''Flatlander'' () is a 1995 collection of stories by American writer

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...

, all set in

Known Space Known Space is the fictional setting of about a dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by Larry Niven. It has also become a shared universe in the spin-off ''Man-Kzin Wars'' anthologies. The Internet Spec ...

. It is the definitive collection of all stories by Niven about

ARM In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between the ...

agent

Gil Hamilton This is a list of fictional characters featured in the ''Known Space'' novels by Larry Niven. Individual characters Sigmund Ausfaller Sigmund Ausfaller, a native of Earth, is a member of the Amalgamated Regional Militia ("ARM"), working in the B ...

. Many of the stories revolve around the theme of involuntary

organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organ ...

. The book includes the stories "

Death by Ecstasy ''Death by Ecstasy'' is a science fiction novella by American writer Larry Niven, set in the ''Known Space'' universe. It is the first of five Gil Hamilton detective stories, and provides most of the backstory for the character. It first appeare ...

" (formerly "The Organleggers"), "

The Defenseless Dead ''The Defenseless Dead'' is a science fiction novella by American writer Larry Niven, set in the ''Known Space'' universe. It is the second of five ''Gil Hamilton'' detective stories. It was published in 1973 in the Roger Elwood anthology '' Ten To ...

", "ARM", "

The Patchwork Girl ''The Patchwork Girl'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Larry Niven. Part of his Known Space series, it is the fourth of five Gil Hamilton detective stories and the first to be published as a stand-alone novel in 1980. It was later ...

", and "The Woman in Del Rey Crater"—the only previously unpublished story in the collection. The collection is essentially a replacement for a 1976 collection called ''The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton'' () which contained only the first three stories. "The Patchwork Girl" was also published alone as a novel in 1986 (). The title derives from the in-universe term ''flatlander'', referring to an Earth-living human, as opposed to those who do not live on planets. This is because the land looks 'flat'.

External links

The Incompleat Known Space Concordance
1995 short story collections Known Space stories Del Rey books Organ transplantation in fiction Short story collections by Larry Niven {{1990s-sf-story-collection-stub

See also

External links