- Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: Macdonald Futura (1 Oct 1981)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0860079066
- ISBN-13: 978-0860079064
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 11.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 170,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Mote in God's Eye (The Mote Series)
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Product Description
Review
"Minneapolis Tribune" Intriguing and suspenseful...the scenes in which the humans and aliens examine one another are unforgettable.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
"Admiral's compliments, and you're to come to his office right away," Midshipman Staley announced. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
"Admiral's compliments, and you're to come to his office right away," Midshipman Staley announced. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have a confession: when I first read this book about 30 years ago I was so naive that I actually got to the final chapter still thinking the aliens were benevolent. Re-reading it last week I realise you are supposed to rumble their duplicity about half way through and the tension is about whether the humans will catch on in time. I think the plotting would be better if it had been written to support my initial reading. That could have been achieved by leaving out the alien-perspective passages and telling the Midshipman sub-plot in flashback at the end. Written this way, with a spectacular reveal right at the end, it would be a much more rewarding read.
This is probably the hardest story line in SF: first contact on the alien home-world. Not only do you have to imagine an entire alien civilisation, you also need a credible human future with star faring technology. This book manages the first and hardest part brilliantly but then lets itself down terribly by constructing the human civilisation from the most ridiculous assembly of sub Star Trek space-opera clichés this side of the Romulan home world! Somehow an alliance between the Soviet Union (excusable - this was written during the cold war) and the US has produced - the British Empire in space! Who would have expected that - an aristocracy! Just substitute planets for colonies, space ships for sea ships, magical faster-than-light "tramlines" for trade winds and job's done! It could have been amusing if they'd come up with a reasonable historical excuse for this, but they do not and you cannot help concluding it was just laziness. This ludicrous political landscape is populated by nationalistic clichés from old earth. I mean, there is not one but several Scots engineers with thick brogues (beam me up Scotty!); a paranoid and ruthless Russian admiral; a rebellious planet called "New Ireland" next to a loyal one called "New Scotland"; a corrupt and fabulously wealthy Arab merchant with a chip on his shoulder; a German character descended from a colony that recently started a war to impose its ideas of racial superiority. I could go on, but I risk someone trying to defend this tripe as homage!
However the inventiveness of the alien civilisation makes up for this in a big way. Believable and genuinely alien aliens are so rare in SF, and the "Moties" are really different. Their biological imperatives are alien, their history is alien, their physiology is alien, their reproductive mechanisms are alien, their politics is alien, their technology is alien, their motivations are alien, their architecture is alien, their situation in the universe is unique. And all of this is imagined from scratch rather than mix-and-matched from human templates, and fits together all of a piece. The best part is that they are not either good or evil, just driven by the imperatives of their situation and placing their own interests first. It is a truly amazing achievement, quite unique in my reading experience. On top of that the authors have come up with a really clever plot device to allow the reader to totally empathise with these aliens.
Because of the superb "Moties", I give this poorly written, badly plotted, cliche ridden book a full four stars. It is very tempting to conclude that the authorial team comprises a very imaginative, creative and brilliant scientist hitched to the worst kind of SF hack writer who wouldn't get published in any other genre.
This is probably the hardest story line in SF: first contact on the alien home-world. Not only do you have to imagine an entire alien civilisation, you also need a credible human future with star faring technology. This book manages the first and hardest part brilliantly but then lets itself down terribly by constructing the human civilisation from the most ridiculous assembly of sub Star Trek space-opera clichés this side of the Romulan home world! Somehow an alliance between the Soviet Union (excusable - this was written during the cold war) and the US has produced - the British Empire in space! Who would have expected that - an aristocracy! Just substitute planets for colonies, space ships for sea ships, magical faster-than-light "tramlines" for trade winds and job's done! It could have been amusing if they'd come up with a reasonable historical excuse for this, but they do not and you cannot help concluding it was just laziness. This ludicrous political landscape is populated by nationalistic clichés from old earth. I mean, there is not one but several Scots engineers with thick brogues (beam me up Scotty!); a paranoid and ruthless Russian admiral; a rebellious planet called "New Ireland" next to a loyal one called "New Scotland"; a corrupt and fabulously wealthy Arab merchant with a chip on his shoulder; a German character descended from a colony that recently started a war to impose its ideas of racial superiority. I could go on, but I risk someone trying to defend this tripe as homage!
However the inventiveness of the alien civilisation makes up for this in a big way. Believable and genuinely alien aliens are so rare in SF, and the "Moties" are really different. Their biological imperatives are alien, their history is alien, their physiology is alien, their reproductive mechanisms are alien, their politics is alien, their technology is alien, their motivations are alien, their architecture is alien, their situation in the universe is unique. And all of this is imagined from scratch rather than mix-and-matched from human templates, and fits together all of a piece. The best part is that they are not either good or evil, just driven by the imperatives of their situation and placing their own interests first. It is a truly amazing achievement, quite unique in my reading experience. On top of that the authors have come up with a really clever plot device to allow the reader to totally empathise with these aliens.
Because of the superb "Moties", I give this poorly written, badly plotted, cliche ridden book a full four stars. It is very tempting to conclude that the authorial team comprises a very imaginative, creative and brilliant scientist hitched to the worst kind of SF hack writer who wouldn't get published in any other genre.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The publishers blurb on the back of this novel compares it with Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land. In my view Dune is the best SF novel ever written so I had high expectations of this book. Initially I was very disappointed - stilted dialogue, wooden characters and a ponderously slow plot. then as I read on there was a steady improvement and by the end I was enjoying it. It also raises some fascinating issues around over-population and the resultant conflict. The motie world is well described, trapped in an endless cycle of over-population, war, civilisation collapse and eventual recovery. This is not Dune or Stranger in a strange land but it is a good read. 4 stars seems about right.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I first read this great novel some 20 years ago, and wanted to read it again, before tackling the sequel, "The Gripping Hand".
As always, I was curious to find out what the earlier me had found so fascinating, and so began reading with some trepidation.
I needn't have worried, however - it is still the greatest "First Contact" novel of all time, full of action, drama and scientific detail in equal measure, so innovative that it will constantly surprise even the most jaded "Speculative Fiction" palate. Why shouldn't ETs have population, social and environmental issues to deal with?
I've read many N + P novels and their obvious views on nuclear power and environmentalism are often at odds with my own; they seem to believe that nuclear fission will produce a glowing future and I fear that they are right. That said, the authors' decision to revisit their earlier successes (this, "The Burning Tower", "Escape from Hell"; what about the guys from "Lucifer's Hammer"? How are they making out?) is the right one.
A cracking good read, which fizzes along like a firework but with an infinitely more satisfying explosive pay-off.
As always, I was curious to find out what the earlier me had found so fascinating, and so began reading with some trepidation.
I needn't have worried, however - it is still the greatest "First Contact" novel of all time, full of action, drama and scientific detail in equal measure, so innovative that it will constantly surprise even the most jaded "Speculative Fiction" palate. Why shouldn't ETs have population, social and environmental issues to deal with?
I've read many N + P novels and their obvious views on nuclear power and environmentalism are often at odds with my own; they seem to believe that nuclear fission will produce a glowing future and I fear that they are right. That said, the authors' decision to revisit their earlier successes (this, "The Burning Tower", "Escape from Hell"; what about the guys from "Lucifer's Hammer"? How are they making out?) is the right one.
A cracking good read, which fizzes along like a firework but with an infinitely more satisfying explosive pay-off.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tired
Most reviewers seem to have read this book as a younger person and look back on it through rose tinted glasses. I didn't have that pleasure. Read more
Published 14 days ago by D. B. Train
Simply the best
I first read this years ago and loved it. Having read it again, it is even more relevant now what with the population explosion on Earth. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mulletmeister
wonderfully complete vision of an alien culture
This is another addition to the shelf of truly excellent "first contact" scifi. It has good characters, mysterious clues that add up in a later climax that is entirely... Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
Fluffy little animals
I got this book based on other peoples opinions, and that tought me to be more sceptical.
The story starts out pretty well, gets increasingly outlandish in the middle,... Read more
The story starts out pretty well, gets increasingly outlandish in the middle,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Christian Wendt
An exceptionally well written "First Contact" story
I liked this book very much, for many reasons:
- it is REALLY interesting and I couldn't stop reading it
- the alien civilization (Moties) is really alien and very... Read more
- it is REALLY interesting and I couldn't stop reading it
- the alien civilization (Moties) is really alien and very... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Maciej
Niven & Pournelle - What a team!
When Niven & Pournelle get together, the stories they create are truly amazing. They have a depth of characterisation and a wealth of background that clearly demonstrates a... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Tom
Fun and thought provoking
Finally re-read this book after a 20 year gap. Enjoyable plot, but whilst the Moties and their civilisation are truly inspired creations I never quite warmed to the human... Read more
Published 19 months ago by TM
My favourite SF-novel
This is probably one of the best SF-novels, I have read, and it is definitely my favourite. A proof of this is that after having worn out one paperback copy and working on doing... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2009 by Torsten Bille
Classic SF
Easily one of the best SF novels ever written. No one can quite do hard SF better than Niven/Pournelle. Read more
Published on 29 April 2009 by zargb5
Hyped up a little bit - but a necessary page-turner...
I'd been trying to get hold of this book for some time and, eventually, ended up getting a second-hand copy. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2007 by D. Martin
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