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Actually, the only thing I found wrong with the book was the cover, which shows Gil missing his arm. In fact, not only is his imaginary arm his left arm, but he got his arm replaced before he joined the ARMs. Call me a completist, but I think Niven should have picked up on that and had them change it.
But, the story. They are all mysteries, which is quite a departure for Niven, who normally deals with spaceships and stars and in that vein. Here, he shows his flexibility by combining the grand scope of his future history, with the personal side, showing Gil solve murders of friends, deal with touchy moral issues (should the frozen dead be assumed dead so they can go to the organ banks?), and through all of it having confidance in what he is doing, but not arrogance.
We need more Gil the Arm stories. Actually, it would be fun to see if Gil and Beowulf Shaeffer could meet (I'm not sure if they existed at the same time chronologically, but Niven could make it happen). Either way, we need more. How about it, Mr. Niven?
The character of Gil the Arm is an interesting one, well set out, and less of a shell for ideas than many of Niven's characters. This one seems to have a multidimensional personality, and does not just serve as a vehicle for the authors interesting new concepts. There is an unusual degree of sympathy evoked for a man who struggles over the ethics of his job and society at large, leaving the reader puzzling the same issues as the character - how far will society go to preserve its own life, and how flexible are societal ethics?
Of course all of this philosophising is wrapped up inside a grand society within the earlier part of Niven's Known Space, and then surrounded by exciting action sequences and fascinating puzzles. If you're just breaking into Niven, I'd probably suggest this as the book to begin with; it contains many well thought out tales, with characters and plots perhaps more accessible to a newcomer than his more recent work.
In brief: buy it if you enjoy mysteries and science fiction in combination, or if you think you might, and if you're a fan of Known Space.
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