Fleet of Worlds cover art

Fleet of Worlds

200 Years Before the Discovery of the Ringworld

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Fleet of Worlds

By: Larry Niven, Edward M. Lerner
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £14.00

Buy Now for £14.00

Fleet of Worlds marks Larry Niven's first full novel-length collaboration within his Known Space universe, the playground he created for his best-selling Ringworld series. Teaming up with fellow SF writer Edward M. Lerner, Fleet of Worlds takes a closer look at Human-Puppeteer (Citizen) relations and the events leading up to Niven's first Ringworld novel.

Kirsten Quinn-Kovacks is among the best and brightest of her people. She gratefully serves the gentle race that rescued her ancestors from a dying starship, gave them a world, and nurtures them still. If only the Citizens knew where Kirsten's people came from.

A chain reaction of supernovae at the galaxy's core has unleashed a wave of lethal radiation that will sterilize the galaxy. The Citizens flee, taking their planets, the Fleet of Worlds, with them.

Someone must scout ahead, and Kirsten and her crew eagerly volunteer. Under the guiding eye of Nessus, their Citizen mentor, they explore for any possible dangers in the Fleet's path - and uncover long-hidden truths that will shake the foundations of worlds.

©2007 Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera Interstellar Fiction
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"Niven is an undisputed master in the field." (David Gerrold)
"For three and a half decades, nobody's done it better than Larry Niven." (Steven Barnes)
"Great storytelling is still alive in science fiction because of Larry Niven, and his finest work is the Ringworld series." (Orson Scott Card)
All stars
Most relevant
A prequel to Ringworld, that all feels a bit pointless. It’s not bad just ok.

Well..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read my first Niven books in my early twenties but age has apparently made me a cynical old man.
Nivens books are good if you believe in a happy ever after but I have long since outgrown this and become more realistic on what humanity has in store.

Naive sci fi.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Having read all the Ringworld series several times this book as a prequel was enjoyable but somewhat predictable.

Very enjoyable if a tad predictable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant as it is, I'm not sure if I would recommend it as a standalone book without having read the original Ringworld first. Maybe it's not absolutely essential but it would let you get your feet under the table a little quicker knowing some of the background to what the Fleet is, who controls it and why it exists in the first place.

That aside, it's a great book and better, in many ways, that it's progenitor. Ringworld was a great concept but too short and this, the first prequel in the series, gets us off to a tremendous start.

A great prequel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a bit odd, firstly its book 1 of the world series it assumes you know who the Puppeteers are, about known space and the core explosion. These aren't spoilers it is written assuming you know this going in.

Pacing the pacing is weird very slow very deliberate which is entirely fitting in the circumstances( until near the end when things change) but it's a lot of words were nothing happens and it terms of plot and character growth it could be ⅔ of a page so great for atmosphere and showing how something that's a spoiler affects the characters but be warned I was getting frustrated till I got towards the end and realised that's what's they are doing that's really clever.

I do want to praise the narrator as in a world with far too much AI narration infuses the text with warmth and charm

Book 1 but not a start point

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews