Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Del Rey (1979), Mass Market Paperback
Description
Nothing quite prepared telepath Larry Greenberg for mind-to-mind contact with an alien. In the interest of science, Larry tapped the mind of Kzanol-and that was his first mistake. Kzanol was a thrint from a distant galaxy. He had been trapped on Earth in a time-stasis field for two billion years. Now he was on the loose, and Larry knew everything he was thinking. Thrints lived to plunder and enslave lesser planets-and what the planet Kzanol had in mind was Earth!
User reviews
LibraryThing member StormRaven
Although this is not the first story set in his Known Space, this is one of the earliest (and as far as I can tell, is the first novel). As a result, the parameters of the fictional future that Niven has mapped out over most of his writing career were not particularly well-defined when World of
The basics of the story revolve around two individuals: Larry Greenberg, a human telepath who has spent a fair portion of his adult life trying to communicate with dolphins, and the thrint Kzanol, a a powerful alien telepath from the past whose race held sway over much of the galaxy when he went into suspended animation in a desperate attempt to save his own life. Their paths cross as a result of an experiment on an archaeological find with less than happy results. The conflict between these two individuals holds the fate of humanity in the balance, and Larry must use his hard won insight into the mind of the thrint to try to stave off humanity's eternal servitude. These events all play out against a backdrop of political tension between Earth and the Belters that the revelations caused by the Greenberg/Kzanol conflict threatens to push into open war.
(As an aside, one wonders what would have happened to humanity when the events of Angel's Pencil taken place had the events in this story taken a different turn, probably nothing good for us it seems).
As noted before, this is a fairly early example of the Known Space setting, and it shows. A lot of material that will be fleshed out later is merely hinted at in this story. In addition, Niven's storytelling style is fairly linear and direct. In the resolution of the story, Niven makes what I consider to be one misstep, in that he seems to argue that technology can be suppressed merely by throwing out an example of that technology, which I find implausible. On the other hand, a large chunk of the subsequent Known Space stories revolve around suppressing technology with military applications via the organization known as the ARM, so it isn't really unexpected.
Although not a good as many of his later works in the Known Space universe, World of Ptavvs is still a good action story with enough mystery and science to jump it abover the average. Though his writing career begins in the 1960s, Niven's material tends to be similar in tone to the writers of the 1940s and 50s, so fans of Heinlein and Asimov will probably be comfortable with his output. While not some of Niven's best work, Niven's average fare is better than the best many other science fiction writers turn out, so this book is worth reading.
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Ptavvs was written. Through the novel one can see glimpses of the elements of Known Space in embryonic form, but the details are hazy and in some cases have been altered by subsequent books.The basics of the story revolve around two individuals: Larry Greenberg, a human telepath who has spent a fair portion of his adult life trying to communicate with dolphins, and the thrint Kzanol, a a powerful alien telepath from the past whose race held sway over much of the galaxy when he went into suspended animation in a desperate attempt to save his own life. Their paths cross as a result of an experiment on an archaeological find with less than happy results. The conflict between these two individuals holds the fate of humanity in the balance, and Larry must use his hard won insight into the mind of the thrint to try to stave off humanity's eternal servitude. These events all play out against a backdrop of political tension between Earth and the Belters that the revelations caused by the Greenberg/Kzanol conflict threatens to push into open war.
(As an aside, one wonders what would have happened to humanity when the events of Angel's Pencil taken place had the events in this story taken a different turn, probably nothing good for us it seems).
As noted before, this is a fairly early example of the Known Space setting, and it shows. A lot of material that will be fleshed out later is merely hinted at in this story. In addition, Niven's storytelling style is fairly linear and direct. In the resolution of the story, Niven makes what I consider to be one misstep, in that he seems to argue that technology can be suppressed merely by throwing out an example of that technology, which I find implausible. On the other hand, a large chunk of the subsequent Known Space stories revolve around suppressing technology with military applications via the organization known as the ARM, so it isn't really unexpected.
Although not a good as many of his later works in the Known Space universe, World of Ptavvs is still a good action story with enough mystery and science to jump it abover the average. Though his writing career begins in the 1960s, Niven's material tends to be similar in tone to the writers of the 1940s and 50s, so fans of Heinlein and Asimov will probably be comfortable with his output. While not some of Niven's best work, Niven's average fare is better than the best many other science fiction writers turn out, so this book is worth reading.
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LibraryThing member iftyzaidi
An alien with telepathic powers powerful enough to enslave those around it that crashed on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago has been awoken from statis, its personality imprinted on to that of the human telepath, Larry Greenberg. Now both are in a race to reach the alien's ship on Neptune
This is Niven's first novel and the first set in his Known Space setting. Despite occasional stylistic and narrative quirks that one can put down to inexperience, it holds up pretty well. It has a fast-paced plot, plenty of plot twists and some interesting mysteries thrown in and overall is highly entertaining.
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and the artifact it contains which would allow either one to enslave the entire human race. Trailing them is the UN ARM Garner who must figure out a way to prevent the artifact falling into either of their hands while also allaying the fear of a suspicious Belter government.This is Niven's first novel and the first set in his Known Space setting. Despite occasional stylistic and narrative quirks that one can put down to inexperience, it holds up pretty well. It has a fast-paced plot, plenty of plot twists and some interesting mysteries thrown in and overall is highly entertaining.
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LibraryThing member antao
(Original Review, 1980-08-25)
In response to the idea that perhaps the Pak were actually tnuctip, I think it very unlikely. The Pak date back about 2.5 Million years, while, according to “The World or Ptavvs”, the 'Sea statue' (Kzanol, last of the Thrint [slaver] race) dates back about 2 Billion
In response to the idea that the “Ringworld” was not built by the Pak, this seems reasonable to assume--there was never any mention, in any Known Space novel or story, of a transmutation device known to the Pak. Such a device would seem to be a necessity in forming the 'scrith' that the “Ringworld” was constructed of. After all, why would the Pak have been using nuclear radiation based weapons when warring at home if such a protection was available?
Another comment (unconnected). Upon reading parts of “World of Ptaavs” again, I notice a statement to the effect that the female Thrint is non-sentient. The only other race mentioned possessing this trait is the Kzinti race... From supplied illustrations, one can see that the physical forms are roughly similar...Could the Kzinti be a surviving branch of Thrint or semi-Thint? Comments?
[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.]
In response to the idea that perhaps the Pak were actually tnuctip, I think it very unlikely. The Pak date back about 2.5 Million years, while, according to “The World or Ptavvs”, the 'Sea statue' (Kzanol, last of the Thrint [slaver] race) dates back about 2 Billion
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years. Also according to World or Ptavvs, the tnuctip were wiped out in the war with the Thrints some 2*10^9 years ago (Specifically, the Thrint were said/speculated to have built a telepathy amplifier that would bring the entire galaxy under control at one time.).In response to the idea that the “Ringworld” was not built by the Pak, this seems reasonable to assume--there was never any mention, in any Known Space novel or story, of a transmutation device known to the Pak. Such a device would seem to be a necessity in forming the 'scrith' that the “Ringworld” was constructed of. After all, why would the Pak have been using nuclear radiation based weapons when warring at home if such a protection was available?
Another comment (unconnected). Upon reading parts of “World of Ptaavs” again, I notice a statement to the effect that the female Thrint is non-sentient. The only other race mentioned possessing this trait is the Kzinti race... From supplied illustrations, one can see that the physical forms are roughly similar...Could the Kzinti be a surviving branch of Thrint or semi-Thint? Comments?
[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.]
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LibraryThing member ikeman100
Early Niven. I love some of his books but I could not get into this one. Just "OK".
LibraryThing member sgsmitty
Somehow I managed to never have read this one. I have many but not all Known Space novels from Niven. Overall an interesting story but not his best.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1966-08
Physical description
188 p.; 17.7 cm
ISBN
0345286197 / 9780345286192
Local notes
Omslag: Rick Sternbach
Omslaget viser nogle underlige ting, der svæver rundt i rummet, et par delfiner med udstyr på og en menneskelignende skikkelse i rumdragt
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Omslaget viser nogle underlige ting, der svæver rundt i rummet, et par delfiner med udstyr på og en menneskelignende skikkelse i rumdragt
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
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Series
Pages
188
DDC/MDS
| 813 |