The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 7 books · 1970 to 2004

Larry Niven

Science fictionSpace operaMilitary science fictionHard science fiction

Larry Niven's Known Space stories span a thousand years of human expansion, alien Puppeteers and warlike Kzinti. Ringworld, the best known, sends an expedition to an artificial ring three million times the area of Earth. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand were written with Jerry Pournelle and appear on both pages.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Larry Niven books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Ringworld

4 books · Set in spaceHard science fictionSpace opera
  1. 1Ringworld1970With Louis WuBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Ringworld Engineers1980With Louis WuBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Ringworld Throne1996With Louis WuBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Ringworld's Children2004With Louis WuBuy on Amazon

Known Space

1 book · Set in spaceHard science fiction
  1. 1Protector1973With Jack BrennanBuy on Amazon

Moties

2 books · Set in spaceSpace operaMilitary science fiction
  1. 1The Mote in God's Eye1974CrossoverWith Roderick BlaineRoderick Blaine, Kevin Renner, Horace Bury, Sally Fowler also appear in books by Jerry PournelleBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Gripping Hand1993CrossoverWith Kevin Renner and Horace BuryRoderick Blaine, Kevin Renner, Horace Bury, Sally Fowler also appear in books by Jerry PournelleBuy on Amazon

Characters

11 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Ringworld

Known Space

The Moties