Larry Niven Quotes

One bad, stupid decision could twist a life completely out of true.

One mark of a good officer, he remembered, was the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better.

“But there’s an old legend,” I said. “Once every hundred years the Los Angeles smog rolls away for a single night, leaving the air as clear as interstellar space. That way the gods can see if Los Angeles is still there. If it is, they roll the smog back so they won’t have to look at it.”

Civilization must have become awfully stereotyped before its collapse.

10) Anarchy is the least stable of social structures.

The Gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.

"What have they said to us?"
"I could translate, but it would be meaningless. They have welcomed us in the name of their Emperor, who appears to be an over-Master. The short, round one is Mediator to this Emperor."
"Ah. We have at last found one who can communicate. Speak to her."
"But he has said nothing!"
"Say nothing in return."

“Do you like strange places and faraway people—or vice versa?”
“Both.”

There had been a popular joke on Freedom, started by a man named Calder. Looking down from space, he had said, the dominant life forms on Earth were obviously the cereals and other grasses. They occupied all the most desirable and fertile land; and they had tamed insects and animals to care for them. In particular, they had domesticated the bipeds to nurture and cultivate them and to save and plant their seed. Now, watching the farmers, Alex could easily imagine that they were worshiping and genuflecting before their masters.

Mother Nature doesn't care if you're having fun.

I didn’t want to find her. Not now. Our bargain had been clear, and also inevitable; and there are advantages to sleeping alone. I’ll think of them in a moment.

3) Stories to end all stories on a given topic, don't.

Everything starts as somebody's daydream.

It is a cardinal sin to bore the reader.

A species that can’t develop spaceflight is no better than animals.