Skip to content

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.

— Larry Niven Playgrounds of the Mind (1991)

Another quote →

More quotes by Larry Niven

The moral of this story is, anything you don’t understand is dangerous until you do understand it.

Neutron Star (1968)

Tell them the universe is too complicated a toy for a sensibly cautious being to play with.

Ringworld (1970)

The Gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.

Ringworld (1970)

The Unexpected always comes at the most awkward times.

Scatterbrain (2003)

Everything starts as somebody's daydream.

All Larry Niven quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Larry Niven (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.