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The Mote in God's Eye [Mass Market Paperback]

Larry Niven (Author), Jerry Pournelle (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 10.99
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Mass Market Paperback, Mar 1 1991 CDN $9.89   -- --
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Book Description

Release Date: Mar 1 1991
Writing separately, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are responsible for a number of science fiction classics, such as the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ringworld, Debt of Honor, and The Integral Trees. Together they have written the critically acclaimed bestsellers Inferno, Footfall, and The Legacy of Heorot, among others.

The Mote In God's Eye is their acknowledged masterpiece, an epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends the genre.

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In the year 3016, the Second Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched.

In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one million years old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The Moties are welcoming and kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years.

This is the first collaboration between Niven and Pournelle, two masters of hard science fiction, and it combines Pournelle's interest in the military and sociology with Niven's talent for creating interesting, believable aliens. The novel meticulously examines every aspect of First Contact, from the Moties' biology, society, and art, to the effects of the meeting on humanity's economics, politics, and religions. And all the while suspense builds as we watch the humans struggle toward the truth. --Brooks Peck

Review

Robert Heinlein Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read.

San Francisco Chronicle As science fiction, one of the most important novels ever published.

Columbus Dispatch A superlatively fine novel...no writer has ever come up with a more appealing, intriguing, and workable concept of aliens.

Frank Herbert A spellbinder, a swashbuckler...And, best of all, it has a brilliant new approach to that fascinating problem -- first contact with aliens.

Theodore Sturgeon One of the most engrossing tales I've read in years...fascinating.

Minneapolis Tribune Intriguing and suspenseful...the scenes in which the humans and aliens examine one another are unforgettable.
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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars One Full Star for the Moties Mar 20 2013
By KSA
Format:Mass Market Paperback
For students of the history of science fiction only.

I read several of the five-star reviews to try to discern what others saw in this bloated tome. There is nothing "fun" about reading this book. One five-star review said that only the fabulous Battlefield Earth could compare to The Mote in God's Eye.

The main problem I had with The Mote in God's Eye was that it wasn't about humans as we know them meeting aliens. It was about Pournelle's Second Empire of Man(TM) meeting aliens. Pournelle's universe is terribly boring and counterintuitive. Not only have humans devolved from the First Empire of Man, but they have devolved from the 1970's. The social attitudes are reminiscint of the Victorians. Politics are based on aristocracy. Space travel is based on seafaring. Almost every moment spent with the humans (most of the book) is irritating, boring and disappointing.

The best part of the book is the moties, but even they are disappointing. Socially and biologically, they are quite interesting. However, their planet is not very alien. I don't want to spoil anything; but, for example, if you imagine all the transport options that a 1970's city had available, that is exactly what the moties have as well.

Some of the action set pieces are exciting. But be prepared for confusion. This is not a well-written book in terms of action, characterization, story arc, or anything else.

I'll give The Mote in God's Eye a half star for the action sequences, another half for the ideas, and one full star for the moties. Overall, it wasn't worth reading, for me.

If you decide to read this book, I have one word of advice: SKIM. Skim as though your life depended on it - several hours of your life do.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to find book Jan 13 2013
By peterj
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was elusive to me for a couple of decades but thanks to Amazon I finally found it. A friend told me about it back in the 80's and praised it as a great read. His taste was a bit different from mine. I expected something down the line of "Starship Troopers" or the "Forever War" but found it a bit slow and bogged down with tech stuff that made the story drag. My opinion would be "about a hundred pages too long." Not a waste of time though and some good moments.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars A stunning tour-de-crap Jun 4 1999
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The book's contrast between human and Motie society is little more than an excuse in sexism (Motie society is female dominated - and so doomed to fail) and racism (the whites rule Motie society and the brownies are slaves). Oh, but of course that's just white and brown fur, and so has nothing to do with our lives. Please, the book's racism and sexism are the only things to distract from pitifully wooden characterization and insipidly limp plotting. I've read Choose Your Own Adventure stories that were more engaging and intelligent. Do yourself a favor and read something by Philip K Dick instead of this pathetic drivel.
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Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars The Mote in God's Eye
I bought this book many years ago, but just read it recently. Perhaps I should have read it when I bought it because I am very disapointed in a book that so many people have raved... Read more
Published on Sep 25 2010 by Randall Scott Moore
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
I first read this one at 15 and have been dying to review it ever since! This is an epic space opera played out on a grand scale, with an engaging cast of characters and bursting... Read more
Published on Aug 31 2004 by mark chapman
5.0 out of 5 stars Larry Niven ... another way to spell unique
Unexpectedly one of the best books I have read, Larry Niven creates a world with a mystery. A world where common humanoid biology has been turned on it's ear. Read more
Published on July 10 2004 by Michael
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful pacing
The story is wonderfully well-paced, with three distinct "action"
sections, and a final court-room style showdown. Read more
Published on July 6 2004 by Rujith de Silva
1.0 out of 5 stars What's all the fuss about?
I recently noticed a couple of people online saying how great this book was so I thought I'd try it.

What a waste.

This book was written in 1974, and boy, does it show it. Read more

Published on Jun 15 2004
4.0 out of 5 stars the middle was awesome!
I didn't think that the beginning was all that great. Though, oddly enough, once I finished the book I actually liked the beginning. Read more
Published on May 6 2004 by Cully Larson
4.0 out of 5 stars Meet the Moties
In this classic first-contact novel, we meet the Moties. Inhabitants of a isolated star system, they are like nothing man has ever encountered before. Read more
Published on Mar 18 2004 by J. Vilches
5.0 out of 5 stars Jerry's Secret Weapon
Jerry Pournelle's "universe" consists primarily of military fiction in support of a monarchy. Larry Niven's stories tend to be puzzle-solving stories involving aliens. Read more
Published on Mar 14 2004 by Bart Leahy
2.0 out of 5 stars not really convincing
This book was at times quite interesting to read and there are some intriguing ideas, but somehow it can't really convince. Read more
Published on Feb 19 2004 by D. Marufow
5.0 out of 5 stars Niven and Pournelle's `Mote in God's Eye'
This, along with their earlier collaboration ``Lucifer's Hammer'' and later ``Footfall,'' is among Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's finest work. Read more
Published on Dec 23 2003 by Daniel A. Hart
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