:
Even Better Together
This sequel to "Fleet of Worlds" expands the history of Niven's Known Space, focusing on the Puppeteers' flight from the exploding galactic core. Although much time is spent recapping events on Earth that were occurring during the events that take place in "Fleet of Worlds" (including some clever references to previous Niven stories involving Beowulf Shaeffer and others), the two threads are eventually brought together through ARM agent and natural paranoid Sigmund Ausfaller. To say more would give away some of the plot twists and turns that make this a highly entertaining read. Niven and Lerner collaborate seamlessly and to my mind, both benefit from this collaboration.

Review by: Teresa E. Tutt, Houston, TX United States
Rating:
Yes it revisits old stories, but...
...it is from a new perspective -ARM Agent Sigmund Ausfaller's viewpoint. And there is more new than old, despite what the negative reviewers say <br /> <br />To me, this is back to classic Niven as it explores the effects of technology on society, the ethics of alien cultures, and the age old question: Can one be paranoid *enough*? <br /> <br />Much better Known Space than the recent Ringworld or Man-Kzin War stories (done to *death* IMO). Very engaging and hard to put down. <br /> <br />Five Stars.

Review by: ringo, California
Rating:
Enjoyable Diversion
There comes a time in the career of a Science Fiction writer when they start winding down. They tie up loose ends, they mine the tailings of their previous works, they update their vision to include new real-world technologies, and (sometimes) they find an heir to take over their universe. Isaac Asimov did a spectacular job in the end-tying department, Anne McCaffrey is apparently planning a dynasty, and Arthur C. Clark's swan song was, frankly, painful to read (but that's another review). This book is such a work. <br /> <br />The book is part of a threesome - Fleet of Worlds, Juggler of Worlds, and the as-yet-unreleased Destroyer of Worlds. In it, we find Nessus, a long-time character in Niven's other books (here greatly expanded in depth), Simon Ausfaller, Beowulf Shaeffer, and a host of other well- and lesser-knowns. Newbies to Niven's work won't be totally lost, but will miss some of the more subtle craftmanship in the storytelling - the authors' multiple nods to previous plotlines is admirable. <br /> <br />The story and writing here is a bit choppy. Sometimes, one gets the sense that a bunch of half-finished short stories were haphazardly glued together, and, in one twist, a last-minute deus ex machina could have been much better integrated much earlier in the timeline. However, the characters are well explored, the plot isn't too absurd, and the writing is, for lack of a better term, still "Nivenesque". <br /> <br />I thoroughly enjoyed the book, warts and all. I eagerly await the last installment of the triad. That Niven is breaking in a new partner is clear. That this is and will be a fruitful collaboration is also.

Review by: Michigoon, Mid-MI
Rating:
End the hate!
After reading this book, I have a hard time seeing where all the hate has come from. This is a fine Niven book, and an excellent prequel to Ringworld in many aspects. It's not perfect, but then again Niven's writing has never been perfect, and I'll go into that later. <br /> <br />The book does feature quite a bit of "retreading" events discussed in "Fleet of Worlds" and elsewhere. Only instead of being a flat retread, you get to see these events from the perspectives of ARM agent Sigmund Ausfaller and other character that would be too spoilerific to detail. This perspective starts off a bit weak, but gets better and better as the book progresses until this character and the events he's wrapped up in actually get pretty riveting toward the end. <br /> <br />One might wonder how a book that starts off admittedly a bit dry garners a five-star review, and the answer lies in the fact that Niven has always been terrible at characterization. Ringworld is one of my favorite Science Fiction books of all time, but it is almost entirely about the technology of the Ringworld itself, and even the mighty Louis Wu is little more than a bit player in the grand scheme. Every character- even the relatively dimwitted Kzin- will drop all sense of character for pages to rant about some technology in a totally sterile narrator style. The book basically reads like a hard Sci-Fi version of a Star Trek engineering team ("That's a polymatrix inductor. It was built by Mr. X in 2535, and saw its first use on the planet Y in the Z nebula..." and so on). Juggler of Worlds (and its predecessor, Fleet of Worlds) actually builds some decent characters that do a fair job of staying in character. As with that previous book, I have to imagine this is the result of the partnership with Edward M. Lerner, and I'm happy to see that partnership continue if this is the result. <br /> <br />So what you get in this book is a bit of a retelling of the events in Fleet of Worlds and the Beowulf Schaeffer books/stories, but it's from a fresh perspective that gives you new insight into every event that unfolds. Towards the end, you also get quite a bit of new content that answers as many questions as it raises- and yes, there's already another book coming in this series. Personally, I'm looking forward to it. <br /> <br />I highly recommend this book to any Niven fan- just be aware it's a little lighter on the tech and heavier on characters this time around. This and "Fleet of Worlds" are essential to complete any Known Space collection. Anyone new to Known Space should start out on Fleet of Worlds at least, as you'll need much of that info to truly appreciate this book, or indeed someone new to Niven should really just start with Ringworld as many of us did and work around the series from there. This is an excellent book overall, and should appeal to people outside the normal circle of Ringworld devotees because of the character focus.

Review by: J. Wallis
Rating:
only for those who have read all of niven's other books
Partly retells many other Niven stories from a different viewpoint, with enough detail to give away the various plots, but not enough detail to actually enjoy the stories in their own right. Many spoilers. Not recommended for new readers of Larry Niven. OK but not great for Niven fans.