Deadlier Weapon, The

Publication date: 
1968-06
Publication type: 
Short Story
Published: 
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 1968
Opus No.: 
29
Setting: 
Stand Alone
Characters: 
unnamed protagonist
Summary: 

Appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 1968. A rare non-SF Niven story. Car-jacking became a headline crime in the nineties, but this story about a hitch-hiker and his intended prey reminds us of something that many victims forget: The driver is in control of the deadlier weapon. Larry reassures us that it didn't actually happen to him, but the idea for the story occurred to him one day on the freeway.

Notes: 

A crime story, not Science Fiction.  A frequently asked question: "Is this a true story?" Answer: No.

Reprints: 

Swedish anthology, Arets Rysare 7, Forlags Ab Semic; Convergent Series; Inconstant Moon; Shape of Space, The; Best of Larry Niven, The