Niven, Larry: Destiny's Road

[Dave]

Anyone want to talk about this one:

Destiny's Road (1997)

Written by Larry Niven.

Almost 250 years ago, the starcruiser 'Argos' reached the planet 'Destiny', carrying the first settlers. The 'Argos' deserted them, Earth again. And shortly afterwards the landing craft, the 'Cavorite', dissapeared.

But 'Cavorite's final voyage left behind a lasting impression on the planet's surface; one that is still spoken of in terms of awe and wonder by the people of Spiral Town.

For the landing craft hovered just a metre above the surface of the planet and seared a wide, smooth Road into the rock. It's said that the Road crosses the whole planet, but no one knows for sure. Because no settler who has travelled down the Road has ever returned.

However, when young Jemmy Bloocher is accused of murder and forced to flee Spiral Town, there is only one way he can go.

His adventures along the Road on the partly terraformed planet then follow. Through his eyes, we see several different societies on this planet, and how men and women interrelate, and the differing types of economy. There were many gripping moments of adventure that made it hard to put the book down.

The planet has a serious mineral deficiency which prevents Earth-life thriving without supplements. The 'speckles' are therefore worth their weight in Gold. Niven leads up to a big revelation, but although it's not a huge surprise, it's still one of my favourite books.

 

[greyhorse]

Dave, you seem like a BIG Larry Niven fan. I became one as soon as I read N-Space, following up with Playgrounds of the Mind and then his complete novels.

The problem with discussing a lot of Niven books is that after you've read the books, there's not a whole lot to discuss. In most cases Niven's already covered most of what there is to discuss.

If there is a specific part of Destiny's Road or any other novel you'd like to lead a discussion about, shout ahead!

The one think about Destiny's Road that I found hard to believe was just how smart Jemmy is. Like all of Niven's main characters Jemmy has the ability to figure out problems very quickly, but even given Jemmy's superior education I still find it hard to believe how much he was able solve. Especially given Jemmy's age.

-Jeff

 

[Dave]

What I liked most about this was how the whole ecosystem, and hence the story itself was tied into the mineral deficiency (Potassium I think -- whatever was in the speckles?)

It's been a while since I read this, so I'm not sure about Jemmy, I must read it again.

 

[AcesHigh]

im beginning to read this book. Its a read much more difficult than Ringworld... I am already quite lost with all the caracthers and Niven talks about things and dont explain them for several pages.

Like, in the beginning, he talks about the "killer", but it takes some 10 pages before he finally explains that the killer is a sort of egg-shaped robot that kills native flora and fauna using some sort of whip.

Not mentioning the 3 billion children name you have to account for in the beginning of the book...



ps: im not a native english speaker.

 

[Dave]

Not mentioning the 3 billion children name you have to account for in the beginning of the book...

Not quite 3 billion names I think It is a long time since I read this, and I probably should do again, but I think the one useful thing Niven does in all his recent books is to put that Dramatis Personae at the beginning.

 

[Roadkiller]

I recall reading an article by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven where they talk about writing "Best Seller" fiction. I think the context was Lucifer's Hammer. One thing that Best Sellers apparently require are lots of characters, therefore the reader is bound to find someone they can identify with

Over time I think this has crept into Niven's regular writing, and the Dramatis Personae has become a necessity. I prefer having fewer characters and each being more memorable. I need only say Louis Wu, Speaker, Nessus, Teela and you can tell me the novel(s), and a bit about each character.

 

[Contrary Mary]

I found Destiny's Road quite good--but I almost always like NIven and Pournelle. Yes, the main character is very smart--and very lucky!--but the society portrayed I found interesting.

 

[Roadkiller]

Niven/Pournelle do a great job of making the society a prime part of the story.

The actions of the characters in The Mote in God's Eye are driven as much by the way their society is structured as by their developing relationship and conflict with the Moties.

Pournelle did this best himself with King David's Space Ship which is a pretty average tale about an attempt to put a man into orbit. It becomes a great story because of the importance of its' effect on the society launching the ship.