The Integral Trees

The State, Book 2

By: Larry Niven

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline were prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided - and secretly spied upon - by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. What they weren’t prepared for, however, was the Smoke Ring - an immense, gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free fall. When Disciplineencountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis.

Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children.

©2003 Larry Niven (P)2013 Blackstone Audio

Not a comfortable listen

I'm a big fan of many Larry Niven books, and this was not a bad novel, it was just uncomfortable and I wasn't looking for a story on mankind's yin and yang. As a note, I accidentally got book 2 in a sale and have not listened to book 1, so I may have missed some key elements from the previous book. The narrative seems to indicate that people tend toward authoritarian leadership. I'm not a student of history and it may well be true that a majority of cultures have tended toward an authoritarian type government, but I would hope for better. It's also a fact that I haven't read ?book 3? assuming it exists and it may lead us into a utopian government run by the people where good sense, kindness and intelligence rule. The biggest part that was just not comfortable was with the state sponsored sex trafficking and world view that women's worth is in their ability to make babies. Again, history may show this has been a relatively common view, but not something I wanted to be prevalent in a book I'm reading for enjoyment. The story was well written, the characters have depth, and the narration was very good, but it wasn't a story I wanted to listen to for enjoyment. If I was studying history of governments or women's studies, this book may have a lot to dig into. If you are looking for a light read, I would shy away from this book. If you are looking for a thought provoking book where you have to work to understand the environment/universe where it takes place and make judgement on social norms, this might be a good series to read/listen. You might want to start with book 1 though. :D

One of my favorite books is by Larry Niven

This is the second in that series
I'll Jane to twisted to it but on first listen I guess I'd have to say it was hard to stay involved




BUT I may have been not paying attention and I will listen again.



So i listened again. Just to make sure.
Not my cup of tea. Slow uninteresting and a weird ending.

Another good Niven book

The book was enjoyable as are most of Nivens works. The idea of a world made from a toros ring of gas with no land is interesting.

entertaining

basically a story of adventure and peril set in a world with atmosphere but no planet. good reader... uses different ethnic accents to tell characters apart, which is odd, but helpful.

Not Niven's best

After a rather unimpressive opening the storyline takes a hard turn to a mediocre middle culminating in an ignominious conclusion. There is a sequel but I have had enough.

Fortunately shorter than it felt.

Lackluster story and performance. Was a bit tricky to follow the timing of events in audio form because the action and dialogue are narrated in a way that was difficult for me to separate. I think I'll need to re-read this one.

Interesting world building, poor storytelling.

My first disappointing Niven novel. The last 20 minutes was promising, then it ended. How did this become classic?

So bad

I'm so glad this wasn't the first Niven book I heard. What happened? I should of stopped at A World out of time. So bad.

A big pile of Who Cares

I very rarely drop a book, but this one is an exception. Chapter 2 is so dreadfully dull and spatially confusing that it it made me completely lose interest.

EDIT: I have since stuck it out and finished the book. I am sticking with my original assessment: a big pile of "Who cares." Lots of action, but since this silly world gets described piecemeal, it is merely annoying rather than exciting. I think this is one of those books in which the author probably had a lot more fun while writing it than most will have while reading it.