- Hardcover: 401 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; First Edition edition (Feb 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671795732
- ISBN-13: 978-0671795733
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 336,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Gripping Hand (The Mote Series)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
Robert Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read." "The San Francisco Chronicle" declared that "as science fiction, "The Mote in God's Eye" is one of the most important novels ever published." Now Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, award winning authors of such bestsellers as "Footfall" and "The Legacy of Heorot, " return us to the Mote, and to the universe of Kevin Renner and Horace Bury, of Rod Blaine and Sally Fowler.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
A several head spun across black sky. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A several head spun across black sky. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio Cassette
The first 1/3 of this book was a bit labourous to get through but the rest of the book makes up for it, even to the extend of 5 stars. I have never been able to put this book down after reaching page 100.
I think it was a mistake to rename it though. I now have 2 versions. This is the same book as "The Mote around Murchinsons Eye"
I think it was a mistake to rename it though. I now have 2 versions. This is the same book as "The Mote around Murchinsons Eye"
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I am a big fan of "The Mote in God's Eye" and I was enthusiastic
about reading the sequel even though I'd heard it was not as
good a read. (Of course sequels rarely are). However, I still
enjoyed reading more about "Moties" and the magnificently
constructed world constructed by Niven & Pournelle. Sure it didn't
get off the ground as fast, but about half way thru the book
I was hooked quite thoroughly and I think that if you love
Moties as much as I do, you'll be hooked as well! I gave "The
Mote" a 10 rating and I give this sequel a 7.
----- B.H. Dixon
about reading the sequel even though I'd heard it was not as
good a read. (Of course sequels rarely are). However, I still
enjoyed reading more about "Moties" and the magnificently
constructed world constructed by Niven & Pournelle. Sure it didn't
get off the ground as fast, but about half way thru the book
I was hooked quite thoroughly and I think that if you love
Moties as much as I do, you'll be hooked as well! I gave "The
Mote" a 10 rating and I give this sequel a 7.
----- B.H. Dixon
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
...Is the title this was released under in the UK. Which explains my initial confusion.
But in reading the reviews, I feel as if I have been looking at the wrong book. What's going on here? A classic follow up to a classic novel, and so many people were disappointed!
Many people disliked the first section of the novel, which dealt primarily with the Human Empire and the Mormons. They claim they had nothing to do with the story - untrue, as they sparked Bury's paranoia about the Moties getting free in the first place. I enjoyed the insight into the human Empire, and the fleshing out of an area that TMiGE was unable to focus on.
The Blaine children being flat characters? Glenda Ruth belonging on 'Clueless'? Chris being an unimaginative Navy officer? Ridiculous! They are cunning, manipulative individuals, raised by Motie Mediators, and they act every bit the part. Perhaps those who commented thus failed to look under the glossy exterior of the characters - Glenda's relationship with Freddy (an interesting new character, incidentally), say, and Chris's disbelief in the Motie threat (he spent less time with Jock, Charlie and Ivan than his sister).
Bury, for all the 30 years, hasn't changed a bit - bar his unusual friendship with Kevin. He still follows his beliefs, he is still terrified of the Moties - and he still hates the Blaines with a passion (not quite the clear-cut 'good guy' I've heard him accused of).
As to the lack of new technology and races, and lack of development by the Moties...of course not! Barely thirty years have passed, not enough time for substantial new technology to appear (bar the 'magic' coffeepots and the expanding Langston Field). A society will not change much in this period, and nor will a species genetics! And as to 'no new alien races', well: the Mote books have always been about the Human-Motie relationship, and adding new aliens would be unbelieveable, disruptive, confusing and above all; destroy the impact and flow of the story.
Another comment I read was that a reviewer modelled himself on Kevin Renner. I'd model myself on a Motie Mediator - perhaps even Renner's own Fyunch(click!).
In conclusion; The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye/The Gripping Hand is a worthy and impressive follow-up up to a classic. Read it, hate it if you must, but try looking under the surface and you'll find a lot more than some people seem to have.
Incredible. One of the greatest SF books I've ever read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
a medicore knockoff, not a creative continuation of the great first...
I just spent the afternoon reading this after feeling mesmerized by the first one, Mote. It was terribly disappointing. Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
Cracking sequel on how to survive meeting the Moties !
This is a cracking sequel to Mote in God's Eye. Don't expect it to be more of the same, as in a Mote in God's Eye 2, Pournelle and Niven don't do that. Read more
Published on 1 April 2002 by Peter
I liked it but then I wrote it
I confess I am weary of having the books I wrote with Niven be put up as by him alone. But it is a good book, and I should not be churlish. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 1999
Disappointing and convoluted.
I am sorry, but that is what the majority of the novel is like. The excitement and interest that is pandemic in The Mote In God's Eye is almost, mind you ALMOST, nowhere to be... Read more
Published on 11 July 1999
At times it was exciting, but...
Too much of this book focused on issues that did not appeal to me. In fact at least half of the book did not even feel like it was Science Fiction. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 1999
Not as good as I thought it would be
The Mote in God's Eye had a fairly original story that kept me intrigued. The sequel, though, fails to provide the same excitement. Read more
Published on 27 Dec 1998
Not quite as good as the original, but good none the less
Oh come on, of course it's not as good as TMiGE... but few books are!! If you don't like this book, you've got rocks in your head.
Published on 25 Jun 1998
Severely Underrated - Another Thought Provoking Masterpiece!
I must say, I am very dissapointed with the reviews on this site of The Gripping Hand. I personally thought it was a great book. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 1998
Well... it beats the hell outta sniffing burlap
TMiGE was a superlative work. As I have matured (read it when my guardians boought it in '74... 'm now 28) I was fascinated with the technology. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 1998
The beam in your own
How do you write a sequel to one of the greatest books in the sf canon? Maybe you shouldn't.
Oh, come on, we're being unfair. Read more
Published on 29 May 1998
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
