The Draco Tavern

By: Larry Niven

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

When a tremendous spacecraft takes orbit around Earth's moon and begins sending smaller landers down toward the North Pole, the newly arrived visitors quickly set up a permanent spaceport in Siberia. Their presence attracts many, and a few grow conspicuously rich from secrets they learn from talking to the aliens. One of these men, Rick Schumann, establishes a tavern catering to all the various species of visiting aliens, a place he calls the Draco Tavern.

From the mind of best-selling author Larry Niven come 27 tales and vignettes from this interstellar gathering place, in collected form for the first time. Join Rick and his staff as they chronicle the seemingly infinite alien species that spend a few moments pondering life and all its questions within the Draco Tavern.

Hi-fi sci-fi: don't miss any of our Larry Niven titles.©2006 Larry Niven (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"[The tales read] like brilliant, half-whimsical notebook jottings." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Niven...showcases his ability to use SF to explore mind-boggling, universal questions....[The stories], taken altogether, radiate Niven's wit and technological inventiveness." ( Booklist)

Terrific

Niven will always be one the best authors ever. A great collection of short stories. B)

Larry Niven, always a good read

I’ve been a huge fan of Larry Niven’s novels for decades. I recently started listening to them on audible, and it’s been a whole new way to enjoy the books. It’s like having a personal narrator bringing the stories to life!

Needed more

This is my second favorite Niven book. Love it. It needed a sequel of a few sequels…

Made my long drives a lot of fun.

Too bad this is so short. What a great bit of fantasy cast in a believable everyday narrative. This is definitely in the "light" category, but it will make you laugh and forget about all the idiots in the news or on the road near you.

best ever

The narration and the story are better then I remember it from my first reading of the paperback

great layout in vignette format!!

short stories in a connected overarching universe....or tavern!

interesting and creative takes on aliens and their possible interactions with humans. great stuff

My Favorite Audio Book

Where does The Draco Tavern rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My favorite. I love it. I listen to it whenever I am stuck in traffic without a new audio to hear. My six-year-old son and I enjoy discussing it.Had to skip the Smut Talk story with him.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The bartender, Rich Schuman. His dry humor and quick wit are most enjoyable.

Have you listened to any of Tom Weiner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. He is perfect for Rick Schuman and did other characters very well.

Who was the most memorable character of The Draco Tavern and why?

Besides Rick Schuman, the most memorable characters were the aliens called the Chirpsithra. Fascinating, funny, mysterious and scary all at once.

Any additional comments?

I wish Niven would write some more of these short stories (vignettes, really). I am hooked.

interesting weave of shorts combine

loved it. the shorts combine to form a great picture of interactions in the future.

Enjoyable collection of actual sci-fi stories.

What sci-fi is supposed to be: story driven, interesting concepts, unique aliens, no personal agenda. Niven had fun writing these stories, which translates into fun listening for me.

A Great Listen

This is really just a lot of fun to listen to.
I have read everything that Larry Niven has written. Most things more than once. I was hooked on his short stories over three decades ago when I read "Neutron Star". His humor and his insight into the human race and his ability to ask the "What if?" question and then take that ball and run with it is always paramount.
In this collection (which contains a couple of stories not in earlier collections) he answers "What if a human had the only alien species friendly bar on earth?"
Each time I read or listen to these stories I am refreshed and I find something new to think about and I have a chuckle or two.
I think you will too!