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### From Publishers Weekly Fleeing a massive explosion at the galactic core, a human colony and their allies, the alien Puppeteers, discover they are not the only ones desperate to outrace destruction in the third prequel to Niven's Ringworld saga (after 2008's *Juggler of Worlds*). Thssthfok, a ruthless Pak, will do anything to safeguard his clan after Pakhome is destroyed. Paranoid human agent Sigmund Ausfaller and Puppeteer Baedeker are sent to investigate a distress call from the Gw'oth, who have detected a suspicious ship headed toward the Fleet. Sigmund agrees to work with the Gw'oth, but he's concerned that their insatiable drive for scientific development may make them an even bigger threat than the Pak. With the authors working hard to knit together backstory, this one is primarily for fans of Niven's Known Space setting who will enjoy seeing past puzzles made clear. *(Nov.)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### About the Author **Larry Niven** is the award-winning author of the Ringworld series, along with many other science fiction masterpieces, and fantasy novels including the Magic Goes Away series. *Beowulf's Children*, co-authored with Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes, was a *New York Times* bestseller. He has received the Nebula Award, five Hugos, four Locus Awards, two Ditmars, the Prometheus, and the Robert A. Heinlein Award, among other honors. He lives in Chatsworth, California. **Edward M. Lerner** has degrees in physics and computer science, a background that kept him mostly out of trouble until he began writing science fiction full-time. His books include *Probe*, *Moonstruck*, and the collection Creative Destruction. His other collaborations with Larry Niven include *Fleet of Worlds*. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Ruth.