Larry Niven has been around the block. Best known for his RINGWORLD books, he’s a Huga and Nebula award winner, and he knows a few things. If he were a bartender, I think he’d be a lot like Rick Schumann, the proprieter of the Draco Tavern, the only bar on Earth in which aliens mingle with humans. Secrets are disclosed, miracles are performed, and dupes are taken for all they’ve got.

THE DRACO TAVERN is a collection of 26 short (and really short) stories Niven’s written over the years, collected in chronological order and encompassing one of the best compilations of boiled-down science-fiction convention ever. I know, I know, the “crazy bar” meme has been done to death. But Niven examines everything with a depth of detail and scope that really goes beyond the tired cliché.

A TV writer could steal from this book for decades and not run out of ideas. Niven tackles all comers – evolution, alien babies, mating rituals, crazy misunderstandings, space turtles that move at a seemingly glacial pace – and all of it is handled with aplomb. Not only that, but not one of the tales is overly long; they’re bite-sized and delicious, like a box of literary Junior Mints. If you’ve never read a Niven book before and are intimidated by his “hard SF” reputation, you should feel obligated to read THE DRACO TAVERN, if only for your personal enlightenment. –Ryun Patterson

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