Fleet of Worlds: 200 Years Before the Discovery of the Ringworld

Yes, of course...but not narrated by Tom Wierner. Also, the format was weird.

B.V. Larson

No

None, could not get through the first 5 min.

None

All I can say it that if you like Larry Niven, and you loved Ringworld and the following books, then you REALLY need to read/listen to this first one. This is both history and background info that in many ways explains many things the original story may not have or simply left untouched. And yes, this first 'Of Worlds' book is a little slow, but as you get into it, it IS a classic in the works and you need to read/listen or hear the whole story, book by book ... and this is just the beginning!
Hat's off to Larry Niven for the WHOLE Ringworld saga, and many thanks for a GREAT story!
d(-_-)b

I only gave it four stars because it is a little slower that the rest of the saga.

Fills in some of the gaps from Crashlander and other Niven Known Space stories. A bit slow and less complex than I am used to. Only reason I gave it 4 stars was the fact that it exists - first Known Space thing I have seen in a while.

When I read a book, I visualize the locations and the characters and... their voices. When I'm lucky, the person narrating the book will let me hear and imagine the story without imposing their own personality.
Sadly, this presenter's voice didn't match my expectations. While he has an impressive, "big", deep voice, his tendency to prolong the final word of every other sentence was at first distracting, then just an annoying drawl.
Or, as he might have said it, "...then just an annoying drawwwlll..."
The focus should be on the storytelling, not the storytellerrr.

Anyone but Weiner reading it. Seriously the guy has a very limited vocal set and he messes up Puppeteers.

When the narrator describes the musical quality of a puppeteer voice then does one of his two voices - an imitation of Christian Bale's Batman it really distracts from everything.

This book spoked anger. The story is good, but the reading is horrible.

I'll stay away from all Niven books because of this.

So if you dont know thi sis a prequel of sorts for the book "Ringworld - 1970" by the same author so you might have read that some years ago, if not then even though its 42 years old (as of Oct 2012, did we survive past Dec 21st 2012 lol) its not dated that much if at all, I am 30 years old and I dont like much of anything older than the 90's when it comes to entertainment but I suggest you read Ringworld after these 4 books that take place 200 years before.

There is a problem I will note right off, the narrator is someone to get used to and he really trails off with the end of words like "world" is "woorllldd" and it takes a while to get used to that - also there is another major problem with the pronunciation of the name of a, well, not major character but not a minor one either since when he comes up in the 3rd book hes back in a semi-major roll - the name is "Baedeker" but in this book its pronounced as "bed-a-ker" but in the latter books its pronounced as "beta-ker" - also aliens called "Gw'oth" pronounced as "gwa-auth" becomes "guat-ta-oth" or something like that, this is stupid and if the cause was that they were pronounced incorrectly in this the first book then in the next ones where its changed it needs to be mentioned in a forward by the reader.

Now with that out of the way, the review.

This book and the ones that follow it all pretty much follow a story that although it changes it will lead up to the discovery of the ringworld which is awesome - in this book you are introduced to the characters that the story will follow for the following 3 books and learn that one of the "races" isnt what it thinks it self to be.

Humans from a colony star-ship find out the truth behind there history, even that fact that they are called "humans" - there ship was captured by the "Puppeteers" and the survivors were in gene banks and were implanted into the living humans left and the babies were told a lie when they grew up, but the truth is found out and then things get good.

Without giving much away here the humans are looking for Earth and will do anything to find it, they break into secure places and all sorts of cool things that are made easier by the fact that the puppeteers are not very good at security and easily scared so they get away with lots after they are found out.

Read this and the 3 that follow, then go on to "Ringworld - 1970" and I guarantee you wont believe that Ringworld was written in 1970 because it feels just like these books which are only a few years old

Very disappointed in this book. I am a great fan of Ringworld & Ringworlds Children but this one just never got that interesting or compelling. Even with all the different characters introduced not one of them was as interesting as Louis Wu or Speaker to Animals. The little bit of Nessus' home-world we got to explore in Ringworld is far more interesting than what is described in this entire book. This just proves that Ringworld is a hard act to follow, but keep trying Larry, you did it with Ringworlds Children.

As far as the narrator goes, he has an impressive range of voice inflections and is consistent with the tone and style he uses for each character, the listener knows exactly which character is speaking. But, he has the lonnnggggest drawlllll when using his normal narration voice. Also, with as many female characters in this book as well as the unique feminine voices of the puppeteers why wasn't a female narrator used? A female narrator would have pleased the feminine audience that this book was apparently targeted for.
Conclusion: The Puppeteers home-world location is better off unknown to the "wild humans".

Niven’s known space universe is one of the most vivid and compelling SF settings ever devised never failing to entertain and provoke flights of fancy. Ringworld is a must for any one interested in SF or just good writing.

Fleet of worlds goes back to the beginning and brings a new thread to the rich tapestry this rich tapestry of tails and characters.

I only need one word to review this book: Puppeteers!

I got the whole series for a LONG drive. By the third book, the shear stupidity of the characters left me hoping they had been killed and that the bad guy would get away. This is so stupid, and I am a sci-fi nut, that after listening to book 3, unless I have had several drinks, I won't be listening to book 4. What a waste of money.