Known Space - Reading Order First: Neutron Star ------------------- The collection Neutron Star contains some of Larry Niven's best stories, including the Hugo winner "Neutron Star". It also contains the stories you'll need to read to get the most out of reading Niven's most celebrated work, Ringworld. Spoiler Alert: Do not start with the Crashlander collection! Other sources may suggest you start with Crashlander. Here is why you should start with Neutron Star rather than Crashlander: - Crashlander contains plot spoilers for Ringworld. - Neutron Star includes "The Soft Weapon", which introduces Nessus, one of the main characters in Ringworld. - Neutron Star includes "A Relic of the Empire", which also has some background on the Puppeteers, who are a very important part of Ringworld. Second: Ringworld ----------------- After you've read up on the Known Space background in Neutron Star, you're ready to plunge into Larry Niven's most famous work: Ringworld, one of the very few novels ever to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It's not really necessary to read the Neutron Star collection before Ringworld, it stands all right on its own. But starting with the earlier stories will let you get more out of Ringworld, and enhance your reading pleasure. Third: Protector and World of Ptavvs ------------------------------------ After finishing Ringworld, you may be tempted to continue with its Hugo-nominated sequel, The Ringworld Engineers. Trust us on this: You will want to read Protector first. We can't say more without spoiling the plot. Some fans even prefer one or another of Niven's early novels to Ringworld. Be sure to read "World of Ptavvs", Niven's first novel and of major importance to the Known Space background. The Rest of Known Space ----------------------- After you've read "Protector" and "Ringworld", don't miss "The Ringworld Engineers!" It's another outstanding story. There are also a further two Ringworld sequels: "The Ringworld Throne" and "Ringworld's Children". "A Gift from Earth" is the last of the first three books in the "Known Space" series (World of Ptavvs, Neutron Star and Gift from Earth) "Tales of Known Space" collects many independed short stories form the "Known Space" univers. "The Patchwork Girl" & "The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton collection" or "The Flatlander collection" contains the "Gil the ARM" detective stories set in an early era of Known Space. The first three short stories in this collection are among our personal favorites. You'll also want a copy of "Crashlander" to read after you've finished "Ringworld". This contains the Hugo winning Beowulf Shaeffer story "The Borderland of Sol", along with a couple of newer stories not found in the earlier Neutron Star collection. The latest Known Space novels, co-authored with Edward M. Lerner, are "Fleet of Worlds", "Juggler of Worlds", "Destroyer of Worlds" and "Betrayer of Worlds". Fleet is a welcome and enjoyable addition to the series. While the book stands alone perfectly well, we do recommend you first read the Beowulf Shaeffer stories, including "The Borderland of Sol", and "Ringworld", because the book contains spoilers for those stories, and revisits many of the same events. The Beowulf Shaeffer stories can be found in either the Neutron Star collection or the Crashlander collection. However, Neutron Star does not contain "The Borderland of Sol"; that story can be found in "Tales of Known Space" and "Crashlander".