Rating: 
Summary: What's to gush about?
Review: This isn't a bad book. The original Svetz stories are buried in the back, which makes the new material disappointingly lean by comparison. Actually, I wish the space had been used to elongate the Mars story, because there are some beautiful things in here that just seem to get hurried along. Niven's "rationalization" of some of Burrough's and Bradbury's material is nifty.Sadly, I can't give this book a whole-hearted recommendation, though. If it were ONLY one or two classic Martian tales in play here, it would have been better. Instead the story gets bogged down with too many things to take care of and the beautiful ideas seem lost in it. If you're a Niven fan, as many others writing reviews here are, then you'll probably like it... but not love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Larry's finest since Ringworld
Review: If, like me, you've followed Niven's career with interest, enthused over his early works like Protector and Ringworld, then lost interest in his later collaborations of the 80's and 90's, then this book is for you. When "Destiny's Road" appeared a couple of years ago it was his first non-collaboration in years, and I expected great things - but was disappointed by an unsatisfying plot and an irritatingly choppy writing style. I therefore hesitated over buying Rainbow Mars. I needn't have worried. It's a glorious return to style, standing a mile apart from all the other Mars books on the market just now. Other readers have called the book confusing: not so. The central character has appeared before in Niven's earlier work (eg. The Flight of the Horse) where the concept of the Extension Cage is introduced. Niven frequently refers back to episodes from his previous books, and if the reader is unfamiliar then confusion is inevitable; maybe that's the problem. (Incidentally, in the UK the book didn't include reprints of these old stories). However, for those of us who have already been thrilled by Niven's take on the concept of time travel, Rainbow Mars represents his finest creation since Ringworld (seriously!). When it comes to creating alien life forms in vivid, realistic detail, Niven is visionary, and the central alien in this book is no exception. With Asimov dead and Arthur C. Clarke coasting into retirement (did you read 3001? Ugh!), isn't it time Niven inherited the title "Grand Master of Science Fiction"?
Rating:
Summary: It's good!
Review: I don't know what everyone's griping about. It's a damn good read! Anyone who grew up reading SF "knows" Mars is lousy with green four armed aliens. I loved it! Reading it was like revisiting books I loved in my youth. For all of you that didn't like it I think you should not look at this book as hard-core science fiction (which it certainly isn't) but more as a fish-out-of-water outsider look at the books we all loved when we all thought 2001 was in the deep future.
Rating: 
Summary: I Liked It
Review: I've read the reviews for this book and most people seem to hate it. I'm a big Niven fan and despite the reviews, I read the book anyway and I enjoyed it. Yes it's odd that the 3rd 1/3 of the book is a collection of short stories that is not noted anywhere on the cover. But I did enjoy reading the main story quite a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Not for those who are Sci-Nonfi.
Review: This book is certainly not meant for those who have minds rigid set on science-fact and who have no concept of or interest in fantasy and humor. It was refreshing to see a new spin put on some old Martian concepts, and it was a delightful twist to see the way in which time-travel/paradoxes and parallel-dimensions were reinterpreted as realms-of-fantasy. True this is different then most of Niven's books, but it was enjoyable to read and certainly not deserving of all the harsh criticism give by the others.
Rating: 
Summary: Hommage to early sci-fi and fantasy
Review: If you are an historian of science fiction, you will undoubtedly catch all the references to Burroughs and Bradbery et al, and be greatly amused by Niven's work. This "novel" actually consists of one novella and several short stories which were written earlier, all about "time-travel" which, for Niven in this book, is really fantasy-travel, as his hero unknowlingly goes off into the realms of fiction, meeting werewolves, unicorns, the aforesaid Martians, and other stange and wonderful beings. As such, it isn't, of course, science fiction at all. I found it strange that the novella, which happens after the short stories, was put at the beginning of the book--the novella reveals or hints strongly at what happens in the stories to the extent that whatever wit or suspense they might have had was totally spoiled for me. But I guess the novella is newer than the stories, and the marketing people thought that you or I would have put this book down if we'd opened it and immediately read something published elsewhere. Overall, I found this quite disappointing; not at all the quality I'd expect from the author of Ringworld. But then, IMHO Niven has never again lived up to the quality of his early work--although his ideas are intriuging, he can't write a real character to save his life. I wonder if his collaboration with other authors is a recognition of his weaknesses as a writer.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Bad
Review: I have never written to pan a book or record before but this book was so dissappointing, and the synopsis on the back of the book was so misleading that I felt I had no choice. I have read many great books by Larry Niven, and when I read the back cover I felt that I was in for another. What I got instead was an almost incoherent jumbled chaotic mess that barely had enough to it to limp to a two star rating. I found the fantasy intrusions to be particularly annoying. I didn't buy this book to read about Unicorns, Midgard Serpents, Rocs, Dragons, etc... As a matter of fact, had I even seen the word Unicorn on the back cover I would have dropped the book like so much nuclear waste. Not to mention the absurdity of the ridiculous "allied races" living on the Beanstalk (hangtree) Believe everything you have read, do not buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: For Niven "Collectors" ONLY!
Review: The book Rainbow Mars is a collection of 5 short stories along with the 260 page mini novel "Rainbow Mars." Nowhere on my paperback editions front or back cover is that mentioned. Tor Science Fiction knows how poorly short story collections sell, and were hoping to cash in on the "Mars Trend" set in motion by other current authors -Kim Stanley Robinson, Greg Bear, Ben Bova, etc. What we are left to read through is a watered down sci-fi time travel novel with numerous fantasy/adventure overtones. The dozens of poor reviews on amazon.com do well to indicate just how "bland" Rainbow Mars is. Without rehashing what other have raged about, the most annoying aspect about Rainbow Mars, is Nivens attempt at humor. Very annoying. Is this the same author who helped flesh out "The Mote in God's Eye"? Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Rating:
Summary: Another sad effort from Niven
Review: This is yet another in the increasingly long series of truly bad books from larry Niven. Why do I keep reading them? I'm a Niven fan from decades ago, and keep thinking that the next book will be a return to previous excellence, but this is another disappointment. The book has some typically fascinating ideas, and Niven is obviously having some fun interjecting raw fantasy and mythology into his science fiction. Unfortunately, it suffers terribly from very poor writing and development. Imagine my surprise also when I discovered the story ends at the books midpoint, and the rest is filled with short stories on the same subject. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that more people will give a good review to a bad book, than a bad review to a good book. Trust the reviews you read, you'll save money and time.
Rating:
Summary: Screenplay-itis
Review: This is an excellent story, as most of Niven's are, but without the help of his usual collaborators (Pournelle and Barnes) it suffers from being very badly written. Same problem he had with the Ringworld sequel, which was unreadable. He's lost something. My suspicion is that he has been caught up mentally in the screenplay syndrom, where you sit down at your PC with the plot of your book whizzing in your head visually and just type furiously without thinking of syntax or verbal description. It's like: "Ooh!" "What?" "ZAP" "Damn, they just blew up our spaceship." Who did? How? What's going on here? Books don't have special effects floating out of their pages yet, unfortunately. The writer is supposed to supply that, and Niven doesn't. Otherwise, I agree with the other review I read here. Very nice idea that time travel is really into fantasy-land, not reality as it was. That if you have to go back in (Earth) time to the era before the Industrial Revolution, when it was suspected that Mars was inhabited, not barren as the NASA expeditions have shown us -- then of course if you transport to Mars, it will be -- with four-armed Burroughsian humanoids, canals, egg-laying humans, and Wellsian Octopoids.
|
