I’ve read so many Larry Niven novels and stories by now that I can’t remember them all. This was one of the most satisfying, on a par to my mind with the Ringworld series. Jemmy is a lovable character who always means well and has to be pushed to do bad.
In the end he gives back in the most meaningful way: freeing his people from a tyranny imposed by the colony planet’s founders. I don’t understand the really savage criticism of the book by a majority of reviewers at Amazon: don’t waste your time, big disappointment, a mess, etc.
I agree with some of them that the dialogue was occasionally hard to follow. But reading back over it didn’t take a lot of energy and I was soon set right. Likewise with puzzling out a few typos. Sometimes I think the Amazon reviewers are sheep, and this is one of those times. I especially loved the ending, which I reread several times. I hope the amateur reviewers didn’t hurt the book’s sales and that we see more of Destiny, down the road.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 