Mradyfist's Full Review: Larry Niven - Destiny's Road
Wow.
I'm starting this review out with wow, because that's what I felt about this book. "Destiny's Road" truly is an amazing book, and not just because of it's own accomplishments. The most important thing I noticed about this book was that it feels different from Niven's other works. Part of it is because the book is set on a world unlike anything else in Niven's other universes, but I think it also has to do with the entirely new culture that he's created, just for this book. There are so many parts of this fictional culture that have absolutely nothing to do with the plot, and that's what makes them so important. Tiny details fill in the cracks in the culture, and truly give you the feeling that this isn't earth, or a copy of earth with better technology; this is Destiny. It has it's own culture, it's own people, it's own world, and because of this, the book doesn't even need a plot. I would've enjoyed it purely as reference.
Not to say that it doesn'thave a plot. The story definitely feels different than in some of Niven's other books, especially in the Known Space universe, most likely because unlike in many Known Space stories, there is no esoteric technology here, no extreme examples of astrophysics in action. The entire story revolves around the culture, not the technology. This isn't necessarily better or worse than what Niven does in his other books, but it's certainly different, and variety is the spice of life. Hopefully there will be a sequel to Destiny's Road. If there is, I'm buying it.
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