Bowl of Heaven

Benford, Gregory, and Larry Niven. Bowl of Heaven. New York City: Tor, 2012. Bowl of Heaven and Shipstar (omnibus). New York City: Tor, 2020. See Internet Speculative Fiction Database for other printings and German translation Himmelsjäger.[1]

Bowl of Heaven reviewed Bill Dynes, SFRA Review #301 (Summer 2012): pp. 56-58, our source here.[2]

"To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven" (Chuang Tzu, Book XXIII, ¶7), headnote to chapter 3 of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven (1971), and referenced in her title and those of THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (film 1979/80) from PBS and THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (2002) from A&E TV Network. So for regular SF readers the title might suggest something in-group in store. Dynes notes that the title object is "a hemispherical construct whose diameter is larger than Mercury’s orbit, propelled by a plasma jet bursting from the red dwarf star about which it rotates. One character describes the artifact as 'a wok with a neon jet shooting out the back' (71), and laughingly begins referring to it as 'Cupworld'" (p. 66). And Dynes suggests a more directly relevant allusion, "As the tongue-in-cheek 'Cupworld' suggests, the nature of the construct inevitably invites comparisons with Larry Niven’s Hugo and Nebula winner Ringworld (1970). Dynes contextualizes Cupworld and that heavenly Bowl — and indicates the book's usefulness for considering a kind of containment in a constructed, artificial world: with "world" both a physical object and (if more figuratively) the cultures on it.

Both the Ringworld and the Bowl of Heaven are “Big Dumb Objects” populated by a variety of creatively imagined aliens, both require the protagonists to embark upon a dangerous expedition to escape, and both evoke a satisfying sense of wonder for characters and readers alike. Fortunately, the Bowl is more than just a larger Ringworld. The authors explore the unique engineering and design demands of the construct not simply as requisite world-building, but for their implications about and effects upon the aliens who occupy it. (Dynes p. 57)

We will suggest comparison and contrast also with Rendezvous with Rama and Rama II.

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There is now a Bowl of Heaven series,[3] with #2 Shipstar, with which we'll stop. For a plot summary (and positive evaluation), see the review by Michelle Herbert, "Shipstar is beautifully paced," Fantasy Book Review on-line, no date we saw.[4]

RDE, finishing, 17Jun21