（外文电子版资料）Larry Niven - Down in Flames.doc

Down in Flames[This file is from the Sf-Lovers Archives at Rutgers University. It is provided as part of a free service in connection with distribution of Sf-Lovers Digest. This file is currently maintained by the moderator of the Digest. It may be freely copied or redistributed in whole or in part as long as this notice remains intact. If you would like to know more about Sf-Lovers Digest, send mail to SF-LOVERS-REQUEST@RUTGERS.EDU.] D O W N I N F L A M E S OUTLINE FOR AN UNWRITTEN EPIC NOVEL BY LARRY NIVEN (c) 1977 by Larry Niven The following requires some explanation. At least! On January 14, 1968, Norman Spinrad and I were at a party thrown by Tom Terry Pinckard. We were filling coffee cups when Spinny started this whole thing. ``You ought to drop the known space series, he said. ``Youll get stale. (Quotes are not necessarily dead accurate.) I explained that I was writing stories outside the ``known space history, and that I would give up the series as soon as I ran out of things to say within its framework. Which would be soon. ``Then why dont you write a novel that tears it to shreds? Dont just abandon known space. Destroy it! ``But how? (I never asked why. Norman and I think alike in some ways.) ``Start with the premise that the whole thing is a shuck. There never was a chain reaction of novae in the galactic core. There arent any Thrintun. Its all a gigantic hoax. Write it that way. Then, Spinny said, ``if the fans write letters threatening to lynch you, you write back saying, `Its only a story . . . . We found a corner. During the next four hours we worked out the details. Some I rejected. Like, he wanted to make the Tnuctipun into minions of the Devil. (Yes, the Devil.) Like, he wanted me to be inconsistent. I cant do that, not