Inconstant Star is a science fiction fix-up novel by American writer Poul Anderson. It is formed by the novellas Iron and Inconstant Star, first published in The Man-Kzin Wars (1988) and Man-Kzin Wars III (1990), respectively. The title is from the tumbling alien artifact that sends out radiation. Due to the tumbling effect, the output can only be seen briefly from a given point in space, looking like a star, but then disappearing as the artifact moves. The title also references another Niven story, "Inconstant Moon", which is not part of the Known Space series. The novel is the story of Robert Saxtorph and his ship Rover, hired for peaceful missions, but which run into Kzinti at every turn. Source: Wikipedia (en)