The Known Space series climaxes with Ringworld. The books in the series, arranged according to internal chronology, are World of Ptavvs, The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton, Protector (1973), The Patchwork Girl (1980), A Gift From Earth (1968), Ringworld, and The Ringworld Engineers (1980). The series also includes the anthologies Neutron Star and Tales of Known Space: The Universes of Larry Niven. (The latter has several useful appendices explaining the publishing history of Niven's short stories.)

The Known Space series is considered one of the best integrated of all future histories. Material from the other stories is carefully worked into Ringworld as part of its historical environment so that the reader is not confused nor the novel's pace slowed down by too much expository digression. The sequel, The Ringworld Engineers, does not attain the same high level as Ringworld. Rather it is a well-told adventure tale which explains some of...