Skip to content

Quotes from Playgrounds of the Mind — Larry Niven

born 1938 United States

← All quotes by Larry Niven

9 quotes

The test of time has at least the virtue of being unambiguous.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

I’ll try anything that improves my education and is fun at the time.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

I do not want all critics hanged alongside the lawyers and tax collectors. The good ones serve a purpose.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Any story that needs a critic to explain it, needs rewriting. A lucidly written, easily understood book is likely to escape critical attention.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

The standard-issue critic took English lit because physics was too hard for him!

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Do you know the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel? If you try to read a graphic novel in the sauna, it comes apart. Glue melts; staples don’t.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Jovan knew about luck. Like wine: when luck turns sour, the whole barrel is sour.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Once you know about critics, you know about literature. Literature is whatever survives the critics.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Many critics avoid science fiction and fantasy as demons avoid holy water. And why not? A science fiction work that needs explaining may or may not be trash, but the standard-issue critic is not likely to know the difference, and not likely to be able to explain it either.

Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Larry Niven (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.