All the Myriad Ways

Larry Niven
All the Myriad Ways Cover

A Collection of Gems

devilinlaw
8/12/2021
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Larry Niven is a writer I was familiar with before this collection as I had read the first two Ringworld novels. Ringworld was pretty good but I was underwhlemed by the sequel, The Ringworld Engineers, which is probably why it has been years since I've tackled anything of his again. I'm glad that I picked this collection of gems to get more acquainted with this sci-fi Grand Master. My favorites of the bunch were:

For a Foggy Night - A story about the parallel universes you can find travelling in the fog.

The Jigsaw Man - Criminals, regardless of the severity of their crimes, are harvested for their organs to allow the societal elite immortality. Hugo nominated.

Not Long Before the End - A warlock discovers a terrible secret: that magic is a natural resource and that it is being depleted! Hugo & Nebula nominated.

Unfinshed Story No. 2 - Only a single sentence but it made me laugh out loud.

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex - A look at the reproductive drawbacks of being a Kryptonian man on Earth.

What can You Say About Chocolate-Covered Manhole Covers? - A theorhetical conversation about aliens and "Multiple Edens" at a party becomes all too real.

Also notable is Inconstant Moon, a Hugo Award-winning apocalyptic short story that was adapted into an episode of the Outer Limits TV series in the 1990's.