Man-Kzin Wars
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2022) |
Country | United States |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Military science fiction |
Publisher | Baen Books |
Published | 1988–2019 |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
No. of books | 17 |
The Man-Kzin Wars is a both the name of series of
Origins
The first story set in the Man-Kzin Wars, "The Warriors" (1966), was one of Niven's earliest published stories and one of the first of what would become his Known Space series. Niven did not consider himself qualified to write war stories; therefore, although a number of his later stories referenced the Man-Kzin Wars, he never actually showed them. However, there was a large fan demand for stories covering the conflict, and a number of his author friends had shown interest in writing tales set in the time frame. Niven, therefore, allowed the Man-Kzin Wars to become a shared universe, starting with the 1988 release of The Man-Kzin Wars. Starting with volume three, Niven himself has composed several additional stories in the series, although the majority of content has been written by other authors.[2]: 508 [3]: 333 [4]: 179 [5]: 197 [6][7][8] The resulting series has also been described as a "franchise".[9]
Initially, there were only plans for two volumes. Niven, along with John Hewitt (one of the main writers for the
The series has continued to the current day (volume XV was released in 2019).[11]
The stories
Title | Published | Collected in | Written by |
---|---|---|---|
"The Warriors" | 1966 | Worlds of If; Tales of Known Space; The Man-Kzin Wars; Three Books of Known Space; The Best of All Possible Wars† | Larry Niven |
"Iron" | 1988 | The Man-Kzin Wars; Inconstant Star† | Poul Anderson |
"Cathouse" | 1988 | The Man-Kzin Wars; Cathouse†; The Houses of the Kzinti† | Dean Ing |
"Briar Patch" | 1989 | Man-Kzin Wars II; Cathouse; The Houses of the Kzinti | Dean Ing |
"The Children's Hour" | 1989 | Man-Kzin Wars II; The Children's Hour†; The Houses of the Kzinti | S.M. Stirling
|
"Madness Has Its Place" | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III; N-Space; Three Books of Known Space; The Best of All Possible Wars | Larry Niven |
"The Asteroid Queen" | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III; The Children's Hour | S.M. Stirling
|
"Inconstant Star" | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III; Inconstant Star | Poul Anderson |
"The Survivor" | 1991 | Man-Kzin Wars IV; The Space Opera Renaissance | Donald Kingsbury |
"The Man Who Would Be Kzin" | 1991 | Man-Kzin Wars IV; The Best of All Possible Wars | S.M. Stirling
|
"In The Hall of the Mountain King" | 1992 | Man-Kzin Wars V; The Best of All Possible Wars | S.M. Stirling
|
"Hey Diddle Diddle" | 1992 | Man-Kzin Wars V | Thomas T. Thomas
|
"The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine" | 1994 | Man-Kzin Wars VI | Donald Kingsbury |
"Trojan Cat" | 1994 | Man-Kzin Wars VI | Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford |
"The Colonel's Tiger" | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII; Centaurus : the best of Australian science fiction | Hal Colebatch
|
"A Darker Geometry" | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII; A Darker Geometry† | Mark O. Martin & Gregory Benford |
"Prisoner of War" | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII | Paul Chafe |
"Choosing Names" | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Larry Niven |
"Telepath's Dance" | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Hal Colebatch
|
"Galley Slave" | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Jean Lamb |
"Jotok"† | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Paul Chafe |
"Slowboat Nightmare" | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Warren W. James |
"Pele" | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Poul Anderson |
"His Sergeant's Honor" | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Hal Colebatch
|
"Windows of the Soul" | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Paul Chafe |
"Fly-by-Night" | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Larry Niven |
"One War for Wunderland" | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch
|
"The Corporal in the Caves" | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch
|
"Music Box" | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch
|
"Peter Robinson" | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch
|
"Three at Table" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch
|
"Grossgeister Swamp" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch
|
"Catspaws" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch
|
"Teacher's Pet" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"War and Peace" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"The Hunting Park" | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Larry Niven |
"Destiny's Forge" | 2006 | Destiny's Forge† | Paul Chafe |
"Echoes of Distant Guns" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"AQUILA ADVENIO" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch & Matthew Joseph Harrington
|
"The Trooper and the Triangle" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch
|
"String" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch & Matthew Joseph Harrington
|
"Peace and Freedom" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"Independent" | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Paul Chafe |
"Misunderstanding" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox
|
"Two Type of Teeth" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Jane Lindskold |
"Pick of the Litter" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Charles E. Gannon |
"Tomcat Tactics" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Charles E. Gannon |
"At the Gates" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Alex Hernandez |
"Zeno's Roulette" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | David Bartell |
"Bound for the Promised Land" | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Alex Hernandez |
"A Man Named Saul" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox
|
"Heritage" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"The Marmalade Problem" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch
|
"Leftovers" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
"The White Column" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch
|
"Deadly Knowledge: A Story of the Man-Kzin Wars" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch
|
"Lions on the Beach" | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Alex Hernandez |
"Treasure Planet" | 2014 | Treasure Planet† | Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox
|
"Sales Pitch" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Hal Colebatch
|
"Singer-of-Truth" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Martin L. Shoemaker |
"The Third Kzin" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Jason Fregeau |
"Excitement" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox
|
"Justice" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Jessica Q. Fox |
"Saga" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Brendan DuBois |
"Scrith" | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Brad R. Torgersen |
"Freedom" | 2020 | Freedom† | Hal Colebatch & Jessica Q. Fox
|
† Additional Notes:
- "Iron" and "Inconstant Star" were combined as a single collection, Inconstant Star, in 1991.
- "Cathouse" and "Briar Patch" were combined as a single collection, Cathouse, in 1990.
- "The Children's Hour" and "The Asteroid Queen" were combined as a single collection, The Children's Hour, in 1991.
- "A Darker Geometry" was expanded (an extra segment added to the end) and republished as a novel in 1996.
- "The Warriors," "Madness Has its Place," "The Man Who Would Be Kzin," and "In the Hall of the Mountain King" were collected as The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man-Kzin Wars in 1998.
- "Cathouse," "Briar Patch," and "The Children's Hour" were collected as The Houses of the Kzinti in 2002.
- "Jotok" was originally called "The Chosen One."
- In 2001, Annals of the Man-Kzin-Wars: An Unofficial Companion Guide was released. Written by Alan Michaud, it included illustrations, maps, histories of the Kzinti and humans, character biographies, and story descriptions. It covered the first eight volumes.
- Destiny's Forge is a single novel.
- Treasure Planet is a single novel.
- Freedom is a single novel.
Original books
Title | Published | ISBN | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
The Man-Kzin Wars | 1988 | ISBN 978-0-671-65411-5
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars II | 1989 | ISBN 978-0-671-69833-1
|
[12] |
Man-Kzin Wars III | 1990 | ISBN 978-0-671-72008-7
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars IV | 1991 | ISBN 978-0-671-72079-7
|
[13] |
Man-Kzin Wars V | 1992 | ISBN 978-0-671-72137-4
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars VI | 1994 | ISBN 978-0-671-87607-4
|
[14] |
Man-Kzin Wars VII: A Darker Geometry | 1995 | ISBN 978-0-671-87670-8
|
|
Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | 1998 | ISBN 978-0-671-87888-7
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars IX | 2001 | ISBN 978-0-671-31838-3
|
[15] |
Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | 2005 | ISBN 978-0-7434-9894-4
|
[16] |
Man-Kzin Wars XI | 2005 | ISBN 978-1-4165-0906-6
|
|
Destiny's Forge: A Man-Kzin Novel | 2007 | ISBN 978-1-4165-5507-0
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars XII | 2009 | ISBN 978-1-4165-9141-2
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars XIII[17] | 2012 | ISBN 978-1-4516-3816-5
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Man-Kzin Wars XIV | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-4516-3938-4
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|
Treasure Planet: A Man-Kzin Novel | 2014 | ISBN 978-1-4767-3640-2
|
|
Man-Kzin Wars XV | 2019 | ISBN 978-1-4814-8377-3
|
|
Freedom: A Man-Kzin Novel | 2020 | ASIN B084MNNF2G |
Reprints/Reworks
Title | Published | ISBN | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Cathouse: A Man-Kzin Novel | 1990 | ISBN 978-0-671-69872-0
|
|
Inconstant Star: A Novel of the Man-Kzin Wars | 1991 | ISBN 978-0-671-72031-5
|
|
The Children's Hour: A Man-Kzin Novel | 1991 | ISBN 978-0-671-72089-6
|
|
A Darker Geometry: A Man-Kzin Novel | 1996 | ISBN 978-0-671-87740-8
|
|
The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man-Kzin Wars | 1998 | ISBN 978-0-671-87879-5
|
|
The Houses of the Kzinti | 2002 | ISBN 978-0-7434-3577-2
|
|
The Man-Kzin Wars: 25th Anniversary Edition* | 2013 | ISBN 978-1-4516-3900-1
|
- The Man-Kzin Wars: 25th Anniversary Edition is a reissue of the first volume, The Man-Kzin Wars with a "Memoir" by Niven about the publishing of the series.
Plot summary
There are a total of four Man-Kzin Wars, as well as major and minor "Kzinti incidents". The First War began circa 2367. By this time, Human space was in the middle of the "Long Peace". ARM, the United Nations security forces, has completely suppressed all "dangerous" technologies, histories, mental illnesses, and media, leading to not only an end of the war and almost all violent crimes, but a change in society so vast that most people have a difficulty even conceptualizing such things.
The U.N.'s reach was limited to Earth, however. There were a number of other colonies in space, the most important being the Asteroid Belt, Wunderland, We Made It, Jinx, and Plateau.
First Man-Kzin War
The Kzinti, with vast technical superiority (including gravity drives,
In the course of the First Man-Kzin War, the Kzinti invaded and occupied the human colony of Wunderland, in the
At this point, a passing
Meanwhile, however, on Wunderland, now liberated by humans, several surviving Kzin, led by Vaemar-Riit, the last surviving kitten of Chuut-Riit, and with the cooperation of Dimity Carmody, Nils Rykermann, Leonie Rykermann, and other humans began to cautiously cooperate with humans and try to learn human ways. Vaemar-Riit even enrolled at a human university and obtained a reserve officer's commission. These became known as the Wunderkzin, and some later proved to be human allies. This slowly growing Man-Kzin cooperation was bitterly opposed both by many other Kzin and by many
The war ends in 2433 with the signing of the MacDonald-Rishaii Peace Treaty. The vast majority of the Man-Kzin Wars stories are set around the First War.
"The Peace"
Following the end of hostilities, the Human forces use their hyperdrive ships to initiate a blockade of all Kzinti worlds within range of Human space. The Kzinti of both
On Wunderland, an attempt is made to form a stable, democratic government. On Earth, although no one seriously believes the Kzin will stay away, the ARM returns to its old habits of trying to eliminate all knowledge and technology of war. We Made It continues to create hyperdrives, as the Human military forces attempt to reverse-engineer Kzinti gravity technology. They also attempt to locate and form an anti-Kzin alliance with the
A troika of unconventional officers –
The group devises two ways to help prepare the rest of the human military: A
Second Man-Kzin War
All information on the second war comes from the
Third Man-Kzin War
The Third War is mentioned in the
At the end of the war, the Wunderland Treatymaker weapon is used on the Kzinti fortress-world of Warhead, creating a huge, habitable canyon on the otherwise
Fourth Man-Kzin War
The war begins on an unknown date, with Kzinti suicide attacks on Epsilon Eridani. During the war, human adventurers engage in similar suicide attacks on Kzinti harems. The war ends in 2505 with the signing of the Covenants of Shasht, named after a Kzinti world which is annexed by Humans and later renamed Fafnir. The Kzinti are disarmed and restricted to police weapons only. This restriction was still in effect as late as 2657, as specified in The Soft Weapon.
Aftermath
Over the next decades and centuries, some Kzinti dream of another war, and go to great lengths (such as piracy, seeking
In the events of
Recurring characters
- Chuut-Riit — Leader of the Kzinti conquest forces occupying Wunderland.
- Buford Early — ARM general known for unorthodox tactics.
- Ulf Reichstein-Markham — Wunderland resistance leader and, eventually, traitor.
- Dimity Carmody — Interpreter of the alien hyperdrive manual.
- Nils Rykermann — Biologist on Wunderland, later resistance leader, later Wunderland politician.
- Rarrgh — Kzin soldier, later protector of Vaemar-Riit, later seneschal of Vaemar-Riit's palace.
- Leonie Rykermann — Wife of Nils Rykermann.
- Vaemar-Riit — Son of Chuut-Riit. Leader of the "Wunderkzin".
- Arthur Guthlac — Originally an Earth museum guard and illegal collector of forbidden militaria, later brigadier on UNSN General Staff.
Reception
The series has been described as one of the better-known works related to the theme of
Canonicity
This section possibly contains original research. (May 2022) |
Larry Niven has never specifically addressed whether or not these stories are part of the canon of Known Space stories. He has ruled A Darker Geometry as definitely non-canonical,[19] and the story is incompatible with Juggler of Worlds, which is co-authored by Niven and Edward M. Lerner. Conversely, Niven's story Fly-By-Night refers directly to, and summarizes, the events of Telepath's Dance, so it appears he considers that story canonical. The canonicity of other stories in the series is undetermined.
Many of the stories in the series have added details to Known Space and its history, details which may be incompatible with older stories in the canon (in particular, those written by Niven long before the Man-Kzin Wars series was published). The protagonist in Matthew Joseph Harrington's Teacher's Pet from Man-Kzin Wars XI, who has become a protector after landing on Home while fleeing from Kzinti, deduces several things that (at least at first glance) seem to be at odds with accepted canon - for example, that Puppeteers had been manipulating both humanity and the Kzin far more than anyone had previously thought.
In other cases, stories clearly contradict established canon. For example, various MKW stories state that Kzinti did not establish their own interstellar empire nor invent their own spacefaring technology. Instead, primitive Kzinti warriors were hired as mercenaries by the Jotoki, a species of interstellar traders, whom the Kzinti later overthrew and enslaved.
Yet, Niven's "The Soft Weapon" states:
There had been a time, between the discoveries of atomic power and the gravity polarizer, when it seemed the Kzinti species would destroy itself in wars. Now the Kzinti held many worlds, and the danger was past.
However, "Jotok" suggests a possible compromise scenario. In that story, primitive Kzinti clans on the Kzin homeworld are being marginalized by advanced Kzinti who use atomic power and gravity polarizer-driven spacecraft. It is the primitives who are hired by the Jotoki, to use as mercenaries against the more advanced Kzinti.
References
- OCLC 277195989.
- ISBN 978-1-78033-704-3.
- ISBN 978-1-135-92374-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7884-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4408-3833-0.
- ^ "The Man-Kzin Wars by Larry Niven - Baen Books". www.baen.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- ^ "SFE: Military SF". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- ^ "SFE: Niven, Larry". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- .
- OCLC 55957354.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- ^ Miller, Paul (November 16, 1990). "THE KNOWN UNIVERSE". Jerusalem Post.
- ISBN 9781315581965. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Man-Kzin Wars VI. Booklist. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Man-Kzin Wars IX. Booklist. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Buxton, Jeremy (December 1, 2004). "Planet of the Felinoids [Book Review]". No. 48. Quadrant.
- Analog Science Fiction & Fact.
- ^ Wilcox, Clyde (1994-09-22). "Flights of Fancy: Armed Conflict in Science Fiction and Fantasy". Extrapolation. 35 (3): 261–263.
- ^ "Interview: as reported by Edward M. Lerner, Niven's co-author on two Known Space novels". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-11-29.}