Ask Larry Niven 546
If you read science fiction at all, you're familiar with Larry Niven. (If you don't, his work is a great place to start.) Anyway, this is a golden opportunity to learn more about a truly innovative author. (Thanks go to Chris DiBona for arranging this interview; he met Larry during one of his TechTV appearances.) One question per post, please. We'll post Larry's answers to 10 of the highest-moderated questions shortly after he gets them back to us.
WTF???? not big on religion? (Score:1, Informative)
BTW, this isn't a question, so don't foreward it if it gets modd'd up.
Re:Rip-off? (Score:2, Informative)
"Dark Side of the Sun" is, as far as I know, as original as it gets. Discworld, ditto, with shades of Jonathan Swift, albeit more in intent that content. The "Johnny" series - original, as far as I can tell.
"Turning it up to 11 and seeing what breaks" is a nice turn of phrase, and something I agree Terry Pratchett does - but "similar milieu"? What are the other connections to other milieus I am missing? Under that aspect, "Strata" stands out like a sore thumb
... and with this post I am guilty of bad form - asking one author about another, but gosh, I do wonder what Larry Niven thinks about this "homage".
Re:Have you read no Niven? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Rip-off? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:MODERATORS: This is a valid question (Score:3, Informative)
http://marathon.bungie.org/story/halo_culture.h
" Jones explains. "In Niven's books, the Ringworld completely encircles a star, and is thus hundreds of millions of miles in diameter, whereas Halo is just a satellite orbiting a gas giant and is considerably smaller. In fact, structurally it's more similar to the "orbitals" in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels."
There are a LOT more similarities between the culture Orbitals and Halo than between Halo and Ringworld.