The Man-Kzin Wars Series refers to a number of interconnected stories set within the Larry Niven's Known Space Universe. The series details various stories set against the backdrop of the Man-Kzin Wars, interstellar war waged between mankind and the savage Kzin invaders. The stories in this series, with five exceptions, are not written by Larry Niven himself. Lacking any sort of military experience, Niven did not consider himself qualified to write war stories and therefore chose not to delve into the time period of the Man-Kzin wars in great detail. Eventually though, some of Niven's fellow science-fiction authors were invited to write stories dealing with the conflict. These stories are collected in volumes labeled Man-Kzin Wars followed by a roman numeral denoting the number of the volume with the exception of the first volume which is simply title The Man-Kzin Wars.
Books[]
As of 2022 there are a total of 15 volumes and 3 stand-alone novels in the series, plus an additional novel that is expanded from one of the stories. There are also collections of stories from preceding volumes.
- The Man-Kzin Wars (first anthology) (first book in the series) (1988)
- Man-Kzin Wars II (1989)
- Man-Kzin Wars III (1990)
- Man-Kzin Wars IV (1991)
- Man-Kzin Wars V (1992)
- Man-Kzin Wars VI (1994)
- Man-Kzin Wars VII (1995)
- A Darker Geometry: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel (standalone novel expanded from a non-canon story from Man-Kzin Wars VII) (199 )
- Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII (1998)
- Man-Kzin Wars IX (2002)
- Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War (2003)
- Man-Kzin Wars XI (2005)
- Destiny's Forge: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel (standalone novel) (2006)
- Man-Kzin Wars XII (2009)
- Man-Kzin Wars XIII (2012)
- Man-Kzin Wars XIV (2013)
- Treasure Planet: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel (standalone novel) (2013)
- Man-Kzin Wars XV (2019)
- Freedom: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel (standalone novel) (2020)
The stories[]
Most stories in the Man-Kzin Wars series are novella length; some are novellete or even novel-length. They are simply identified as MKW stories.
| Title | Published | Collected in | Written by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Warriors" | 1966 | The Man-Kzin Wars (first anthology) | Larry Niven |
| "Iron (MKW story) | 1988 | The Man-Kzin Wars (first anthology) | Poul Anderson |
| Cathouse (MKW story) | 1988 | The Man-Kzin Wars (first anthology) ) | Dean Ing |
| Briar Patch (MKW story) | 1989 | Man-Kzin Wars II | Dean Ing |
| The Children's Hour (MKW story) | 1989 | Man-Kzin Wars II | Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling |
| Madness Has Its Place (MKW story) | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III | Larry Niven |
| The Asteroid Queen (MKW story) | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III | Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling |
| Inconstant Star (MKW story) | 1990 | Man-Kzin Wars III | Poul Anderson |
| The Survivor (MKW story)[1] | 1991 | Man-Kzin Wars IV | Donald Kingsbury |
| The Man Who Would Be Kzin (MKW story) | 1991 | Man-Kzin Wars IV | Greg Bear and S. M. Stirling |
| In The Hall of the Mountain King (MKW story)[1] | 1992 | Man-Kzin Wars V | Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling |
| Hey Diddle Diddle (MKW story) | 1992 | Man-Kzin Wars V | Thomas T. Thomas |
| The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine (MKW story)[1] | 1994 | Man-Kzin Wars VI | Donald Kingsbury |
| Trojan Cat (MKW story) | 1994 | Man-Kzin Wars VI | Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford |
| The Colonel's Tiger (MKW story) | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII | Hal Colebatch |
| A Darker Geometry (MKW story)[1] (non-canon) | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII; expanded in A Darker Geometry (MKW novel) (non-canon) | Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford |
| Prisoner of War (MKW story) | 1995 | Man-Kzin Wars VII | Paul Chafe |
| Choosing Names (MKW story) | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Larry Niven |
| Telepath's Dance (MKW story) | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Hal Colebatch |
| Galley Slave (MKW story) | 1996 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Jean Lamb |
| Jotok (MKW story)[2] | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Paul Chafe |
| Slowboat Nightmare (MKW story) | 1998 | Choosing Names: Man-Kzin Wars VIII | Warren W. James |
| Pele (MKW story) | 2001 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Poul Anderson |
| His Sergeant's Honor (MKW story) | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Hal Colebatch |
| Windows of the Soul (MKW story) | 2002 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Paul Chafe |
| Fly-by-Night (story) | 2000 | Man-Kzin Wars IX | Larry Niven |
| One War for Wunderland (MKW story)[1] | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch |
| The Corporal in the Caves (MKW story) | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch |
| Music Box (MKW story) | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch |
| Peter Robinson (MKW story) | 2003 | Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War | Hal Colebatch |
| Three at Table (MKW story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch |
| Grossgeister Swamp (MKW story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch |
| Catspaws (MKW story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Hal Colebatch |
| Teacher's Pet (MKW story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| War and Peace (MKW story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| The Hunting Park (story) | 2005 | Man-Kzin Wars XI | Larry Niven |
| Destiny's Forge (MKW novel) | 2006 | Destiny's Forge | Paul Chafe |
| Echoes of Distant Guns (MKW story) | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| AQUILA ADVENIO (MKW story)[1] | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch and Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| The Trooper and the Triangle | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch |
| String | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Hal Colebatch & Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| Peace and Freedom (MKW story) | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| Independent | 2009 | Man-Kzin Wars XII | Paul Chafe |
| Misunderstanding | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox |
| Two Types of Teeth (MKW story) | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Jane Lindskold |
| Pick of the Litter (MKW story) | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Charles E. Gannon |
| Tomcat Tactics | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Charles E. Gannon |
| At the Gates | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Alex Hernandez |
| Zeno's Roulette | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | David Bartell |
| Bound for the Promised Land | 2012 | Man-Kzin Wars XIII | Alex Hernandez |
| A Man Named Saul (MKW story) | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox |
| Heritage (MKW story) | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| The Marmalade Problem (MKW story) | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch |
| Leftovers (MKW story) | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Matthew Joseph Harrington |
| The White Column | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch |
| Deadly Knowledge: A Story of the Man-Kzin Wars | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Hal Colebatch |
| Lions on the Beach | 2013 | Man-Kzin Wars XIV | Alex Hernandez |
| Treasure Planet (novel) | 2014 | Treasure Planet | Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox |
| Sales Pitch (MKW story) | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Hal Colebatch |
| Singer-of-Truth | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Martin L. Shoemaker |
| The Third Kzin | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Jason Fregeau |
| Excitement | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox |
| Justice | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Jessica Q. Fox |
| Saga | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Brendan DuBois |
| Scrith | 2019 | Man-Kzin Wars XV | Brad R. Torgersen |
| Freedom (MKW novel) | 2020 | Freedom (MKW novel)† | Hal Colebatch and Jessica Q. Fox |
Additional notes[]
- In 2001, Annals of the Man-Kzin-Wars: An Unofficial Companion Guide was released. Written by Alan Michaud, it includes illustrations, maps, histories of the Kzinti and humans, character biographies, and story descriptions. It covers the first eight volumes.
- Destiny's Forge is a single novel.
- Treasure Planet is a single novel.
- Freedom is a single novel.
Reprints/Reworks[]
| Title | Published | Includes | Author(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cathouse: A Man-Kzin Novel | 1990 | "Cathouse" and "Briar Patch" | Dean Ing |
| Inconstant Star (MKW omnibus): A Novel of the Man-Kzin Wars | 1991 | "Iron" and "Inconstant Star" | Poul Anderson |
| The Children's Hour (MKW novel): A Man-Kzin Novel | 1991 | Incorporates "The Children's Hour" and "The Asteroid Queen" | Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling |
| A Darker Geometry: A Man-Kzin Novel | 1996 | Mark O. Martin and Gregory Benford | |
| The Best of All Possible Wars: The Best of the Man-Kzin Wars | 1998 | "The Warriors", "Madness Has its Place", "The Man Who Would Be Kzin", and "In the Hall of the Mountain King" | Various |
| The Houses of the Kzinti | 2002 | "Cathouse", "Briar Patch", and The Children's Hour (MKW novel) | Various |
| The Man-Kzin Wars: 25th Anniversary Edition | 2013 | A reissue of the first volume, The Man-Kzin Wars, with a "Memoir" by Niven about the publishing of the series. | Various |