“I skimmed through half of this book. Why shouldn't I? Niven obviously did when he wrote it. Although the maturing of the SF genre has empowered editors to cull most of the worst writing from the field, this book is prime evidence that SF editors still allow known writers to get away with lazy writing, weak characterization and illogical plotting. Niven never had any real sense of human interaction-- he's always written with the sensitivity of a 16-year-old boy,-- but he's always had great ideas worth reading about if you like Science Fiction. Here it goes to waste. Niven says in his author's note that the book was "four years overdue;" no kidding--- the book reads like he sat down to finish it with the same attitude the rest of us have when we sit down to do our taxes.”
