Man-Kzin War
Cover of Man-Kzin Wars III. Art by Stephen Hickman.
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Volumes: The Man-Kzin Wars, Man-Kzin Wars II, Man-Kzin Wars III, Man-Kzin Wars IV, Man-Kzin Wars V, Man-Kzin Wars VI, Man-Kzin Wars VII, Man-Kzin Wars VIII: Choosing Names, Man-Kzin Wars IX, Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War, Man-Kzin Wars XI, Destiny's Forge: A Man-Kzin Novel, Man-Kzin Wars XII, Man-Kzin Wars XIII, Man-Kzin Wars XIV, Treasure Planet: A Man-Kzin Novel
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| Author | Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Dean Ing, Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling, Donald Kingsbury, Greg Bear, Thomas T. Thomas, Mark O. Martin, Gregory Benford, Hal Colebatch, Paul Chafe, Warren W. James, Jessica Q. Fox, Jane Lindskold, Charles E. Gannon, Alex Hernandez, David Bartell, Matthew Joseph Harrington |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Baen Books |
| Published | 1988–2014 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections (and is the name of the first collection), as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail. They are set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe; however, Niven himself has only written a small number of the stories.
All of the cover art for the books in the series are drawn by Stephen Hickman.
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 timeframe. Niven therefore allowed the Man-Kzin Wars to become a shared universe, starting with the 1988 release of The Man-Kzin Wars.
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 among Niven's work. Jerry Pournelle and Poul Anderson were among the first authors approached, and both ended up writing stories.
After the release of the second volume, reader demand was enough to allow continuing releases periodically, continuing to the current day. Starting with volume three, Niven himself has composed several additional entries.
† Additional Notes:
Larry Niven has never specifically addressed whether or not these stories are part of the canon of Known Space stories. He has ruled A Darker Geometry as definitely non-canonical, and the story is incompatible with Juggler of Worlds, which is co-authored by Niven and Edward M. Lerner. Conversely, Niven's story Fly-By-Night refers directly to, and summarizes, the events of Telepath's Dance, so it appears he considers that story canonical. The canonicity of other stories in the series is undetermined.
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