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The Mote in God's Eye (Moties #1)

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 25,125 ratings · 644 reviews

In 3016, the 2nd 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 lightsail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, & an expedition is dispatched. In the Mote the humans find...more

ebook, 560 pages

Published January 10th 1993 (first published 1974)

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May 17, 2009 Phoebe added it

Shelves: sciffy

I wanted to like The Mote In God's Eye--not only did it come highly recommended by both the denizens of metafilter and my good friend Karin, but it also centers on first contact with an alien race, one of my favorite themes in science fiction. Niven and Pournelle handle the species-building well--the Moties are strongly developed, emotionally believable, and consistent in their motivations. But everything else in this novel--not the least the human characters--felt extraneous and poorly develope...more

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May 22, 2008 Annago rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of hard sci-fi; this is NOT for thrill-seekers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 13, 2007 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sci-fi geeks

I caught my friend Ryan reading some cheesy looking sci-fi and thought maybe I should give the genre a try. Outside of HG Wells, I haven't had much exposure since I was a teenager. This story is well written, but ungodly slow. Hell, I have the patience to read, but this one is mostly discussion and very little action. The story hits a climax two-thirds of the way through and then runs out of steam. I give it three stars for being thought provoking.

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Dec 17, 2010 Jennifer Pournelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, I am saying up front: I'm the author of Outies . Yes, I wrote it. I have to put some number of stars on it. or I can't tell you about it. If I only put one, I'd be lying, and anyway you wouldn't see this.

This is a sequel to The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, and I wrote it on a bet. As in:
"I bet you can't!"
"Bet I can!"
"Can Not!"
"Can TOO!"
"Can't!"
"Can!"
If this sounds like childish sibling rivalry, well, I couldn't possible comment.

It's an...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Fairly interesting contact novel. A yellow star in front of a red giant star in the Coal Sack Nebula resembles a hooded man with one eye, the star being the "mote" and the resemblance to a hooded head suggests God , thus the name.

The race of beings from this system, the "Moties" represent a kind of threat humans haven't faced before.
I read this some time (read years) ago and still remember the idea striking me as a mixture of original bits that turn an idea that has been touched on before into...more

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Jul 09, 2008 Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, favorite-titles

Like so many books I’ve read, The Mote in G-d’s Eye was recommended to me by father, many years ago. And, like many books I’ve read, it’s actually taken me years to read it. I don’t really know why; I know I tried to read it once when I was younger, and it somehow didn’t grab me. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it, or maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood. In any case, I’ve been on more of a sci-fi kick lately, and Starladustess had equally good things to say about this one, so I finally knuckled under...more Like so many books I’ve read, The Mote in G-d’s Eye was recommended to me by father, many years ago. And, like many books I’ve read, it’s actually taken me years to read it. I don’t really know why; I know I tried to read it once when I was younger, and it somehow didn’t grab me. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it, or maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood. In any case, I’ve been on more of a sci-fi kick lately, and Starladustess had equally good things to say about this one, so I finally knuckled under and read it.

The Mote in G-d’s eye is a story about first contact, set in the year 3016. Mankind has seeded the stars, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive, and has also reverted to living under an Imperial Monarchy, thanks to the clichés of science fiction (to be fair, this book probably helped establish those clichés, so I can’t take it to task too much). In the aftermath of an uprising on some outer rim worlds, Commander Roderick Blaine discovers an alien probe approaching the system that his ship is in. While the pilot of the ship is deceased, it still proves the basic point: humanity is not alone in the universe.

Blaine and his ship are quickly drafted as part of the mission that sets out to find the alien home world and make first contact between the human empire and the Moties (nicknamed such because their home planet is located in a star system referred to as the Mote in G-d’s Eye). As one would expect, the first contact is fraught with a variety of questions and problems, which quickly result in everything from complicated political intrigue to outright violence.

First contact stories are always tricky, for one simple reason. Creating a believably alien race is tough enough (witness Star Trek for a number of failures, among others), but anticipating the assorted problems that might occur from that first contact is even harder. Niven and Pournelle do a bang-up job, however. The Moties seem very plausible, yet totally alien; indeed, in a clever twist, the Moties bodies are not symmetrical (they have a single large arm on one side, and two smaller arms on the other), which helps to remind the reader just how inhuman these creatures are.

Unlike some science fiction novels, however, this book contains more than an interesting idea. The story itself is well-executed and interesting to follow, as various factions on both sides try to make sense out of their new situation, and figure out how to exploit it to their own advantage. The pace is just slow enough to maintain a feeling of mystery, without being so slow as to be completely boring. And, in a wonderful twist, most of the mysteries are answered by the end of the book. There’s certainly further that the story COULD go, but there’s no reason that it needs to go any further. It’s fine the way it is.

Robert Heinlein apparently said that this was “possibly the finest science fiction novel [he had] ever read.” There might be points I’d argue with Heinlein on, but this isn’t one of them. This is a damn fine book.(less)

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Jun 15, 2008 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Written in 1972, The Mote in God’s Eye is the premier work by award winning authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, who also collaborated on the science fiction classics Footfall and Lucifer’s Hammer. Grand Master Robert A. Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read." It easily makes my Top 10 Sci/Fi Book List.

The story is set in the year 3017 A.D. The Second Interstellar Empire of man is in the process of forcefully reuniting many colonies long lost since th...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Tripp rated it 2 of 5 stars

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a number of science fiction novels which I fondly remember. The Legacy of Heorot tells the story of colonization and the perils of misunderstanding xenobiology. Footfall is an exciting update on the War of the Worlds. Lucifer's Hammer concerns the collapse of society in the face of a comet impact on Earth. My major issue with Lucifer's Hammer, bloat, is a much bigger issue in highly regarded Mote in God's Eye.

The bloat issue is gigantic here. The first 150 p...more Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a number of science fiction novels which I fondly remember. The Legacy of Heorot tells the story of colonization and the perils of misunderstanding xenobiology. Footfall is an exciting update on the War of the Worlds. Lucifer's Hammer concerns the collapse of society in the face of a comet impact on Earth. My major issue with Lucifer's Hammer, bloat, is a much bigger issue in highly regarded Mote in God's Eye.

The bloat issue is gigantic here. The first 150 pages are boring exposition filled where we meet the stock characters (engineer with Scots accent, plucky female aristo along for the ride, young dashing military commander) and learn about the painfully uninteresting world of the future. Once we meet the aliens, known as Moties, it takes many more pages before we learn anything about the society. There are many portentous allusions to things the Moties don't want the humans to learn. It takes so long to get to the revelations, that I really didn't care once I read about them.

All this padding would be fine if Niven and Pournelle had provided a rich world to explore. No such luck. While the initial concept is interesting ( US and USSR unite, colonize space, have a civil war, new empire tries to pick up the pieces) it quickly devolves into cutting and pasting from 19th century Britain. The navy is straight from Horatio Hornblower, with officers named sailing master and teenage midshipman running crew sections.

The Church (which is Catholic, a bit odd given the leading space powers were largely Protestant and Orthodox) is clearly more powerful, without serving any narrative purpose. Has the Church followed its social justice wing or become a rival power center to create challenges for the elite? Has the theology created cultural restraints on the development of technology or society? No and No. All the more galling the Church apparently hasn't changed much at all in a millennium.

There is a decent story about alien contact amongst all its problems, but it is such a short part of the book, it is probably not worth working your way through to find it. As the humans encounter the Moties, they learn that the society could threaten human society. The debate concerns the means by which they must deal with it. The viewpoints expressed nicely describe the classical realist view of politics. Alien first contact follows similar rules and problems as seen in foreign relations. What makes a country a threat? How do you manage threats? What is the purpose of interacting with other societies at all? The book has some interesting, if one-sided, things to say about this, but you have to wade through hundreds of pages of crap to get there. If you are looking for a classic to discover, beware this one.(less)

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Jul 30, 2012 Porter rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun, old-school first contact story. It's got a good, interesting plot, with interesting aliens and problems. Good use of both mystery and literary irony. I especially like the ambiguous way it ended.

The characterization didn't fully work for me -- there were several characters that I never managed to differentiate. This might be an artifact of having read the audiobook version (which sounds like it's read by Zapp Brannigan, which is hilarious).

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Jan 09, 2011 James rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of SF, military fiction, and the differences between cultures

Shelves: action, culture-and-politics, science-fiction, military, suspense-and-mystery

A brilliant and gripping book. One of the best jobs of creating a truly alien life form, culture and civilization, rather than the usual "aliens" who act just like human beings who happen to look different - and then going on to let the human reader see events through those alien eyes, from their perspective. The human characters are also well developed and the plot serves as a gripping mystery as well as an adventure story, and left me with a strong sense of empathy for the individuals of both...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Deep-future science fiction the way Tom Clancy would write it.

Utterly plausible and believable, a vision of first contact that demolishes the happy-go-lucky optimistic mentality, pointing out the very real hazards and dangers inherent in such a venture...even assuming no harmful intent on the part of the "other". Just in their nature to eventually overpopulate every space they enter.

Their description of first physical contact still gives me goosebumps, the human pilot strips naked and the aliens...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Tamahome rated it 3 of 5 stars

(Sffaudio is recording a discussion of this book on 10/1 with Julie.)

Got the audio. Hey, this could be exciting. :)

13% - Sounds more 'vintage' and cool through the iPhone speaker. Very Star Trek, even with Scottish and Russian crewmen. But what is the fascination with royalty in sff?

18% - Wow there's a lot of characters. Moties kind of sound like Immotiles (Peter Hamilton - Pandora's Star). Hmm.

list of characters
http://www.adherents.com/lit/bk_Niven...

Commander Jock (Sandy) Sinclair - Scottish e...more

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Dec 06, 2010 Sandra aka Sleo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, scifi

3.5 stars

I listened to this book, and although the narrator, L.J. Ganser, barked it out like a sports announcer, it was engaging, suspenseful, and quite funny at times. The narrator was not a distraction once I got used to his style.

The human space explorers seemed incredibly naive and stupid at times in their trust of an alien species, to whom they gave human attributes without questioning their own assumptions. This was a little distracting from the suspense, as I knew something bad was coming...more

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Oct 12, 2008 Talkswithwind rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hardsf, sf, pre-2000, pre-1980

This book is one that is commonly on, 'Best of SF,' lists. It is there for a reason. It was written in 1973 and it shows in many ways. What also shows is the influence it had on other books in Science Fiction.

This book is about the Moties, the aliens that The Empire of Man has just run into. It is told from the point of view of the representatives of Empire sent to investigate these aliens. This book represents the most complete description of an actually-alien species I've run into in fiction....more This book is one that is commonly on, 'Best of SF,' lists. It is there for a reason. It was written in 1973 and it shows in many ways. What also shows is the influence it had on other books in Science Fiction.

This book is about the Moties, the aliens that The Empire of Man has just run into. It is told from the point of view of the representatives of Empire sent to investigate these aliens. This book represents the most complete description of an actually-alien species I've run into in fiction. Their story is a tragedy, bar none.

From a story-telling standpoint it was a bit jarring to realize that the Navy of the Empire of Man runs along similar to the British Navy of the 1800's, complete with teenage Midshipmen, Sailing Masters, and bunking in the gun room. Also, the role of Women in the Empire of Man is decidedly paternal, something that stands a stark contrast to more recent fiction, and plays its own role in the unfolding of this story.

Something that stood out to me quite clearly is just how much Marc Miller borrowed from this book to create the Traveller table-top role playing game. Traveller was the first RPG to take place in space rather than a fantasy world, and molded the minds of later games designers. The concept of "the black globe" was introduced by Mote, as well as the general feel of the space combat system of Traveller. Marc Miller also took the idea of very detailed aliens to heart, as the "Alien Modules" to Traveller are still the most detailed description of an alien I've run into anywhere; coming complete with anatomy drawings, language samples, history from evolution to a tool using species to gaining space capabilities, and very good descriptions of government.

In my opinion, The Mote in God's Eye and Traveller helped define how space opera worked in Science Fiction until David Weber introduced the Honor Harrington series. The Honor Harrington series took over as the default 'how space works' meme.

There are a couple of books after Mote, but this is the one with the biggest impact on the field. To a reader used to modern SF it comes across as stilted, with flat characters, and contrived tech. That said, the authors did make some astute guesses about technology. If read in the context of the time it was written (1973), it is a very good read.(less)

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Feb 18, 2013 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a pretty fascinating story of first contact between an utterly alien civilisation and massive human space empire. This book is often talked up because of its imaginative portrayal of a completely alien civilisation. It deserves the hype for that. The story is interesting and engaging, infrequently falling prey to some clichés but overall an enjoyable read.

I believe this book was originally published in 1975 so some of the technology seems Battlestar Galactica'esque. However the use of s...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf

Since I read mostly modern novels, this one was quite a throwback to the classic "interstellar mankind empire" type with heroic leaders that you find a lot in this timeframe of SF. Still a good read though.

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Dec 29, 2010 Philip Athans rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm joining the Beyond Reality group in reading this starting December 1st. I've had a copy on my shelf for maybe a year, having remembered reading maybe the first quarter of it as a freshman in high school, not finishing before I had to return it to the library, and always regretting it!

Getting a head start on this one!

-------

See the discussion on Beyond Reality. . . .

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Nov 26, 2008 Steve rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: SF fans

Shelves: fiction

This is one of my favorite books; I first read it in high school and I've read it several times since. It's a tight story that is set in the far future but really belongs with 18th-century boys-coming-of-age stories, adventure on the high seas. I'd go so far as to say that it's nearly a perfect SF adventure novel.

After a thousand years of spacefaring and two hundred years of interstellar war, the Second Empire of Man is consolidating, hoping to reattain the triumphs and security of the long-ago...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Mote in God's Eye hasn't aged well. Compared to the frighteningly unconcious aliens of Peter Watts's Blindsight, the assymetric furbies in Niven and Pournelle's novel seem to be all too human. Even with their genetically stratified society and strange breeding habits, they can't help but to have developed just like humanity, with farms, and cars, and a love of chocolate. It wouldn't be so bad if the aliens were just weird characters, like in Niven's Ringworld, but here, like in Blindsight, t...more The Mote in God's Eye hasn't aged well. Compared to the frighteningly unconcious aliens of Peter Watts's Blindsight, the assymetric furbies in Niven and Pournelle's novel seem to be all too human. Even with their genetically stratified society and strange breeding habits, they can't help but to have developed just like humanity, with farms, and cars, and a love of chocolate. It wouldn't be so bad if the aliens were just weird characters, like in Niven's Ringworld, but here, like in Blindsight, they are the source of intrigue. When the end result of that intrigue has the novel making apologist statement like, well, everywhere in the universe "museums are all alike" it knocks the wind out of the novel's lightsails.

Similarly, the only female character, Sally Fowler, is a scientist and noble aboard the INSS MacArthur sent to investigate the newly discovered alien planet. It's only taken us a few decades since this book was written to have women serving in the navy and a gender shifting Boomer in Battlestar Galactica. But in Niven and Pournelle's future, some thousand years hence, Sally Fowler finds herself the lone woman aboard a ship crewed only by men. In between being consistently and stubbornly wrong about the aliens she studies, she finds time to obsess about rearing children and mending clothes, like some horrendous female caricature in a 50s sit-com.

It is a very entertaining book, though, and it's easy to understand why it is loved by millions. The opening third of the book is a gripping voyage of discovery, and while it meanders a little in the middle while it goes on some predictable action-adventure on the alien planet before slipping into some kind of past-future period drama, it never fails to be anything less than interesting. I can even forgive it the occasional "as you know" infodump when the writing keeps me hooked. It might not be as "hard" sci-fi as Peter Watts can manage, but the writing is a lot warmer and more approachable. I enjoyed it a lot, and that's enough for me.
(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

This is the best first contact novel I've read, perhaps it's the best that there is. It's a excellent depiction of a logical future humanity meeting a truly alien alien species. If that's what you are looking for, then you should read this. If you are a fan of old school sf, you should read this. In general, read it.

That said, the book's serious flaw is its poor characterization. All the military characters are super competent, except for the occasional bureaucratic type needed as a plot device....more

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Nov 22, 2012 Tim Mayer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Every now and then I find an older book which slipped past me when it was first issued. Not being a herd animal, I have a tendency to avoid all the “popular stuff”. Which is to bad because sometimes I miss something important.

The Mote In God’s Eye is a fine example of a “first contact” novel. It has everything: human galactic civilization, space battles, heroic spacemen, counter-plots, and very alien aliens. There are plenty of characters and much of the action is told through multiple points of...more Every now and then I find an older book which slipped past me when it was first issued. Not being a herd animal, I have a tendency to avoid all the “popular stuff”. Which is to bad because sometimes I miss something important.

The Mote In God’s Eye is a fine example of a “first contact” novel. It has everything: human galactic civilization, space battles, heroic spacemen, counter-plots, and very alien aliens. There are plenty of characters and much of the action is told through multiple points of view. The authors do their best to try and describe the aliens reasons and methods. No small achievement. This is one of the best science fiction books ever written.

The plot in basic: In the far future, humanity has expanded to the stars. After a turmoil resulting from the fall of the first human empire, a second has been established and is determined to unite the civilized worlds in harmony and peace, even if it has to be done by brute force. Humanity is ruled by a benevolent, if despotic, emperor who sends his fleets off to bring the lost sheep back into the fold. During one small skirmish near the Horse-head Nebula, an interstellar spacecraft is intercepted from the first non-human civilization. Although the pilot of the spacecraft is unintentionally killed, much excitement is generated within the empire and an expedition is mounted to seek out and discover the aliens. Eventually, the humans make contact with the new civilization, only to find the aliens have reasons of their own for venturing into the galaxy. Reasons which many not be harmonious with the overall aims of humanity.

Niven and Pournelle accomplished a lot with this novel. When they wrote the book, the idea of galactic empires seemed retro, but they researched the possibility enough to make it believable. A few years late a certain movie would hit the screens and the idea seemed plausible once again. Connection? Maybe.

The aliens are known as “The Moties” from the section of the galaxy where they originated. Somewhat mammalian they are broken down into a whole series of specialized castes for their dedicated jobs. Some give orders, some mediate, some do the heavy lifting. I would like to have seen the book spend more time on their planet, but the human reactions were the focus.

The weakest part of the book is characterization. The authors throw a myriad of humans at the reader, but few are memorable. And some of them are down-right stereotypical: the New Scotsman who speaks in a brogue, a space navy admiral of Russian descent who drops his articles when talking, etc. The book focuses on the ideas and concept of The First Contact.

Still one of the best science fiction novels I have read. No Dune, but good just the same.(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Jacob Donley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

THE MOTE IN GOD’S EYE is a science fiction novel written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The main premise of the story is the first contact of humans with a nonhuman alien civilization and all the problems, conflicts, and potential benefits that may come with that encounter. This first encounter comes in the future with technology that is far advanced to that which we have today and in a society that is centuries in the future in comparison to ours, where an Imperial Monarchy exists for huma...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Ringman Roth rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you're looking for some hard Sci-Fi that still retains the image of British imperialism this is the book for you. The way the authors (Niven and Pournelle) handle the problem of FTL is a hand-wave at best, but it doesn't destroy your suspension of disbelief. Star systems are connected by wormholes, that can only be found at certain points in the system and force the ships to travel at sub-light speeds (complete with all the issues of inertia) when traveling from planet to planet. This mirrors...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Harv Griffin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, own

This is my favorite Science Fiction novel. Number One. It starts with a bang. The level of writing is excellent. When I re-read it, I read almost everything. If God's Eye doesn't hook you in the first few pages, you may be unhookable. It has it all. Space battles. A central love story. A surprising depth to the characters. The prose is unusually nuanced for hard Science Fiction, and a joy to read.

Larry and Jerry raised the bar for the "First Contact" SciFi novel, and as far as I can tell, no oth...more This is my favorite Science Fiction novel. Number One. It starts with a bang. The level of writing is excellent. When I re-read it, I read almost everything. If God's Eye doesn't hook you in the first few pages, you may be unhookable. It has it all. Space battles. A central love story. A surprising depth to the characters. The prose is unusually nuanced for hard Science Fiction, and a joy to read.

Larry and Jerry raised the bar for the "First Contact" SciFi novel, and as far as I can tell, no other novel has come close. (I am eager to read any suggestions in the "First Contact" category which may approach this puppy.) Just as a great romance novel succeeds because of the misunderstandings between the protagonists; here God's Eye really shines due to the misunderstandings between the humans and the Moties.

It's actually hard to find anything wrong with God's Eye. Yes, with a copyright of 1974, the slant on women is a bit dated--one woman on a ship with hundreds of men may confuse today's female readers as much as the alien Moties were confused by this. One female SciFi fan posted on an Amazon thread that the first three quarters of God's Eye is the finest Science Fiction she has ever read. I see her point. The ending takes on a different emotional character, when our political leaders have to actually decide what to do about the alien Moties. But the ending works for me, and I don't skip it on re-reads.

Confess most of Niven's and Pournelle's other novels don't really work for me. I did enjoy The Legacy of Heorot. I am a difficult reader to please. Many Science Fiction novels fail for me, I think, because the author had to pop the book out quickly to make a living at all in the genre. Somewhere in the dusty shelves of my library I have an interview (I couldn't find it, and so am relying on untrustworthy memory) that claims that the first submission of The Mote in God's Eye was rejected by their editor, who returned the manuscript with copious notes on how the novel should be structured, and many other additional suggestions. I believe God's Eye is a masterpiece because of this forced rewrite & reorganization, which gave them more time to take the story to the next level.

And so the next time my editor marks up my sacred text, I'm going to think long and hard before telling her what she can do with her red pencil. @hg47 . (less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Hrumphy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People with too much time on their hands

Over-hyped. While I went into the book knowing that it was not fast paced, I was still quite conscious of just how much furnishing was a complete waste. The major areas and parts of the stories are often the more boring parts in the grand scheme of things. (view spoiler)...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Doug Dandridge rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best by this writing pair.
The Mote ig God's Eye is one of the best collaboration pieces in science fiction history. Using the Codominium world of Jerry Pournell, shaped by the hard science fiction genius of Larry Niven, this book shines the whole way through. And you will want to find the initial battle scene that was cut from the book but is out in some other book by Niven somewhere. Great story, great characters, and some of the best aliens ever invented, this book is a gem for the serious...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, aliens, first-contact, favorites

The Mote in God’s Eye, set far in the future, tells the tale of humanity’s first contact with an alien species. Despite being first published in 1974, the science holds up fairly well. There are a few funny oddities that show the story’s age, such as the mention of “microwave ovens” and “pocket computers” as if we would be shocked by their ubiquity, but these are rare. However, in this tale, the science isn’t the star of the show. Rather, it’s the nature of humanity and how that nature compares...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Shirari Industries rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi, animals, environment, gender

This is a great book if you're into in long time scales, longterm sustainability, the rise and fall of civilizations, evolution, and other extremely big picture stuff. It's also got a little mystery and suspense going, though you can anticipate more or less what's happening fairly early on in the book and the cluelessness of the protagonists gets a little tiresome.

I feel like this book is trying to make some big statements about judgement and morality and "goodness," but for me that aspect fell...more

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Nov 05, 2011 David Cain rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I had very high hopes for this novel. It was recently listed in spot #61 on NPR's 2011 reader's poll of the top 100 science fiction and fantasy books. I must say that I was disappointed. It's good but not great, and certainly not one of the best ever sci-fi stories (at least, as far as my interests go). The description of the "Motie" alien biology and social structure is very interesting, and so are the ideas of technologies that allow faster-than-light interstellar travel. However, the human pr...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Brendan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: this is not a fast-paced, seat-of-your-pants, thrill ride of a science fiction novel. That's not to say that it's boring, but if you're coming into this looking for action and adventure, you'll likely be disappointed, and you are definitely in the wrong frame of mind to appreciate it.

With that said, this is truly an excellent book, intriguing and thought-provoking throughout. It's a bit of a throwback to the days when scifi authors could take a con...more Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: this is not a fast-paced, seat-of-your-pants, thrill ride of a science fiction novel. That's not to say that it's boring, but if you're coming into this looking for action and adventure, you'll likely be disappointed, and you are definitely in the wrong frame of mind to appreciate it.

With that said, this is truly an excellent book, intriguing and thought-provoking throughout. It's a bit of a throwback to the days when scifi authors could take a concept and run with it for an entire novel. As a result, all of the central conceits are thoroughly explored from multiple angles.

In the far distant future, the Empire of Man has spread across many star systems, despite their own best efforts to exterminate themselves in cataclysmic war. This is a mostly stable period, though there is your typical unrest and instability along the border provinces. It is here that we enter the story and meet our cast of characters. There's Sally, recently rescued from a rebel prison camp and a budding anthropologist. Bury is the untrustworthy merchant. Rod is our dashing young space captain, and the Tsar is the tough-as-nails naval commander. On the note of characters, I found it hilarious that all the engineers in this universe have a Scottish accent. The author states this explicitly.

A probe from Murcheson's Eye, a star in the Coalsack Nebula, is discovered falling into the sun. Rod successfully intercepts it, but the pilot is dead on arrival. A joint military and scientific expedition is mounted to investigate the originating peoples, and the study of the Moties begins. This is the meat of the novel, the analysis of Mote society and history, how they evolved, why they are where they are today, and what lessons their story has for humanity as well.

If you enjoy anthropology, or the speculative side of science fiction, then you will enjoy this book. The characters are actually good enough to drive the story forwards, and their internecine squabbles are equally fascinating. I recommend it for those who like a bit of meat on their stories.(less)

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About Larry Niven

Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths...more Laurence van Cott Niven's best known work is Ringworld (Ringworld, #1) (1970), which received the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. The creation of thoroughly worked-out alien species, which are very different from humans both physically and mentally, is recognized as one of Niven's main strengths.

Niven also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series, which utilizes an exhaustible resource, called Mana, to make the magic a non-renewable resource.

Niven created an alien species, the Kzin, which were featured in a series of twelve collection books, the Man-Kzin Wars. He co-authored a number of novels with Jerry Pournelle. In fact, much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper, or Edward M. Lerner.

He briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, in 1962. He did a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has since lived in Los Angeles suburbs, including Chatsworth and Tarzana, as a full-time writer. He married Marilyn Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty, herself a well-known science fiction and Regency literature fan, on September 6, 1969.

In addition to his awards for Ringworld, Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Neutron Star" in 1967. He won the same award in 1972, for "Inconstant Moon", and in 1975 for "The Hole Man". In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "The Borderland of Sol".

Niven has written scripts for various science fiction television shows, including the original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series, for which he adapted his early story "The Soft Weapon". He adapted his story "Inconstant Moon" for an episode of the television series The Outer Limits in 1996.

He has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and the redshift effect, which are unusual in comic books.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/larryn...

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“We juggle priceless eggs in variable gravity. I am afraid. I will taste fear until I die.” — 3 people liked it

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The Mote in God's Eye (Moties #1)

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