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Destroyer of Worlds Audiobook
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(3.04) - 622 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
This book is a prequel to the Ringworld series, which is considered a classic of the science fiction genre.
Two hundred years before the discovery of Ringworld
The newly liberated humans of the Fleet of Worlds now face a new threat besides the sly Puppeteers: the Pak, a very smart and utterly ruthless species who are fleeing the exploding galactic core in an armada of ships at near light speed. The Pak are headed toward the Fleet of Worlds, having destroyed entire planets in their wake. Sigmund Ausfaller, who had been transported by the Puppeteers from Earth to the Fleet, is now sent with his human allies to reconnoiter and divert the Pak. A Pak is captured, but even a well-guarded Pak prisoner can be lethal. Sigmund and the human colonists must cope with many unpleasant surprises between the manipulative Puppeteers, the brilliant, violent Pak, and a new species called the Gw’oth, who seem to be allies but have their own agenda.
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"Much better than I expected. I had pretty much given up on Niven, not having enjoyed the last several books of his that I read in the '90s. But I was quite entertained by this one. There's definitely something fascinating about Protectors, and I think anyone who remembers fondly the spooky Pak on the cover of the paperback Protector from the '80s will enjoy this one too."
— David (4 out of 5 stars)
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“An absorbing mix of problems and puzzles and conflicts, space battles and interrogations and negotiations, shot through with fresh takes on familiar tropes and themes. It more than holds its own in the Known Space canon, which ought to be recommendation enough.”
— Locus -
“The plethora of aliens and action will appeal to Niven stalwarts and fans of old-fashioned hard SF.”
— Booklist -
“Good, old-fashioned SF, packed with ideas, philosophical musings, and plenty of space action.”
— Library Journal -
“Old-fashioned cerebral science fiction, with a huge array of fascinating aliens, subtle interactions between them, and knotty problems for them to solve.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Destroyer of Worlds Listener Reviews
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" The Destroyer of Worlds started out much better than the last Fleet of Worlds book. But seriously a good book should not have me shouting "You have got to be fucking kidding me!!" every few chapters. At this point I feel the need to mention that I really like the writting of Larry Niven and have enjoyed his Known Space stories for years and years and years. But this book just anoyed me and I am glad I just borrowed the copy I read. There was so many digression into story areas that even the characters later said these digressions were a waste of time - if the charactes thought it was a waste of time perhaps that is trying to tell the author and readers something. The introduction of the Pak and the planet he was guiding started out so interesting, only to end with long interrogations that repeated more than once the same information. Not to mention escape attempt after failed escape attempt. I am seriously starting to wonder who that Super Pak was that we first encountered in the early Known Space stories. One Pak had guided earth making it so safe that Earth was almost lost to the Kzin on first meeting. It felt as if the Pak character was only introducted to padd out the story. This actually would have been ok from a story point of view except the authors introduced yet anothe character, the woman from Earth. But first we went through many pages that told us that it was not another usless character but the ship they found was actually contained the salvation of our heroes, instead it turns out to beanother person whom provides no useful information on how to find Earth. Oh yes we get even more pages with this book on reasons why our hero can not remember where to find Earth or any of the Human colonly worlds. Bleh - so much for getting my hopes up. "
— Ronald, 2/11/2014 -
" This one was much better than the last, but still not up to Niven's earlier work. I think he's past his "sell-by" date. I can't recall the last book he wrote on his own. For hard core Niven fans only. "
— David, 1/23/2014 -
" Easily the best of the series so far. Quite entertaining, good science, nice plot twists, and a cliff-hanger ending that actually leaves one wanting more. Hence having ordered the sequel before composing this review. "
— Gregory, 12/16/2013 -
" Best of the series. This one has the action, plot and aliens that I have come to enjoy for Niven. "
— Banner, 12/12/2013 -
" This is a prequal to Ringworld. It starts off slow but really picks up after a while. If you liked Ringworld, this is worth the read. "
— Isaac, 11/30/2013 -
" It was an excellent book that defined the characters superbly. "
— Bret, 11/28/2013 -
" While it's not classic Niven, it's always nice to revisit Known Space. It's where I got my start in sci-fi and it feels like coming home. "
— Reuben, 11/21/2013 -
" Niven is still worth reading although I cannot tell if the partnership has helped or hindered. Some glaring inconsistencies but better than TSA. "
— Bruce, 11/16/2013 -
" Good story that pulls in the pak. "
— Chris, 7/25/2013 -
" I really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely entertaining to read. I think the ending was kind of a surprise. I think the timespans could have been explained better. "
— Derek, 6/22/2013 -
" Ah, how nice it is to be back in an old familiar universe every now and again. Pak, Puppeteers and of course humans and all of the chaos that ensues throughout the boundaries of Known Space and beyond. Found the new aliens quite endearing, even up to and after the final "I'm sorry." "
— Jay, 5/26/2013 -
" Niven and Lerner have yet another book heavy on Astrophysics Theory... "
— Larry, 3/12/2013 -
" Good book in the series. I like seeing how all I learned about in the Ringworld's world/universe came to be... "
— Greg, 12/29/2011 -
" Fun read continuing the known space universe. "
— William, 11/18/2011 -
" One of the best books I have ever read. The third book of the before-Ringworld trilogy. "
— Art, 8/5/2011 -
" It was an excellent book that defined the characters superbly. "
— Bret, 4/18/2011 -
" Good story that pulls in the pak. "
— Chris, 4/17/2011 -
" Best of the series. This one has the action, plot and aliens that I have come to enjoy for Niven. "
— Banner, 4/13/2011 -
" While it's not classic Niven, it's always nice to revisit Known Space. It's where I got my start in sci-fi and it feels like coming home. "
— Reuben, 12/30/2010 -
" I really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely entertaining to read. I think the ending was kind of a surprise. I think the timespans could have been explained better. "
— Derek, 12/26/2010 -
" Good book in the series. I like seeing how all I learned about in the Ringworld's world/universe came to be... "
— Greg, 12/16/2010 -
" Niven and Lerner have yet another book heavy on Astrophysics Theory... "
— Larry, 5/14/2010 -
" Protectors and the Gw'oth make for an intellectually stimulating story! <br/>This one is much better than the previous book, Juggler of Worlds. "
— Gendou, 3/3/2010 -
" This one was much better than the last, but still not up to Niven's earlier work. I think he's past his "sell-by" date. I can't recall the last book he wrote on his own. For hard core Niven fans only. "
— David, 2/16/2010 -
" I?d been disappointed by the last Niven/Lerner team-up, but this one was pretty good. Some glaring--and uncharacteristic--stupidities on the part of characters weakened it, but overall, it wasn?t bad. "
— Kevin, 2/9/2010
About the Authors
Larry Niven is the multiple Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award–winning author of science fiction short stories and novels, including the Ringworld series, as well as many other science fiction masterpieces. His Footfall, coauthored with Jerry Pournelle, was a New York Times bestseller.
Edward M. Lerner worked in high tech and aerospace for thirty years, as everything from engineer to senior vice president, for much of that time writing science fiction as his hobby. Since 2004 he has written full-time. His novels range from near-future technothrillers, like Small Miracles and Energized, to futuristic mysteries, like The Company Man, to such traditional SF-adventure fare as Dark Secret and his InterstellarNet series. Collaborating with Larry Niven, he also wrote the space-opera epic Fleet of Worlds series of Ringworld companion novels. His 2015 novel, InterstellarNet: Enigma, won the inaugural Canopus Award “honoring excellence in interstellar writing.” His fiction has also been nominated for Locus, Prometheus, and Hugo awards. In shorter forms, his writing has appeared in anthologies, collections, and many science fiction magazines and websites. He also writes about science and technology, most notably including Trope ing the Light Fantastic: The Science behind the Fiction.
About Tom Weiner
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and is an Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.