The Man–Kzin Wars is the name of a series of military science fiction anthologies as well as the name of the first book in the series. The short stories detail the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti, set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. However, Niven himself has written only a small number of the stories; most were written by other science fiction writers, as Niven opened this part of the Known Space to collaboration in the form of a shared universe. The cover art for the books in the series is created by Stephen Hickman.
Origins The first story set in the Man–Kzin Wars, "The Warriors" (1966), was one of Niven's earliest published stories and one of the first of what would become his Known Space series. Niven did not consider himself qualified to write war stories; therefore, although a number of his later stories referenced the Man–Kzin Wars, he never actually showed them. However, there was a large fan demand for stories covering the conflict, and a number of his author friends had shown interest in writing tales set in the time frame. Niven, therefore, allowed the Man–Kzin Wars to become a shared universe, starting with the 1988 release of The Man–Kzin Wars. Starting with volume three, Niven himself has composed several additional stories in the series, although the majority of content has been written by other authors. The resulting series has also been described as a "franchise".
Initially, there were only plans for two volumes. Niven, along with John Hewitt (one of the main writers for the Ringworld RPG) composed a "Bible" for aspiring writers, including several pages of notes composed between the two of them and photocopied pages of the RPG. The Bible included corrections for some of the inconsistencies in Niven's work. Jerry Pournelle and Poul Anderson were among the first authors approached, and both ended up writing stories.
The series has continued to the current day (volume XV was released in 2019).
The stories TitlePublishedCollected inWritten by"The Warriors"1966Worlds of If; Tales of Known Space; The Man–Kzin Wars; Three Books of Known Space; The Best of All Possible Wars†Larry Niven"Iron"1988The Man–Kzin Wars; Inconstant Star†Poul Anderson"Cathouse"1988The Man–Kzin Wars; Cathouse†; The Houses of the Kzinti†Dean Ing"Briar Patch"1989Man–Kzin Wars II; Cathouse; The Houses of the KzintiDean Ing"The Children's Hour"1989Man–Kzin Wars II; The Children's Hour†; The Houses of the KzintiJerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling"Madness Has Its Place"1990Man–Kzin Wars III; N-Space; Three Books of Known Space; The Best of All Possible WarsLarry Niven"The Asteroid Queen"1990Man–Kzin Wars III; The Children's HourJerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling"Inconstant Star"1990Man–Kzin Wars III; Inconstant StarPoul Anderson"The Survivor"1991Man–Kzin Wars IV; The Space Opera RenaissanceDonald Kingsbury"The Man Who Would Be Kzin"1991Man–Kzin Wars IV; The Best of All Possible WarsGreg Bear and S. M. Stirling"In The Hall of the Mountain King"1992Man–Kzin Wars V; The Best of All Possible WarsJerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling"Hey Diddle Diddle"1992Man–Kzin Wars VThomas T. Thomas"The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine"1994Man–Kzin Wars VIDonald Kingsbury"Trojan Cat"1994Man–Kzin Wars VIMark O. Martin and Gregory Benford"The Colonel's Tiger"1995Man–Kzin Wars VII; Centaurus: the best of Australian science fictionHal Colebatch"A Darker Geometry"1995Man–Kzin Wars VII; A Darker Geometry†Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford"Prisoner of War"1995Man–Kzin Wars VIIPaul Chafe"Choosing Names"1998Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIIILarry Niven "Telepath's Dance"1998Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIIIHal Colebatch "Galley Slave"1998Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIIIJean Lamb"Jotok"†1998Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIIIPaul Chafe"Slowboat Nightmare"1998Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIIIWarren W. James"Pele"2002Man–Kzin Wars IXPoul Anderson"His Sergeant's Honor"2002Man–Kzin Wars IXHal Colebatch "Windows of the Soul"2002Man–Kzin Wars IXPaul Chafe"Fly-by-Night"2002Man–Kzin Wars IXLarry Niven"One War for Wunderland"2003Man–Kzin Wars X: The Wunder WarHal Colebatch "The Corporal in the Caves"2003Man–Kzin Wars X: The Wunder WarHal Colebatch "Music Box"2003Man–Kzin Wars X: The Wunder WarHal Colebatch "Peter Robinson"2003Man–Kzin Wars X: The Wunder WarHal Colebatch "Three at Table"2005Man–Kzin Wars XIHal Colebatch"Grossgeister Swamp"2005Man–Kzin Wars XIHal Colebatch"Catspaws"2005Man–Kzin Wars XIHal Colebatch"Teacher's Pet"2005Man–Kzin Wars XIMatthew Joseph Harrington"War and Peace"2005Man–Kzin Wars XIMatthew Joseph Harrington"The Hunting Park"2005Man–Kzin Wars XILarry Niven"Destiny's Forge"2006Destiny's Forge†Paul Chafe "Echoes of Distant Guns"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIMatthew Joseph Harrington "AQUILA ADVENIO"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIHal Colebatch and Matthew Joseph Harrington"The Trooper and the Triangle"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIHal Colebatch"String"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIHal Colebatch & Matthew Joseph Harrington"Peace and Freedom"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIMatthew Joseph Harrington"Independent"2009Man–Kzin Wars XIIPaul Chafe"Misunderstanding"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIIHal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox"Two Type of Teeth"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIIJane Lindskold"Pick of the Litter"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIICharles E. Gannon"Tomcat Tactics"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIICharles E. Gannon"At the Gates"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIIAlex Hernandez"Zeno's Roulette"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIIDavid Bartell"Bound for the Promised Land"2012Man–Kzin Wars XIIIAlex Hernandez"A Man Named Saul"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVHal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox"Heritage"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVMatthew Joseph Harrington"The Marmalade Problem"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVHal Colebatch"Leftovers"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVMatthew Joseph Harrington"The White Column"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVHal Colebatch"Deadly Knowledge: A Story of the Man–Kzin Wars"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVHal Colebatch"Lions on the Beach"2013Man–Kzin Wars XIVAlex Hernandez"Treasure Planet"2014Treasure Planet†Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox"Sales Pitch"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVHal Colebatch"Singer-of-Truth"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVMartin L. Shoemaker"The Third Kzin"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVJason Fregeau"Excitement"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVHal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox"Justice"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVJessica Q. Fox"Saga"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVBrendan DuBois"Scrith"2019Man–Kzin Wars XVBrad R. Torgersen"Freedom"2020Freedom†Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox
† Additional notes: "Iron" and "Inconstant Star" were combined as a single collection, Inconstant Star, in 1991. "Cathouse" and "Briar Patch" were combined as a single collection, Cathouse, in 1990. "The Children's Hour" and "The Asteroid Queen" were combined as a single collection, The Children's Hour, in 1991. "A Darker Geometry" was expanded (an extra segment added to the end) and republished as a novel in 1996. "The Warriors", "Madness Has its Place", "The Man Who Would Be Kzin", and "In the Hall of the Mountain King" were collected as The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man–Kzin Wars in 1998. "Cathouse", "Briar Patch", and "The Children's Hour" were collected as The Houses of the Kzinti in 2002. "Jotok" was originally titled "The Chosen One". In 2001, Annals of the Man–Kzin-Wars: An Unofficial Companion Guide was released. Written by Alan Michaud, it includes illustrations, maps, histories of the Kzinti and humans, character biographies, and story descriptions. It covers the first eight volumes. Destiny's Forge is a single novel. Treasure Planet is a single novel. Freedom is a single novel.
Original books
Title Published ISBN Notes The Man–Kzin Wars 1988 Man–Kzin Wars II 1989 Man–Kzin Wars III 1990 Man–Kzin Wars IV 1991 Man–Kzin Wars V 1992 Man–Kzin Wars VI 1994 Man–Kzin Wars VII: A Darker Geometry 1995 Choosing Names: Man–Kzin Wars VIII 1998 Man–Kzin Wars IX 2001 Man–Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War 2005 Man–Kzin Wars XI 2005 Destiny's Forge: A Man–Kzin Novel 2007 Man–Kzin Wars XII 2009 Man–Kzin Wars XIII 2012 Man–Kzin Wars XIV 2013 Treasure Planet: A Man–Kzin Novel 2014 Man–Kzin Wars XV 2019 Freedom: A Man–Kzin Novel 2020
Reprints/Reworks
Title Published ISBN Notes Cathouse: A Man–Kzin Novel 1990 Inconstant Star: A Novel of the Man–Kzin Wars 1991 The Children's Hour: A Man–Kzin Novel 1991 A Darker Geometry: A Man–Kzin Novel 1996 The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man–Kzin Wars 1998 The Houses of the Kzinti 2002 The Man–Kzin Wars: 25th Anniversary Edition* 2013
The Man–Kzin Wars: 25th Anniversary Edition is a reissue of the first volume, The Man–Kzin Wars, with a "Memoir" by Niven about the publishing of the series.
Plot summary There are a total of four Man–Kzin Wars, as well as major and minor "Kzinti incidents". The First War began circa 2367. By this time, Human space was in the middle of the "Long Peace". ARM, the United Nations security forces, has completely suppressed all "dangerous" technologies, histories, mental illnesses, and media, leading to not only an end of the war and almost all violent crimes, but a change in society so vast that most people have a difficulty even conceptualizing such things.
The U.N.'s reach was limited to Earth, however. There were a number of other colonies in space, the most important being the Asteroid Belt, Wunderland, We Made It, Jinx, and Plateau.
First Man–Kzin War The Kzinti, with vast technical superiority (including gravity drives, telepaths, and a large military empire), detected a human colonization ship in deep space, the Angel's Pencil. After the Kzin telepath learned that the humans were unarmed and did not even understand the concept of weapons, they attempted to kill the human crew in a slow, painful manner using an inductive heating weapon hoping to capture their ship intact for intelligence purposes. However, one of the humans used the ship's powerful drive system (which doubled as an interstellar communications laser) as a weapon and destroyed the Kzin ship, beginning the First Man–Kzin War. The crew then warned Earth of the warlike aliens, although the transmissions were initially dismissed as an outbreak of psychosis. Then a similar encounter between another human ship and the Kzin vessel led to the destruction of the more primitive human ship. However, one of the human prisoners, with the aid of a rogue telepath, was able to escape to the Angel's Pencil and warn them of the danger of their increasing penetration into Kzinti space.