Rating: 
Summary: Should never have been published
Review: I've enjoyed the time-travelling antics before, but I never realized how much of a god-send the short story format is until I bought and then tried to read this monumentally bad piece of writing. Niven fans will be VERY disappointed and this pedantic work was obviously done for cyncial commercial reasons. Even force of will will not carry you through this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not Niven's forte
Review: I'm not usually looking for humor in a fantasy setting when I pick up a Larry Niven novel. This book shows why. It was hard to read and will be easy to forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing, but yet intriguing
Review: I read this book in remarkably little time, mainly because it isn't exactly heavy on pages... This book was like a vacation which has been planned to include EVERYTHING in as short a time as possible. Sometimes I wondered if there was something wrong with my copy of the book, as Niven dashed from one idea to another, and then yet ANOTHER! Still, I found the book to be intriguing, and some of the quotes included (such as Jerry Pournelle's about dreaming that he would one day see man land on the moon, but never imagining he'd see the last) give the book a nice weight and feel. I was a little bemused by the supposed link to Terry Pratchett's work. This book never felt like funny fantasy, but simply a non-too serious romp into fantastic science fiction. Well worth seeing once released in the paperback edition.
Rating: 
Summary: Light, fast-paced and fun -- a must-read for Niven fans.
Review: Wayback in the sixties, Niven started a series of humorous time-
travel stories: Svetz the hero-klutz is sent back from the 31st Century
to capture extinct animals, but he never quite finds the "right"
beastie.... I remembered these as throwaways, but they've aged well.
Rainbow Mars is a novel-length sequel, so you'd be well-advised to
thumb over to the reprints first, to properly set the stage for the main
event....Which involves -- hmm, how to say this without spoiling the fun --
a *very* fast-paced visit to a Martian past that's an amalgam of
(and hommage to) Burroughs, Wells, Bradbury, Heinlein -- with
Integral Tree-style beanstalks thrown in as an illustration of Being
Careful of what you wish for. Not to mention a Princess of Mars, and
how she learned to surf. And sex in a hot-tub. And enough insider
jokes and references to challenge the memory of the best-read fan. "This is my take on Mars, and Yggdrasil, and (God help me) the space program" -- done up in a delicious hard-fantasy souffle'. Bon appetit! Niven's pretty near the top of his form here -- he obviously had great
fun writing this. I liked the "mature" tone of Destiny's Road -- but (to
quote Dave Barry), "what I look forward to, is continued immaturity
followed by death." Maybe "young Larry" is writing more good old
new stuff? Lots more? Hope, hope.... Rainbow Mars is getting mixed reviews; recursive-sf humor clearly
isn't to everyone's taste. If you haven't liked previous light Niven --
Svetz, Warlock, Fallen Angels -- this may not be for you. Rainbow
Mars may not win him many new converts, but Niven trufans -- and
readers who like a tall tale well-told -- will be well-pleased.
Rating: 
Summary: Style gets in the way of substance.
Review: An author is entitled to experiment. This is one a failure of style. Should the reader have to persist so far down a bad road of staccato prose that he risks ruining the suspension of disbelief, or of trust that the style will get better enough to finish the book? I don't think so. Sufficient self-indulgence merits self-publishing. Didn't and won't finish this piece of corduroy.
Rating: 
Summary: Niven's Back on his Bounce Again!
Review: After a few dubious alliances (and I don't count Jerry Pournelle in that class), and a Ringworld story that was just one too many, Larry Niven is back in sparkling form with Rainbow Mars. Slightly disappointing is the inclusion of 5 earlier Svetz stories, those of us who have them will enjoy having a quality copy, but you're paying extra for something many fans have already. Svetz's Time Machine is exactly not that. The Time Machine projects Svetz into fantasy worlds of the past; so naturally when he goes to Mars, he finds the best of the "little green men" and "Flash Gordon" style of Martians. Well written, and a pleasure to read - I expect to read it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: wow, what a GREAT book
Review: this book is truly unique, a work only Niven could come up with
Rating:
Summary: a lot of fun
Review: Rainbow Mars is a very enjoyable and fun adventure by Niven. Those who are familiar with the old Science Fiction stories about Mars probably will enjoy this book more. This book is not as good as some of the classics by Niven but it is still a top-notch novel.
Rating:
Summary: Niven on it's best
Review: If you like Niven, this is one of the books to go for. The way in this books other creatures are described is Niven at his best.
Rating:
Summary: More serious than slapstick
Review: I think many people were expecting humor of the 'Diskworld' variety, which may account for some of the disappointment I see. This is not, in fact, a particularly funny book at all. It's the idea itself that is amusing, not the treatment. As is often true for Niven, the world is the main source of interest. His Mars is a compilation of at least 5 previous 'worlds' of Mars, all joined together - H.G. Wells' martians live side by side with Burroughs' and Lewis', for example. The world is developed, at least a bit, and quite colorful. Hanville Svetz is there to travel through Mars (and Earth of both past and future) and let us see what Niven has developed. Niven tries to add some character to Svetz for the first time, and this is one of the weaker portions of the book. He still doesn't have any talent at doing romance stories, although he has improved some since the Integral Trees (a slight exception for Inconstant Moon, which was fantastic). But when Svetz is performing his primary role - being a tourist - he does it well. All the previous Svetz stories are also included. There were a few I had not seen before, and was glad to have here. Others may or may not appreciate this, depending on whether you've read them earlier.
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