Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: Larry Niven has written some of the best science fiction ever, but this book is very disappointing. It reads a bit like a fever dream, and is never very coherent nor logical.
Rating: 
Summary: Niven missed....
Review: I'm a hardcore Niven fan and have been ever since I first read "A Gift From Earth", but with that said - this book is mediocre at best. I suppose it is just a matter of taste, but I found this book to be tedious and confusing. I usually appreciate his sense of humor, (anyone who hasn't read Man Of Steel/Woman of Kleenex is really missing out) but this time I have to say I just don't get it.
Rating:
Summary: Poor
Review: I am a Larry Niven fan and liked most of his books. (Integral Trees was mediocre, but I finished.) However, I gave up on this book pretty soon, and I almost never give up on a book before finishing. I returned it to the library after I started the very confusing time/space (?) travel to Mars (?) chapter. Maybe I should have followed some of the other reviewers advise and read the short stories first so I could understand what was going on. The dialoge was trite and unbelievable. Even for science fiction/fantasy, none of the concepts made any sense.I consider myself even dumber for having wasted 1/2 hour on starting this book.
Rating:
Summary: Mixture of Old (Wonderful) and New (Lackluster)
Review: I have read just about everything Larry has put to paper and I was told to avoid this book. Despite the advice I picked it up and I liked it. Well, almost liked it. The odd placement of the novella BEFORE the short stories was and odd choice since you end up reading the chronology backwards by the time your done. It is one of the few "time travel" books I have ever read and liked. I hate time travel books, period. The jokes are cute but the casual fan of si-fi may not spot them all. Niven's style is as solid as ever. Shallow people with no depth and aliens that act alien. If you like Larry's books, pick this one up but read it BACKWARDS. Start with the short stories and work you way to novella. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Straight from Svetz report.
Review: I found myself having difficulty classifying this book. From its lingering descriptions of the bizarre things going on, I at first assumed that it was 'hard sci-fi' where the scientific speculation is more important than the plot. But the science is ludicrous! It's filled with the kind of hand-waving one sees in 'soft sci-fi' where the science is there only to further the plot, and need not be more than superficially plausible. So is the focus on the story? The story is passable but doesn't set your heart racing. The bottom line is that it doesn't take itself seriously either. What Niven seems to be going for is a conversion of fantasy and old science-fiction ideas to a modern science-fictional genre. It's an entertaining idea, but everything still ends up feeling like fantasy. He's made a few cosmetic changes, is all--what Orson Scott Card described as "science fiction has rivets, fantasy has trees." Rainbow Mars can't seem to do away with the trees.
Rating: 
Summary: A Pleasant Romp
Review: Rainbow Mars isn't a contender for Best SF of the Year. But it's a good read, with some chuckles and some mind-bending time travel pradoxes. You'll get most out of it if you're quite familiar with classic SF set on Mars.
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