Fate Of Worlds (Fleet Of Worlds book 5) by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (book review)

For a fifth and final book in the ‘Fleet Of Worlds’ series, ‘Fate Of Worlds’ is practically an introduction to any new reader to the ‘Known Space’ reality with the opening third of the book introducing characters and their situation. From different points in space, there is the discovery that the million mile across six hundred million long ringworld has disappeared. The humans on New Terra, left behind from the Citizens/Puppeteers Fleet Of Worlds, itself fleeing the demise of the galaxy (don’t worry, it won’t happen for a few millennia, the Citizens are just leaving early cos they scare easily) have also detected the arrival of some large mass and have to investigate. Back near ringworld’s original position, the Citizen Baedeker has managed to cure Louis Wu of being a Pak through an autodoc and using the fastest GP spaceship are also in pursuit. Essentially, we have the theft of the biggest dumb object in the galaxy with no idea who’s done it.

Intermingled into all of this is some backstory about Louis Wu’s story prior to his introduction in the original ‘Ringworld’ which I suspect will have many of you re-evaluating his history. Without giving too much away as potential spoiler, this is more pre-history than anything that will influence what you previously read so far but it does bring a new perspective to New Terra and the machinations of the Citizens.