• The Draco Tavern

  • By: Larry Niven
  • Narrated by: Tom Weiner
  • Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (425 ratings)

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The Draco Tavern  By  cover art

The Draco Tavern

By: Larry Niven
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
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Publisher's summary

When a tremendous spacecraft takes orbit around Earth's moon and begins sending smaller landers down toward the North Pole, the newly arrived visitors quickly set up a permanent spaceport in Siberia. Their presence attracts many, and a few grow conspicuously rich from secrets they learn from talking to the aliens. One of these men, Rick Schumann, establishes a tavern catering to all the various species of visiting aliens, a place he calls the Draco Tavern.

From the mind of best-selling author Larry Niven come 27 tales and vignettes from this interstellar gathering place, in collected form for the first time. Join Rick and his staff as they chronicle the seemingly infinite alien species that spend a few moments pondering life and all its questions within the Draco Tavern.

Hi-fi sci-fi: don't miss any of our Larry Niven titles.
©2006 Larry Niven (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"[The tales read] like brilliant, half-whimsical notebook jottings." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Niven...showcases his ability to use SF to explore mind-boggling, universal questions....[The stories], taken altogether, radiate Niven's wit and technological inventiveness." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Draco Tavern

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
    66
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Listen

This is really just a lot of fun to listen to.
I have read everything that Larry Niven has written. Most things more than once. I was hooked on his short stories over three decades ago when I read "Neutron Star". His humor and his insight into the human race and his ability to ask the "What if?" question and then take that ball and run with it is always paramount.
In this collection (which contains a couple of stories not in earlier collections) he answers "What if a human had the only alien species friendly bar on earth?"
Each time I read or listen to these stories I am refreshed and I find something new to think about and I have a chuckle or two.
I think you will too!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Pleasant Surprise

While I enjoy reading science fiction, I don't usually enjoy it as much in audio format. However, this book inspired me to give science fiction another chance. I like the short story format for this type of story and it kept me interested on several long trips. While it wasn't the deepest or most profound book ever written, it had an interesting main character and a creative look at a possible future neighborhood bar.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Short and Sweet - Concise?

Larry Niven is always amazing. "I write short stories because they help me to stay concise," is something I heard him say recently. He proves that to be true in "Draco Tavern." These "vignettes" are very entertaining, and linked together, they form a cohesive novel that was a great deal of fun to listen to. There is even a short bit about a World Sci-Fi Con Masquerade that I am glad to have read, even though it wandered away from the collection's premise just a little bit.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Made my long drives a lot of fun.

Too bad this is so short. What a great bit of fantasy cast in a believable everyday narrative. This is definitely in the "light" category, but it will make you laugh and forget about all the idiots in the news or on the road near you.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What is up with the Chapters?

I'm a lifelong Niven fan, and bought this book in print many years ago. I love these stories, and the performance does them justice.

That being said, whoever did the formatting of this audiobook should be fired. The chapter breaks are entirely random, it needs to be reformatted so that there's a chapter for each story. Half the fun of short stories is being able to pick up the book whenever you want and just read the story you're craving. That's virtually impossible to do with this audio edition, because you have no sort of contents list to link to the individual stories. Audible, if you're listening, please fix this nonsense.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Need more chapter breaks

I have always loved these stories, and the newer ones I hadn't heard are just as good as the old ones. The reader's fine. The low rating is for the chapters. There are 27 vignettes in this audiobook and only 7 chapters. I sometimes listen at bedtime, and if I fall asleep, it's quite a chore getting back to where I drifted off.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My Favorite Audio Book

Where does The Draco Tavern rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My favorite. I love it. I listen to it whenever I am stuck in traffic without a new audio to hear. My six-year-old son and I enjoy discussing it.Had to skip the Smut Talk story with him.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The bartender, Rich Schuman. His dry humor and quick wit are most enjoyable.

Have you listened to any of Tom Weiner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. He is perfect for Rick Schuman and did other characters very well.

Who was the most memorable character of The Draco Tavern and why?

Besides Rick Schuman, the most memorable characters were the aliens called the Chirpsithra. Fascinating, funny, mysterious and scary all at once.

Any additional comments?

I wish Niven would write some more of these short stories (vignettes, really). I am hooked.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Easy listen.

This is a great way to make a long car ride shorter. Niven has a great imagination and his writings are just right for a SiFi novice like me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Needed more

This is my second favorite Niven book. Love it. It needed a sequel of a few sequels…

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Niven, the quintessential short storyteller

The book I can listen to over and over again. Beautifully interconnected vignettes. Just perfect.

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