Niven and Lerner Develop Prequelitis: Betrayer of Worlds
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Author: Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
Title: Betrayer of Worlds Genre: science fiction The series of books that followed Frank Herbert's seminal novel Dune is thought by many to be the standard by which "sequelitis" is measured. In what's sometimes known as the "Dune syndrome," each successive novel is judged less worthy than the previous one. This results in a series that just plain keeps getting worse. Dune isn't the only example, and the phenomenon isn't limited to literature - consider "The Matrix"... A scifi novel that's every bit the equal of Herbert's opus is Larry Niven's Ringworld, which achieved a rare scifi trifecta by winning a Nebula Award in 1970 and both a Hugo and a Locus Award in 1971. It's telling that the first Ringworld sequel, The Ringworld Engineers (1980), was nominated for the Hugo and Locus Awards, while the next two - The Ringworld Throne (1996) and Ringworld's Children (2004) - received a total of zero nominations between them... perhaps the syndrome should be renamed the "Dune-Ringworld syndrome." Either the sequels had (mercifully) run their course or Niven knew when to give up: instead of prolonging the agony, he joined forces with Edward Lerner in 2007 to craft a set of prequels (I remain unconvinced that "craft" is the correct verb there...) to his magnum opus, beginning with Fleet of Worlds (and continuing with Juggler of Worlds and Destroyer of Worlds). Now comes a fourth prequel: Betrayer of Worlds. And the scifi world (at least this tiny corner) ponders the question, has anyone ever had "prequelitis"? After doing little more than recast the plots of Niven's 1968 anthology Neutron Star for Juggler of Worlds, the dynamic duo actually did a workmanlike job on Destroyer of Worlds. For Betrayer of Worlds, however, the quality slips again. As Betrayer of Worlds opens, Nathan Graynor finds himself caught up in a civil war on Wunderland. But that's before he's spirited away by a Pierson's Puppeteer - you guessed it, Nessus - and remembers that his real name is Louis Wu [in case you haven't read it, Louis is the main character in Ringworld, and he's joined by Nessus]. The insane Puppeteer scout has a job for Louis Wu: help him retrieve the Pak library; after which Louis can go home rich but without any memory of how he got that way. Sounds like "fun." Louis meets up with Nessus' arch-enemy, Achilles (a Puppeteer who's not merely insane, he's a sociopath). When imprisoned while awaiting trial for the attempted murder of Nessus (and Louis), Achilles escapes from custody and sets in motion a plan that he hopes will make him the undisputed ruler of the Puppeteer fleet of worlds. Can Louis, Nike, and their allies become Achilles' heel? On which side will the frighteningly intelligent Gw'oth place their allegiance? Will all the political infighting and wrangling become boring? Yes to the last... If you learn only one thing from Betrayer of Worlds, it's the timeline: Louis is between 120 and 130 years old in this book, and in the opening pages of Ringworld he celebrates his 200th birthday. You also learn that the Puppeteers are just as prone to political dirty tricks as humans, and that Fear is their tool of choice when attempting to overturn a government (sounds familiar...) You don't learn much else, and nothing new. Sigmund Ausfaller is paranoid (knew that), Alice Jordan is very tall and very beautiful (knew that), the Gw'oth group-mind Ol't'ro is scary smart (knew that) and only insane puppeteers go off-planet (knew that). About the only interesting portion of the novel is the search for the Pak library, but after that segment, the plot falls down and can't get up. Given that there's still fifty or seventy years before Nessus grabs Louis to take a little vacation on the Ringworld (which, by the by, the Puppeteers have already discovered in Betrayer of Worlds.), Niven and Lerner look to have several decades into which they can fit even more prequels (which somehow seem to be coming fast and furious all of a sudden). Please, guys - make the next one better? copyright © 2001 to present by scmrak
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