Protector

By: Larry Niven

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

This Hugo-nominated work is a classic of Niven's Known Space saga.

Phssthpok the Pak had been traveling for most of his thirty-two thousand years. His mission was to save, develop, and protect the group of Pak breeders sent out into space some two and a half million years before.

Brennan was a Belter, the product of a fiercely independent, somewhat anarchic society living in, on, and around an outer asteroid belt. The Belters were rebels, one and all, and Brennan was a smuggler. The Belt worlds had been tracking the Pak ship for days, and Brennan figured to meet that ship first.

He was never seen again - at least not by those alive at the time.

©1973 Larry Niven (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

My all time favorite

Read this all night in my twenties. Very smart. All Niven, the all time best SF writer.

Brilliant concept, wonderfully carried out

Would you consider the audio edition of Protector to be better than the print version?

Yes. Tom Weiner does a fine job of adding emotion to much of the dialog.

What other book might you compare Protector to and why?

Nothing comes to mind. Like Niven's Ringworld, Protector has a unique concept that captures imaginations, and never lets go.

Which character – as performed by Tom Weiner – was your favorite?

The Pak character and Brennan-Monster were both highly entertaining.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh yes. I'm a pretty fast reader, so I'd have finished a real book in one sitting. But I savored Weiner's narration too much to hurry it by speeding up the playback.

Any additional comments?

Protector is yet one more in the superlative Known Space collection of books by Larry Niven that were written last century. It has all the qualities that make those books so special: sense of wonder, optimism, humor, and unpredictability (as opposed to, say, John Scalzi's works that have become increasingly predictable).

Nice Reading

Was fun to listen to during commute. Novel was pure Niven, Enjoyed story again.
Very descriptive and romantic version of interstellar flight and war.

WHAT THE FINAGLE

THE ROMANCE OF SPACE
As mentioned by several others the concept is fairly cool. The telling not so much. The first hour goes over pretty good, but goes down hill from there. This comes from the age when science fiction was a lot slower. I lost patience in the sixth hour.
MINATURE GOLF
I must also admit that Weiner has never been one of my favorite narrators. He is not terrible, just not inspiring.

Filled in gaps I had from Ring World Engineers.

loved the story line. Fills in another segment of the Known Space story. I highly recommend it after reading the Ring World Series.

Classic Hard SF

I've read almost everything Niven's ever written, this one still shines as a great, sprawling adventure across the stars, with mystery, hardware, and family ties. The audiobook was a treat, I especially liked the Australian accents of the Belters, that was a nice touch.

An Interesting Bit of Speculative Sci Fi

While perhaps requiring more suspension of disbelief than other scu fi books simply due to the idea that humans didn't originate on Earth, it is none the less extremely enjoyable and will make you think on many of the topics presented.

Among Niven's Best

The reader does these characters incredibly well. His women's voices aren't as good as some readers, but his alien voice creates a haunting character that chilled me to the bone. I couldn't stop listening to this book, sucked me right in! The science is mind blowing!

very well put together

I think the way that these short stories have been merged is great. Had a hard time getting into the narrator's voice but after a while it was really good

Ckassic So Fi

Interesting idea to characterize Belters as Aussies or perhaps the biggest group of fans are from the Land Down Under.

I wish there was a way to technically update the story without thinking it but I'm ok with it no matter its age.