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From: cs2532aa@unm-cvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: How about some reviews of Integral Trees?
Message-ID: <205@unm-cvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-Jan-85 04:35:12 EST
Article-I.D.: unm-cvax.205
Posted: Tue Jan 29 04:35:12 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 3-Feb-85 00:34:56 EST
Reply-To: cs2532aa@unm-cvax.UUCP (Satan's Compatriot)
Organization: Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Lines: 50

On Larry Niven's /The Integral Trees/
Publisher: Del Rey, February (!) 1985, 272pp.

Micro-review:  Well worth the cover price ($3.50?  I have an old copy of
               DUNE that only cost 95 cents, *sigh*...)

More in-depth review:

/The Integral Trees/ is the latest novel of Larry Niven to become available
in paperback, and it's pretty good.  It is NOT a Known Space novel, but rather
is set in the universe of The State, a/k/a the LESHY CIRCUIT series.  The only
other novel available that's set in this universe is /A World Out of Time/.

The novel is about, as the rear cover blurb states, "...a fully fleshed culture
of evolved humans who live without real gravity in the gas torus that revolves
about a neutron star."  Due to the lack of gravity in the environment, the
plant life the exists in the torus is pretty strange.  The most unusual of
the types of plant give the book its name.  An integral tree is a tree that,
due to the winds in the torus (or "smoke ring") grows in the shape of a huge
integral sign.  The humans, who are decended from the mutineers of a State
ship, live in the tufts of green growth at either end of the tree.

I really enjoyed the book.  It's in Niven's usual style, gets the story
across pretty well, and appears to be scientifically accurate, (nothing
leaps from the pages and graps you by the throat screaming "THIS CAN'T
HAPPEN!  IT VIOLATES EVERY RULE OF PHYSICS KNOWN TO MAN!").  Niven includes
the now-standard list of /Dramatis Personae/ and a Glossary at the end, a
nice touch although I only looked at the cast list once, after putting
the book down for a day or so.  Several diagrams are also included which
may help some to understand some of the physical situations in the book.

The introduction to /Limits/, the Niven story collection that came out
at the same time as /Integral Trees/, states that a sequel (Niven refers
to the two books as Siamese Twins) to /Trees/ called /The Smoke Ring/
will be out sometime after the release in March of /Footfall/, the latest
brick by Niven and Jerry Pournelle.  (Niven for quality, Pournelle for
quantity :-).)

Summary:  If you like Niven, you will probably like this book.
          If you don't like Niven, you will probably not like this book.
          "Think of it as evolution in action."

	HiHo,

		.rne.

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