MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Convergent Series (1979)
Larry Niven
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According to the liner notes, Niven received an undergraduate degree in mathematics. Mostly the degree has only apparently inspired his titles (note also the book called "The Integral Trees") without noticeably affecting the content. The story Convergent Series, however, has at least some of the flavor of mathematics (though I think it would more appropriately be titled "Convergent Sequence".)

Contributed by Ron Wax

"Niven's Convergent Series takes a standard plot of a young man who has sold his soul but introduces a converging sequence to beat the demonic fiend at the game. He turns the ages old horror story into a comedic escape.


This story appears in the Niven collection of the same name and also appears in Rucker's "Mathenauts" collection.

Contributed by Jimbo Jones

Niven is famous for actually doing the math to figure out that a large structure (Ringworld) would require a greater tensile strength than ordinary matter can provide. (He's almost equally famous for going back and writing a sequel to fix the problem when a bunch of MIT students did more calculations and determined that the Ringworld's orbit would be unstable.)

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Convergent Series
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. The Devil and Simon Flagg by Arthur Porges
  2. Hell of a Fix by Matthew Hughes
  3. Conjure Wife (Dark Ladies) by Fritz Leiber
  4. The Gate of the Flying Knives by Poul Anderson
  5. Blue Tigers by Jorge Luis Borges
  6. Mortal Immortal by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  7. Turjan of Miir (The Dying Earth) by Jack Vance
  8. The Power of Words by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. The God Equation by Michael A.R. Co
  10. The Book of Alephs by Inderjeet Mani
Ratings for Convergent Series:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
2.2/5 (5 votes)
..
Literary Quality:
3.6/5 (5 votes)
..

Categories:
GenreFantasy,
Motif
TopicAnalysis/Calculus/Differential,
MediumShort Stories,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)