The Mote in God's Eye

That's it. That's the review. This book is one of the fundamentals of speculative fiction canon. It is, simply, that good.Read it

I purchased this book on a whim because it has been trending quite a bit on my recommendations for science fiction readings as of late. The Mote in God’s Eyes did not disappoint; it was everything I was looking for in the science fiction realm.At 560 pages in length, this book is a bit longer than your typical science fiction read. However, I felt like once I got going and understood the premise, I was at pretty much a steady pace (even though I was reading another book alongside this one).This one has many of the hallmarks of a classic science fiction: set in a future with humans hurtling through space seeking knowledge, the potential for first contact with an alien existence, futuristic technological advancements, and dynamics between a human and alien civilization.I will readily admit that there was quite a bit to take in during the first about one hundred pages or so. The duo author combo of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell pack quite a bit of exposition and backstory into the early portions of the novel. Some of this was a bit complex, and I was trying to figure out the various roles of characters (and there are many) and their society. I suppose this exposition was essential to later developments, but I don’t think the reader should be concerned too much if they feel a bit lost, as things clear up later on in the plot.I say this because I think one of the most essential aspects is the human/ Motie dynamics that come later on. The build up to the humans encountering this alien experience and first contact is brilliantly set up as the crew travel through space via their ship, the MacArther. The fascinating perspective is how the two civilizations try to figure each other out and communicate with each other. There is a sort of proverbial chess match between the humans and the Moties, a gray area where they both want to find out about each other without giving the other side too much information.With this, the book raises several questions that are examined and explored: Are the Moties a hostile species, or do they have benevolent intentions? How intelligent are they? How much can either side—the humans or the Moties—trust each other, or benefit from each other? The novel digs deep into these questions, especially in the later portions.Without giving too much away, there is a big shift at one point in this book that I didn’t see coming that really propels things forward.If there was one drawback, it is the aforementioned characters, who are not really that memorable but rather just serve their roles to propel the story forward. It is a small drawback, however, because I think that the plot, themes explored, and questions investigated make up for this.Overall, this was a fun, engaging, and thought-provoking read. I found a nice audiobook recording that really enhanced the entire experience. I’m interested in looking more into these authors, and maybe picking up the sequel, The Gripping Hand.

I read "Lucifer's Hammer" when I was a kid. I grew up the youngest in a household of avid readers and so was a pretty precocious reader, picking up whatever books my parents and older siblings brought into the house for their own reading. So I was pretty young when I read "Hammer." I'm sure I missed a lot of its subtleties because of my age. But I do remember I liked it a lot. It seemed my dad must have had an interest in apocalyptic fiction, because I remember reading a few of those and found them fascinating. Stephen King's "The Stand" held the top honor of favorite book until "The World According To Garp" came along.Anyway, when browsing some group messages on Goodreads I first saw mention of "Mote" and, recognizing the authors names from "Hammer," decided to take a look. The rather legendary recommendation from Robert Heinlein kind of sealed the deal.During the reading of the book, I read more people's thoughts on it, and found everything from best ever to cheesy and outdated. The reviews that called it outdated annoyed me more than deterred me. The book was written in the early 1970s, so allowances must be made. Do you hold it against Moby Dick that they don't have iPhones? So, yeah, the book is dated. Big deal. The message contained in it far outweighs the drawbacks. The story takes place about a thousand years from now, and it frequently mentions the characters using their "pocket computers." In 1972 or so, the authors prognosticated this as being cutting edge tech. I found this amusing, as a mere 40 or so years after its publication, I was reading it on MY "pocket computer," a Kindle Fire. Some reviewers found it sexist that there was only one female human character, and she was very outdated due to her beliefs (the "good girls don't need birth control" comment was often cited). Well, in the early 1970s, lots of women felt that way, especially daughters of senators, which she was. The only gripe from other readers that I agreed with fully was the Scottish guy, who was a carbon copy of Scotty from "Star Trek," complete with corny accent and nearly identical dialog ("I kenna DO it, Captain!") It seemed a stretch since the characters from other nationalities, the Russians for example, didn't have attempts made to imitate their accents.So much for the negatives. In my opinion the pros of this book so far outweigh the cons there's really almost no reason to bother, but I want to be fair.So the basic story, and I don't want to give too much away (read: MINOR SPOILER ALERT), is about the human empire's, which is intergalactic at this point, first contact with an intelligent life form. I found the storytelling of this book masterful. The authors tell a story about how amazing First Contact might be. But the authors plant very tiny seeds, which germinate slowly while you read, that all might not be as well as it seems. It just have me creepy chills as I read, that things rarely go so well without SOMETHING going wrong. It was almost a "Star Trek" meets "Jurassic Park" scenario. If that seems an out-there analogy, consider that most of Michael Crichton's books were about mankind's constant arrogant blunders into disaster by repeatedly failing to consider all possible outcomes and assuming that we can control every aspect of our environments. That's all I'll say on the matter of the storyline.So, overall impression is that it is worth the read both for the story itself, which is fascinating, and especially for the way the tale is told. It's a well-crafted book.

The Mote in God’s Eye -- 1974, I had been out of high school for a year. Another GREAT novel from Larry Niven and a co-writer I did not know; Jerry Pournelle.I must be blunt or this will drag on…The problem is — it’s science fiction -or- a fairytale, perhaps a parable.Who could take such a thing seriously!What it is, is a cautionary tale of stunning scope in several different directions. It’s a brilliantly crafted storyline of great detail and depth. It is also written to a level of narrative and dialogue that most H.S. graduates can grasp.It neatly skewers our human society of — right now — in the 2020s. Anticipating the social drift we all mark as having started in the mid-1980s.Politically Incorrect or not, we have drifted to emphasize in bold-double-underscore, sympathy for every contingent imaginable at any cost.No One can afford ‘any cost’ for very long.The story places us on a ship with a microcosm of oversimplified social factions; the Military, the Industrial, the diverse Cultural, the Theoretically Certain Intellectual, the Common Worker/Crewman, the Religious, and the Ruthless!I did not see this the first few times I read it — almost 50 years later, now I do.I am listening to the Audible Edition, paused, as I write this...Like it or not — you must read this. Not because it's fun or well done, or that it's part of a tremendous series worth reading over and over -- but because it speaks clearly of problems we live with today in the spring and summer of 2022!!!

Trata-se da Edição econômica, então as páginas serão finas e a impressão não é das melhores. Tudo bem.As páginas são coladas, então muitas palavras ficam expremidas perto da lombada, o que prejudica a leitura.O que tirou mais a nota foi a péssima embalagem para envio internacional. Como mostra a foto, a capa veio arranhada e descolando

The rating is for the quality of the book and not a comment on the story. I had to return the book because of horrible piracy of the publisher.

Compré el libro pensando que sería del estilo de Douglas Adams, pero no es así. No es para nada un mal libro, es interesante, pero no es del tipo que me gustan a mi.

This book deserves a place among sf's greats. For me it stands shoulder to shoulder with Asimov's robots series and Herbert's Dune series. Great reads.

Un altro capolavoro di Niven e Pournelle. Molto consigliato, una bellissima storia di Science Fiction. Molto meglio in ligua originale piuttosto che tradotto.