The Draco Tavern: Library Edition by Larry Niven and Tom Weiner

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The Draco Tavern: Library Edition from Science Fiction

The Draco Tavern: Library Edition
Available from Amazon
Price: $35.55
Updated on 12-28-2008.

Features

Audio CD

Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (November 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0786159472

ISBN-13: 978-0786159475

Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches

Shipping Weight: 8 ounces ()

From Publishers Weekly
The cantina scene in Star Wars, as Niven (Ringworld) points out in his introduction, partakes of "a hoary old tradition," as do the 27 Draco Tavern stories in this solid SF collection. Most of the tales, set in the 2030s, are short-shorts, often reading like brilliant, half-whimsical notebook jottings. The inverted city carved out of the ice by ocean-dwelling creatures on Europa in "Playground Earth" could be the basis for a novel. Niven tosses it off in a sentence. Many of the best moments are similar hints: an overheard conversation about how an alien species casually denied humans immortality because the perception of death flavors human poetry ("Limits"). The most startling perspective of all comes from "The Green Marauder," in which a two-billion-year-old creature explains how the Earth was "ruined" by "pollution" long ago. These stories are best taken a few at a time, to savor their inventiveness without noticing the undeveloped characters or that, even for bar stories, there's sometimes too much chatter and not enough action. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Throughout an award-winning 40-year career, Niven has taken time out for brief layovers at his favorite interspecies watering hole, the Draco Tavern. Run by inimitable multimillionaire Rick Schumann in the middle of Siberia, where the enigmatic extraterrestrial Chirpsithra made first contact with humans, the saloon serves as trading post and chat room for aliens from every corner of the galaxy. Here Niven corrals all the Draco Tavern tales into one volume that consequently showcases his ability to use sf to explore mind-boggling, universal questions. In one story, the Chirpsithra reveal knowledge of a species that learned what waits beyond death--but were the resulting mass suicides provoked by discovering heaven, or nothingness? In others, Niven inspects such ultimate conundrums as immortality, extraterrestrial intelligence, and computers that outstrip their creators' cleverness. Most of the 27 stories are short shorts that, taken altogether, radiate Niven's wit and technological inventiveness. A must for Nivenites and just plain good reading for everyone else. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Draco Tavern (Hardcover) I've been critical of Niven in my reviews of his most recent works. While some of his earlier works are among the very best science fiction, his more recent novels have been disappointing. With the publication of his Draco Tavern short stories, there's a return to his earlier form. Partly because he is writing to his strengths. These stories span the period 1977-2006. Some of the older stories seem to have been revised a bit for this collection. But the stories illustrate what Niven has always done best: examine strange ideas. Not his limited skills at characterization, or his plotting. He's best at dreaming up ideas and exploring their implications. And his aliens have always been aliens. Rick Schumann owns the Draco Tavern, and these are his stories. The owner-bartender is the narrative voice, and the adventures mostly, but not exclusively, happen to him. The stories are fairly short - some are very short - and involve the interaction of aliens with humans and with each other. Niven's subjects range from the existence of God to the perils of advanced computing. The last half of the collection focuses on various aspects of terrorism. I have the impression that some of them may have been revised to alter their focus. The refocus is mostly successful. But I wonder why Niven chose to be topical. Reviewers should keep in mind this is a collection of loosely linked short stories. They were written over a period of nearly thirty years. So they offer only limited continuity, and there are some inconsistencies. But they do not seriously detract. The stories are fun, thought-provoking and offer glimpses of Larry Niven's best writing. Recommended.

The Draco Tavern: Library Edition
List Price: $45.00
Available from Amazon
Price: $35.55
Updated on 12-28-2008.