A World Out Of Time

[AE35Unit]

I have a hardback copy of this book(first UK edition 1977) and its an interesting story of a man waking up in the future,but what universe does the book belong in,or is it truly standalone? Did Niven ever revisit the world of this book? And might my book be worth something?

[EmperorClobbersaurus]

It's in "The State" universe, or WOOT (World Out Of Time) Universe.
Anyway, (Legacy of Heorot, Beouwulf's Children), (Integral Trees, Smoke Ring), and (Destiny's Road)
Each two or one series of books, noted by parathesis, are pretty much stand alone and dont influence each other
But they are in the same universe
Any others that i have missed..like short stories, please let me know

[AE35Unit]

Hmmm don't think I've heard of Destiny's Road,
must have a google

[Dave]

I think Destiny's Road is his best book. Not everyone likes it mind you.

I have a paperback copy of A World Out Of Time. I don't know if there is any market for his old collections, but I do know that a few of my eighties Niven collections are out of print. Most of those short stories are available in new collections like N-Space though.

[EmperorClobbersaurus]

i like how niven switches his universe around with WOOT
in Known Space, once u go to the stars you still are a part of humanity as defined by the Earth, UN, ARM, etc
But with WOOT, the colonist are seperated, each and of themselves worlds out of time/tune with one another
even those returning to the Earth are still cut off
i wonder if Niven's collaborations with Pournelle and his CoDom Universe have had any affect
still ur right Dave, this universe rocks

[Lensman]

Correction: The Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf's Children are not set in the universe of "The State". The other three novels mentioned are.

Generally speaking, Niven keeps his collaboration and solo-author universes separate from each other. Fleet of Worlds is the first time he's worked with a collaborator on a story in a universe (Known Space) created by Niven alone. Legacy and Beowulf's are both collaborations, so that's a good rule-of-thumb indication they're not set in "The State" universe, quite aside from any other indications.

[chrispenycate]

Just have to mention "Rammer", the short story that was expanded into "World out of time"
But the Kzinsi exist in known space, and there is a huge number of stories written in that universe by a wide selection of authors (the man-kzin wars, volumes 1- n, where n is larger than ten, but without a bibliography I can't define)
Some of the stories are quite good.

[Lensman]

Originally Posted by chrispenycate

the man-kzin wars, volumes 1- n, where n is larger than ten, but without a bibliography I can't define)
Some of the stories are quite good.

MKW bibliography at my website here:

http://www.freewebs.com/knownspace/biblio.htm#MKW

Of course critical opinion differs, but in general I think many fans agree the first three volumes contain some very good stories, but the series runs downhill thereafter.

[Roadkiller]

I have always felt there was another "WOOT" story.

It involves a "rammer" telling his story in a park. His star ship was broken down when he was rescued by some sort of ethereal being. There is a scene where he picks up a caterpillar off the sidewalk and puts it back on a tree. The name of the story escapes me. Anyone?

[chrispenycate]

I believe it was Passer by" from "All the myriad ways", and since I know I have the book in my shelves, should be able to check that out (assuming I can find it; my classification logic has got a bit relaxed recently).

But I don't think it's in the WooT universe; Mr Niven just likes Buzzard ramjets. He uses them in known space, too, and I think in Footfall.

On the other hand, "The Integral Trees" and "The Smoke Ring" originate from the state, so could be considered to fall in between the two halves of World out of Time…

[Nik]

Bussard...

Robert W. Bussard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He was a *genuine* Atomic Rocket Scientist !!

He's also responsible for reviving work on inertial fusion confinement, the Polywell aka Wiffle Ball.

[Roadkiller]

Chris, I believe you are correct, Passerby does ring a bell as the name. I don't think it's ever been explicitly made part of the WOOT universe, I just felt it belonged

[daveac]

Just finished re-reading this book.

I did enjoy it but still not sure of the source of rejuvenation.

Cheers, daveac

[revelshade]

Originally Posted by daveac

Just finished re-reading this book.

I did enjoy it but still not sure of the source of rejuvenation.

Cheers, daveac

SPOILERS! Re: rejuvenation - been a long while but as I recall our hero is on the run at some point, gets into what he thinks is a teleportation booth and presses the button. He doesn't go anywhere but a cloud of tiny particles appears in a booth next to him. The idea is the machine uses teleport tech to remove inert matter from cells (especially metals? don't remember).

My favorite Niven singleton. Love the catsnakes, immortal boys, planet-moving. Hope he never goes back for a sequel. Let it be, etc.

[revelshade]

I'm under the impression that the Léshy Circuit stories are set in the State universe. Or am I just mixing up two different "no-FTL" series?