Destroyer of Worlds
	Release Date: 2009-11-10
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Average Customer Rating: (15 reviews)

Reviews from Amazon customers:

Review by: R. Albin, Ann Arbor, Michigan United States
Rating:
OK
The latest installment in a seqeuence set in Niven's Known Space universe. The basic idea is that an explosion of the Galactic Core is driving advanced civilizations out of the Core into the Galactic periphery. The ensuing conflicts are the background for these stories. This book, like its predecessors, involves a number of characters and events described in some of Niven's prior work. This time Lerner and Niven bring in the Pak-Protector species. The recycling of characters and plot elements is probably interesting for Niven's devoted fans but the lack of novelty detracts from the quality of the series. In terms of plot, character development, and quality of writing, this book is unexceptionable for this sub-genre. My prediction is that the next book in this sequence will involve Niven's most famous creation, the Ringworld.

Review by: David A. Lessnau, USA
Rating:
Very Good "[noun] of Worlds" Book
"Destroyer of Worlds" is the 3rd of Niven's & Lerner's "Before the Discovery of the Ringworld" set of books (Fleet of Worlds, Juggler of Worlds). The writing and tone are very similar to that of "Fleet of Worlds" (and, thus, better than that of "Juggler of Worlds" -- but there's no way to get to this book without having read "Juggler"). Overall, I found the book well-paced, interesting, and enjoyable. But, I do have a few quibbles with it. First, though the main plot does get tied up, it doesn't feel like a very satisfactory solution (it's a bit abrupt, given what it took to get there). Second, there are several other plot elements that are just left hanging (I wish authors would write self-contained, complete books and let their writing abilities and their universes bring readers back on their own accord). And, finally, I don't understand why the authors ignore the tremendous tactical advantages a hyperspace jumping ship would have over regular space ships in a battle. It just seems to me that dropping out of hyperspace with a high relative delta-v to another ship, dropping a rock on an intersecting path, popping back into hyperspace after a couple of microseconds in regular space, and then repeating the process as needed is a pretty obvious and strong capability. But, those are fairly small problems considering that I highly enjoyed reading the book. So, I still rate the book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5. If you liked "Fleet of Worlds," you should like this one.

Review by: Arthur W. Jordin, Smyrna, GA USA
Rating:
The Pak Are Coming
Destroyer of Worlds (2009) is the third SF novel in the Worlds subseries, following Juggler of Worlds. In the previous volume, Sigmund realized that he was no longer paranoid. Nessus went to the Outsiders and Sigmund found him there. Achilles tried to destroy a world and Baedecker stopped him. Faithful Penelope wore hot pink. <br /> <br />In this novel, Sigmund Ausfaller is a professional paranoid. Initially a midlevel financial analyst within the UN, he was recruited into the Amalgamated Regional Militia. ARM agents are treated to become paranoid; he, on the other hand, had to be treated to become sane. <br /> <br />Eric and Kirsten are humans born on Nature Preserve 4, now known as New Earth. They were scouts for the Citizens, but now work for Sigmund. <br /> <br />Nessus is a Puppeteer. He is unsane, for normal Citizens are much too cowardly to travel into space. Yet his unsanity is valuable to the Concordance, for it needs scouts to explore the dangers of space. <br /> <br />Baedeker is a Puppeteer. He is unsane, but not as much so as Nessus. For example, he doesn't trust anyone who is not a Puppeteer and at times not even his fellow Citizens. <br /> <br />Er'o is a Gw'o, a five-limbed sapient shaped somewhat like a starfish. He is an element of a sixteen member merge called Ol't'ro. With their tentacles interconnected, they think as one mind. <br /> <br />Thssthfok is a Pak Protector. At first he had been a Breeder, but he ate tree-of-life root upon becoming old enough. The virus changed him into the protector form and he lives only to protect clan Rilchuk. <br /> <br />In this story, Thssthfok is part of a Protector group checking nearby stars for possible colonization. He is drilling core samples through the ice when the recall is passed to him. Apparently all Protectors are being recalled to Pakhome. <br /> <br />The galactic core has exploded and Pak are fleeing from the spreading wave front. Rilchuk has few ramjets, so they make a deal with a clan in the asteroid belt to rescue their kinfolk. Then they join the exodus away from the galactic center. <br /> <br />Sigmund, Eric and Kirsten are going to Jm'ho in response to a message from the Gw'oth. Sigmund has convinced Baedeker to come along. Upon reaching the system, the Gw'oth contact their ship directly via a comm laser and they agree to meet at the place where the normal space radio was located. <br /> <br />The Gw'oth have detected the oncoming Pak starships. Sigmund decides to check out the ships. Er'o asks for the Gw'oth to go along and Sigmund agrees. <br /> <br />They discover that the slower-than-light ships are destroying advanced civilizations along the flight path. The Pak destroy possible dangers before they can cause any harm. And the Fleet of Worlds and Jm'ho are inside the flight path. <br /> <br />The Puppeteers are faced with possible extinction. Naturally, the Citizens first think of flight, but their worlds are moving too slowly. So they decide to hide and hope that the influx of destroyers will not notice them. <br /> <br />The New Worlders are willing to fight, but have few starships. Of course, the Puppeteers are not willing to provide such ships to them. After all, the humans on New World are a nearby menace. Even Nessus cannot persuade the Hindmost to equip the New Worlders. <br /> <br />Baedeker is mostly concerned with the Gw'oth. These aliens learn much too fast. They have gone from living under the ice to moving between the planets in only a generation or two. <br /> <br />This tale leads Sigmund and his company into an expedition to a world passed by the Pak spaceships. There they find Thssthfok, stranded among the natives and trying to raise their technology to the level of ramjet starships. The natives try to destroy the New Worlder ship, but Sigmund and Eric manage to capture Thssthfok. <br /> <br />Sigmund expands his knowledge of Known Space in this story. The next installment -- Betrayer of Worlds -- might take him back to Earth. Read and enjoy! <br /> <br />Highly recommended for Niven & Lerner fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of spaceflight, alien cultures, and paranoiac agents. For anyone unfamiliar with this subseries, the initial volume is Fleet of Worlds. <br /> <br />-Arthur W. Jordin

Review by: Jan B. Hertzsch, Falls Church Va. USA, Sol, Milky Way
Rating:
Good Story.
Liked the book. I actually went back and looked for the prequel by these authors but it does not seem to be on Kindle. Pity. I recommend this book.

Review by: Roger J. Buffington, Huntington Beach, CA United States
Rating:
The Magic Goes Away
Larry Niven was one of my favorite SF authors in the mid to late 1970s. Interesting speculations about the impact of technology on human society, and interesting alien races were two of the strengths that characterized his writings. The Beowulf Schaeffer series, the ARM series (Gil Hamilton) and yes, even Ringworld, were solid SF triumphs by Niven. <br /> <br />But in the 1980s and later, Niven's writing changed, and not for the better. Part of the problem seems to be that every single thing he writes is in collaboration with some other SF author, and I really wonder how much of these titles are written by Niven. Perhaps not much, given the lack of zip that almost all of Niven's offerings of the past two decades have had. <br /> <br />This novel is no exception. It is lifeless and slow-moving. Pursuant to many other novels and short stories that Niven published, the Galactic Core is exploding, and the Puppeteers are moving out of the Galaxy at lightspeed. Other races are following, this time the xenophobic Pak. That is what this story is about. The novel meanders along while the protagonists try to figure out what to do about the Pak, who are threatening the Puppeteer worlds and the world of New Terra, a human client world of the Puppeteers. More would be telling, but really there is not much to tell. If the G'wok were as intelligent as this novel makes them out to be, they would solve this problem before breakfast. Highly implausible. <br /> <br />I gave this one two stars. Three would have been dishonest from my perspective. I respect that some of the other reviewers here have been kinder, but I cannot be. RJB.