WORLD OF PTAVVS by Larry Niven

Narrated by Andy Caploe

Hard Sci-Fi for Hard-Minded Sci-Fi Fans

World of Ptavvs is a book that I have read four times. The first three times I really enjoyed everything about it. The characters are well imagined and fit in their roles precisely. The plot is as tight as a snare drum. And the ideas: space travel, telepathic powers, time-retardation fields, talking Dolphins–cool right? I liked it so much that I recommended the book to a friend who was not a Science Fiction reader thinking that it would be a good short illustration of the elements of SF that I liked the best. It turns out that this novel may not have been the best choice for an outsider to the wonders of SF that we all know and love. My friend disliked the book so much that I felt compelled to re-read it, and to my horror, I began to notice its many shortcomings. I had overlooked the things that most people look for in a novel-reading experience; you know character development, flowing prose and the like. Things that are nice to have but that are not exactly essential. For me Larry Niven has always been about the idea; what would have been called a “gadget story” in the old days. One of his collections is titled Playgrounds of the Mind. And once you latch onto that idea you will have found the key to enjoying Niven.

So, this time, listening to World of Ptavvs this time around was a return to my old favorable impression. I very much enjoyed it. I was able to transport myself back to my old self, to my old way of thinking and was able to really have a good time. My mind was again fully engaged. I like the way Niven throws around ideas. Just to play in his world for a while is great fun. This book is a prime example of hard science fiction executed by one of the foremost practitioners. It is interesting to realize that this novel was written very early in Niven’s writing career for his vision of his own Known Space series seems fully formed even though not much of it had been published at the time of its writing (1966).

World of Ptavvs has elements that can only happen in a Science Fiction story: Time-retarder field (Stasis field) that allows one of the characters to be from two billion years ago, Telepathic aliens that don’t need intelligence because of their mind-control powers. Things like these have absolutely no connection to anything in the real world and, therefore, are difficult for some people to relate to. But for those who can find the hook, the connection, such ideas are really fun.

Andy Caploe was a big factor in making this an enjoyable experience. He manages to give each character an individual voice, and some of his voices are really great. I particularly enjoyed his voice for the Dolphin characters. I always appreciate it when the narrator makes the extra effort to perform difficult readings.