&sq=&lang=&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2023) |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Fallen_Angels_book_cover.jpg) | |
| Author | Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Stephen Hickman |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Dystopian science fiction |
| Publisher | Baen |
Publication date | 1991 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print and eBook |
| ISBN | 0-7434-3582-6 |
| OCLC | 50129308 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3564.I9 F35 1991 |
Fallen Angels (1991) is a science fiction novel by three American science fiction authors, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn, and published by Jim Baen. Winner of 1992 Prometheus Award, the novel was written as a tribute to the science fiction fandom and includes many of its well-known figures, legends, and practices. It champions modern technology and ridicules its critics, including, budget cutting politicians, fringe environmentalists, and the forces of ignorance.
The novel takes aim at several targets of ridicule: Senator William Proxmire, radical environmentalists and mystics, such as a character who believes that one cannot freeze to death in the snow because ice is a crystal and "crystals are healing." It also mocks ignorance in journalism (for example, one "expert" cited in a news article believes that the astronauts must have superhuman strength, based on a photograph of a weightless astronaut easily handling heavy construction equipment) and the non-scientific world in general. Several real people are tuckerized into the book in a more positive light, including many fans who made donations to charity for that express purpose and a character called "RMS" (presumably Richard M. Stallman) who leads a network of hackers called the Legion of Doom, connected by a series of BBS systems.