FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Niven Larry Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Niven Larry Quizzes, Trivia

Larry Niven Trivia

Larry Niven Trivia Quizzes

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Literature Trivia
  6. »
  7. Authors L-P

Fun Trivia
Larry Niven's 1970 classic 'Ringworld' won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. He was co-author with with Jerry Pournelle, of 'The Mote in God's Eye'. His work is generally classified as 'hard' science fiction, meaning it emphasozes the use of accurate science and logic.
5 Larry Niven quizzes and 50 Larry Niven trivia questions.
1.
  Larry Niven's "Ringworld"   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"Ringworld" is a masterpiece of hard science fiction. What might happen on a totally artificial world to a mission of four explorers: an insane alien, a bored old man, a sentient carnivore and a woman who has been bred for luck?
Average, 10 Qns, CellarDoor, Jul 11 08
Average
CellarDoor gold member
519 plays
2.
  Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz focuses on the book "Inferno" (1976), by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. "Inferno", the first work in the Dante Series, parallels "Inferno", Book I of Dante's "The Divine Comedy" in many ways.
Average, 10 Qns, bernie73, Nov 25 16
Average
bernie73 gold member
187 plays
3.
  Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In this quiz we focus on the book "Escape From Hell" (2007), by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle the second book in their "Dante Series". This is a sequel to my last quiz.
Average, 10 Qns, bernie73, Dec 12 16
Average
bernie73 gold member
174 plays
4.
  The Mote in God's Eye   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is based on a book by Larry Niven, and is quite straight forward for anyone who has read it.
Average, 10 Qns, SJH13, Jan 18 09
Average
SJH13
282 plays
5.
  "The Mote in God's Eye"    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a quiz about the fabulous novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
Tough, 10 Qns, ChinaGrove, Jan 20 10
Tough
ChinaGrove
246 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Allen Carpentier, nee Carpenter, the narrator of the series, spends much of the novel dead. In life, what was his profession?

From Quiz "Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1"




Related Topics
  Science Fiction [Literature] (215 quizzes)


Larry Niven Trivia Questions

1. Much of the first part of the novel is described by Allen Carpenter in flashbacks to a "tree" he encounters in the Wood of the Suicides. Who was this "tree" in life?

From Quiz
Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: Sylvia Plath

All four of these individuals committed suicide, but the "tree" is clearly identified by herself and others as Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) a twentieth-century American poet. Perhaps best known for the novel "The Bell Jar", Plath also published several books of poems including "Ariel" which is quoted by Carpenter. While in "tree" form, Sylvia and the other "trees" can only speak through pain caused by someone breaking a branch or gashing the tree in some way. During the course of the novel Allen and Sylvia seem to be developing, if not a romantic interest in each other, at least a strong connection.

2. Allen Carpentier, nee Carpenter, the narrator of the series, spends much of the novel dead. In life, what was his profession?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: Science fiction writer

Early in the book we learn that his real name was Allen Carpenter, but he added the "i" in his name to make it stand out more. He was a science fiction writer in life, and said that he had been nominated five times for an award, but hadn't won any. At one point, he compared himself unfavorably to Isaac Asimov, saying that Asimov drew far more of the crowd's attention than he did. On the evening of his death, he was at a party at a Science Fiction Convention.

3. What type of craft is the Imperial Ship MacArthur?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: Battle Cruiser

When we first come across this ship it is undergoing repairs after battle.

4. Where does the book begin?

From Quiz "The Mote in God's Eye"

Answer: New Chicago

The MacArthur is putting down the Rebellion on New Chicago.

5. In the Vestibule, Allen Carpenter meets a woman named Rosemary Bennett who will travel with him through several layers of Hell. What was Rosemary's profession while alive?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: lawyer

Rosemary makes references to working in the Prosecutor's Office. She also said that she tried to be a good lawyer, wife, and mother, but found it hard to juggle the three roles. Raised in Texas, she moved to New Orleans with her husband. She recognized several members of the New Orleans Levee Board when they are being tried by Minos, and says that she had lunch with them on occasion and thought they were good people.

6. Wait, Allen Carpenter's dead? How did he memorably meet his demise?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: He fell out of a window

Carpenter engages in what--looking back--he considers to be a stupid stunt. Having remembered a scene in "War and Peace", he recalls a character who was able to drink an entire bottle of liquor while standing on a window sill without holding on. He attempts to recreate this for the entertainment of the guests at the convention party he is attending. About halfway through the bottle of liquor, he slips and falls to his death.

7. The type of drive used in Imperial Ships is known as what?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: The Alderson Drive

Without this faster-than-light drive, mankind would not have made it out of our solar system. Now the CoDominium has been destroyed by the Great Patriotic Wars and mankind is trying to bring the strays and lost planets back into the Empire.

8. Nessus's first recruit is a human from Earth, Louis Wu, the viewpoint character of the book. The book opens with Louis's celebration of a milestone birthday, and his musings on an increasingly boring life. How old is he?

From Quiz Larry Niven's "Ringworld"

Answer: 200

With the aid of a miracle drug called boosterspice, humanity has finally been able to achieve the long lifespans it has so long dreamed of -- but the reality often falls far short of the dream. Louis Wu grows bored of the sameness of life on an earth interconnected by instantaneous transfer booths, and bored of the sameness of conversations with those who have been his friends for decades. The book opens on his 200th birthday, after he has left his birthday party and headed west, extending his day one hour at a time, dreaming all the while of taking a sabbatical and getting away from people.

9. What do they find in the first motie ship the MacArthur encounters?

From Quiz "The Mote in God's Eye"

Answer: A dead mediator

The mediator apparently was killed when the MacArthur came in contact with his light-sail ship near New Caledonia.

10. In the fourth circle(hoarders and wasters), Allen and Rosemary meet a famous, blond-haired, and buxom celebrity who had died between the publication of "Inferno" and "Escape From Hell". Who was she?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith (1967-2007) was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Texas. She was known for appearing as a centerfold in Playboy Magazine, modeled for Guess Jeans and appeared in her own reality tv show. She was briefly married to oil millionaire J. Howard Marshall, who was over sixty years her senior. In the story, Rosemary says that she and Anna worked together at Wal-Mart when they were still living in Texas. Of the other three choices, Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield both died in the 1960s, before the publication of "Inferno", and Jenny McCarthy was alive when "Escape From Hell" was published.

11. Once Carpenter wakes up in the hereafter, he meets a guide who he calls "Benny". When he finds out who Benny actually is, Carpenter is, to put it mildly, shocked. Who is Benny?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: Benito Mussolini

In real-life, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) was the Fascist leader of Italy for 21 years (1922-1943). In the book, Carpenter describes Benny as being tall but stocky, with a pronounced paunch. Carpenter also describes Benny as having a noticeable Mediterranean accent. Benny fills the role that Virgil played in "The Divine Comedy".

12. Who becomes the new Captain of MacArthur at the start of the book?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: Roderick Blaine

The new Captain starts off as The Executive Officer aboard MacArthur with Captain Cziller in command.

13. What was the name of the ship that accompanied MacArthur to the Mote?

From Quiz "The Mote in God's Eye"

Answer: Lenin & lenin

This was the major ship, a President-class battlewagon.

14. In the fifth circle, Allen and Rosemary reach the city of Dis. What happens to Rosemary here?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: She agrees to stay

Rosemary runs into an old colleague, James Girard, who convinces Rosemary to work for him in the Prosecutor's Office of Hell. Girard explains that Hell is reorganizing and modernizing in response to the Vatican Two council (1962-1965). Many people will be eligible for new trials. Allen seems disappointed that Rosemary wants to take this job and keep people in Hell, but Rosemary seems interested in the job.

15. Early in their journey, Allen and Benny have to cross the River Acheron. How do they do it?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: They ride in a crowded boat

They cross in a ferryboat operated by Charon, a character from Greek mythology. Charon is described as having "a long white beard and eyes like burning coals." The boat is very crowded during their trip. Charon recognizes Benny and strikes him, but to little effect.

16. Lady Sandra Fowler prefers to be called what?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: Sally

Sandra Fowler is the niece of Senator Fowler.

17. Teela Brown, another human, is the last member to join. She's young (only 20 years old) and has led an unusually painless existence. Nessus wants her to join the crew because he believes that she has been bred for luck. How?

From Quiz Larry Niven's "Ringworld"

Answer: For five generations running, only global Birthright Lottery wins allowed her ancestors to be born.

The right to have children is strictly controlled on the Earth of Louis Wu and Teela Brown; it has to be, with some eighteen billion people inhabiting the planet! The colony worlds don't really relieve the population pressure; only the Fertility Board can. Each person has the right to parent one child; for subsequent children, that right must be earned -- by cash, by proven survival traits, by single combat, or by the Lottery. "For the past two centuries," Nessus explains, "between ten and thirteen percent of each human generation has been born by right of a winning lottery ticket. What determines who will survive and breed? On Earth, luck. And Teela Brown is the daughter of six generations of winning gamblers..."

18. In the seventh circle, Allen meets Billy the Kid, who he had encountered in his first journey. When he met Billy before, Billy was standing on the island in the river of blood. What is his situation now?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: He is working as a guard

Billy is the commander of a group of guards supervising prisoners in the river. He is equipped with a pistol and a Bowie knife. He has been given this job because his reasons for violence have changed. Allen feels that Billy enjoys his new job and is not interested in leaving it.

19. In the second circle of Hell, Allen and Benny watch Minos assign dead souls to different circles of Hell. How does Minos determine where to send each soul?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: He wraps his tail around the person

Minos wrapping his tail around the person matches fairly well with Dante's description. In both cases, the number of times the tail goes around the person is the number of the circle to which the person is assigned. Carpenter seems amazed at the "miles" of tail that appear and disappear. When Minos attempts to judge Carpenter in this way, Benny intetvenes and tells Minos that Carpenter is not under his jurisdiction.

20. Murcheson's Eye is classified as what star type?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: A Red Super Giant

Sol, Earth's sun, is a Yellow Dwarf and is a Main Sequence star.

21. Of course, none of our adventurers volunteer for the trip out of a sense of excitement. Teela goes because she's fallen in love with Louis, and he's going. Nessus offers Louis and Speaker an unspeakably valuable prize for their service. What is it?

From Quiz Larry Niven's "Ringworld"

Answer: An innovative ship that takes only 1 minute and 15 seconds to travel an entire light year

"If my mission is successful," Nessus tells Louis, "I plan to turn the ship over to my crew, with blueprints with which to build more. The ship, then, is your ... fee, salary, what have you." This prize is more than just useful, however: it's vital to the survival of their species. Ten thousand years previously, a star in the dense core of the Milky Way galaxy had gone nova, setting off a chain reaction -- "the Core explosion." In another twenty thousand years, the radiation from this cataclysmic event will reach known space and destroy every biological organism in its path. Ever try to evacuate tens of trillions of sentient beings to another galaxy? Louis and Speaker know that their species need the fastest, best ships they can get.

22. In a burning desert, Allen meets Reverend Canon Don Camillus. Where does he encounter him?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: At an ice cream stand

Don Camillus is wearing the black robe of a priest. He has five flavors of ice cream available, including vanilla and chocolate. He gives Allen and Sylvia advice and encouragement before they continue their journey. In the first book, he had helped Allen rescue Benito Mussolini from the pit into which he had thrown him.

23. After travelling with Benny through several circles of Hell, Allen attempts to get past the wall that encircles Hell. Which method does he use?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: He attempts to fly a glider over the wall

Carpenter, using a large quantity of robes and a wooden frame he builds, constructs a glider. With Benny's help, he drags the glider to the top of a cliff and attempts to steer it over the wall. Although in the air they pick up Jerome Leigh Corbett, a space shuttle pilot who was being buffetted in the winds, the glider ultimately crashes. Carpenter and Corbett are both injured in the crash, but witness their bodies quickly heal--a side benefit to being dead.

24. Murcheson's Eye has another name, used by the locals; what is it?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: The Face of God

Named by the followers of the Church of Him.

25. In addition to the main prize, Louis asks to know the location of the puppeteer homeworld as the price of joining the crew. Nessus agrees (suspiciously quickly) to show it to him. Where is it?

From Quiz Larry Niven's "Ringworld"

Answer: En route out of the galaxy

"You will find the information more surprising than useful," warns Nessus, but Louis -- knowing that humanity had spent hundreds of years fruitlessly seeking this homeworld -- persists. Our intrepid crew visits the homeworld on their way to the Ringworld -- but the homeworld is not attached to a star. In their flight from the Core explosion, the puppeteers are moving their entire homeworld, in addition to four agricultural planets to supply them with food. Arranged at the five points of a regular pentagon, in a stable gravitational pattern called a Kemplerer rosette, these planets are on their way out of the galaxy. Artificial suns circle each farming world; the homeworld "glow[s] by its own light, in patches the shapes of continents and the colors of sunlight." Louis Wu vows, not for the first time, to live forever, so that he can see all the wonders of the universe.

26. On the Mote, where did the Expedition first discover that the Moties had a terrible past?

From Quiz "The Mote in God's Eye"

Answer: Art museum

It was in the Art Museum that they first saw a sculpture of the "Demons."

27. Just before Allen reaches the eighth circle, he meets Oscar T. J. White. What is unusual about Oscar T. J. White?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 2

Answer: His soul inhabits a car

Oscar was a NASCAR driver when he was alive. His physical body is in the trunk of the car his soul inhabits. Allen and his friends ride in or on Oscar's car through much of the eighth and ninth circles. While in the two books, multiple people are described as leaving hell, no one is described as being sent down to hell from either Heaven or Purgatory.

28. Later, Benny and Allen encounter another historic figure on the island in the river of blood. Who is this man, who introduces himself as Billy?

From Quiz Larry Niven Meets Dante Alighieri Part 1

Answer: William Bonney

William Bonney is better known by his alias, Billy the Kid. The seventh circle where the island and river of blood is located, focuses on punishing violence. Shortly after meeting Billy, Benny tells the group about the Wood of Suicides, which will play an important role in the next book.

29. What is the capital of the Trans-Colesack Sector?

From Quiz The Mote in God's Eye

Answer: New Scotland

New Scotland is the third rock out from New Caledonia, an F8 Star, referred to by the locals as Cal or Old Cal.

30. As the journey begins, Speaker attempts a coup, hoping to abscond to his people with the prize. How does Nessus maintain command?

From Quiz Larry Niven's "Ringworld"

Answer: Using a device called a tasp, he stimulates the pleasure centers of Speaker's brain.

A Slaver disintegrator would destroy everyone inside the ship, and any effort by two humans to subdue a full-grown kzin in hand-to-hand combat is similarly doomed to failure. Nessus has a far subtler weapon: the tasp, which feels so good that a being can easily become addicted to it, which is a terrifying thought for one as sophisticated and dignified as Speaker-To-Animals. "The puppeteer is quite right," Speaker admits, having been disarmed while distracted by the tasp. "I would not risk the tasp again. Too many jolts ... would leave me his willing slave. I, a kzin, slaved to an herbivore!"

This is category 18313
play trivia = Top 5% Rated Quiz, take trivia quiz Top 10% Rated Quiz, test trivia quiz Top 20% Rated Quiz, popular trivia A Well Rated Quiz
new quizzes = added recently, editor pick = Editor's Pick editor = FunTrivia Editor gold = Gold Member

Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.