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The Mote in God's Eye (Mote Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by
Larry Niven (Author)
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Larry Niven (Author),
Jerry Pournelle (Author)
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Jerry Pournelle (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 469 customer reviews
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Length: 596 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Complete Series
Mote Series (3 Book Series)
Larry Niven
Kindle Edition
$18.44

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Product Details

  • File Size: 1607 KB
  • Print Length: 596 pages
  • Publication Date: August 31, 2011
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004YDL2CY
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
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  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,427 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly the greatest SF novel I've ever read...
By A Customer on January 26, 1999
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Starting on an unusual note; The Mote In God's Eye is the only SF book I have ever bought before reading. This may seem stupid, but I'm very glad I did it. Niven and Pournelle have succeeded in knocking Frank Herbert's Dune off my mental 'Best Books Ever!' list's top spot.
It's a fascinating tale of mankind's first contact with an utterly alien race - and for once, these aliens aren't all-powerful conquerers of worlds with but one weakness. Indeed, in many respects the Moties have problems similar to human difficulties...although that's not to say the Moties are at all similar to human beings. Oh no.
I won't go into depth about the alien society - that might spoil the book for you! The human society, however, is nearly as interesting as the alien.
At this point, I think back to comments I've heard about the book - that the human society is still plagued with today's problems (but of course - human society will not change radically in 1000 years, merely adjust to accept technological changes. And, of course, as the authors mention, an advanced human society will not evolve as natural selection can no longer apply [civilised societies care for the weaker members]). Another comment that sticks in my mind is that planets which belong exclusively to one ancestral faction from Earth are absurd. I beg to differ - those with similar cultural heritages would stick together, and countries would, I believe, launch individual colonisation programs, meaning that all the colonists on one world might indeed share their cultural heritage. And as a final note on the subject, the worlds with a single 'nationality' are few and far between; more than 200 worlds are colonised by mankind.
But back to the book.Read more ›
8 Comments 85 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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5.0 out of 5 starsUnique, and one of the best
By Sardan on August 16, 2004
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Some science fiction books are driven more by technology and plot situations, and other are driven more by characters and dialog. The great Isaac Asimov's stories usually were the latter; for example, in his great Foundation series, there's surprisingly little gee-whiz gadgetry.

Niven's stories have always been very strong on brilliant futuristic gizmos and clever alien creations, but weak in terms of fleshed-out characters interacting in a deep way that you'll find in other genres of fiction.

So I can understand some of the negative reviews; it could be that those folks are just not fans of Niven-style sci fi.

If you're new to Niven, I strongly suggest you read his "Known Space" series before this book. In fact, start with his short story collections before you move on to the classic Ringworld. The stories get higher- and higher-tech. He even admits it, in the preface to his short story "Safe at Any Speed." For a writer, it's basically a tough challenge to create an interesting plot when he has pretty much painted himself into a corner with so much incredible technology, not to mention a human race that has been successfully bred for luck!

That's what makes this book such a kick. I love that, in contrast to his Known Space books, this book is pretty low tech. It's retro, in the way that Star Trek: Enterprise is to its TV predecessors. I also really dig the Moties. I love that the central dilemma they're facing, the thing that regularly imperils their entire civilization and makes them such a threat to us, is something that we dealt with almost trivially years ago. To me, the concept that it never even occurred to them to deal with it as we had, reinforces their alien-ness.Read more ›
4 Comments 67 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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3.0 out of 5 starsA good idea, but somehow lacking in readability
By Joe Egg on June 24, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
There is part of me that really liked this book just based on the plot device. The whole idea of a truly alien race "stuck in a bottle" was very appealing and original -- even now, thirty some years after it was written.

But I still came out of this book feeling a bit let down overall. I won't rehash all the points made by the other reviewers who gave it four stars or less. For the most part, I agree with a good majority of their more erudite observations of inconsistencies, lack of character depth and datedness of prose.

But I do feel it necessary to add a couple of comments to the bucket just for the personal cathartic experience of doing so.

First, for a novel this long that has quite a bit of realistic detail, why did the authors decide to go so flat on the first contact with aliens?

*** (Don't read on if you don't want a spoiler.) ***

When the two human warships enter the Motie system and make first contact with the first living, sentient species in the history of mankind... it's all very humdrum and commonplace. There's no fireworks written into this momentous occasion, the biggest moment in mankind's history. Nobody on the ship is terribly excited. Nobody is particularly fearful. Very little criteria for first contact is put in place or carried out with an eye toward proper communication, safety, quarantine, or just good sense (Other than one warship standing by to destroy the other in case of trouble -- which was a good and believable scenario, but it didn't go far enough with the reality of the situation). In fact, a lone midshipmen is sent with no fanfare to blindly go aboard an alien ship where he then proceeds to take off his mask and breathe the air as if this kind of thing happens every day. No fear of germs.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

One of the best space operas out there. This is a definite read for any SF fan.

Published 1 day ago by Terry Reiss
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of he best SiFi/first contact novels ever written

One of he best SiFi/first contact novels ever written. It goes beyond the action to dig into the consequences. Would make an amazing mini series...

Published 1 day ago by Joseph D. Molfese
5.0 out of 5 starsClassic, holds up!

Read at 15, Re-read after 35 years... Still holds up. Engaging story. Interesting read

Published 4 days ago by M Welborn
4.0 out of 5 starsand that is all GOOD. I really enjoyed reading it and will be ...

A typical Larry Niven/Jerry Pournell book, and that is all GOOD. I really enjoyed reading it and will be moving to book two very soon.

Published 8 days ago by Merlin87
4.0 out of 5 starsWe're not alone, but should we worry?

This book sits among many peers as a first contact story. Many years in the future, humans encounter an alien race that seems drastically different with unique abilities. Read more

Published 25 days ago by Andy Lucas
3.0 out of 5 starsWorth the read

What's cool:
All the thought that's gone into the scenario of mankind meeting an alien civilization for the first time. Creative and interesting. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Bjornar Nystrom
5.0 out of 5 starsWell written and enjoyable. I really must get my hands on the sequels

An amazing bit of sci-fi writing that was refreshingly "real" on the science front and uniquely approached on the fiction front. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsA good classic

I read this book many years ago, and for some reason I enjoyed it more the first time I read it. The second time around, it seemed to lag and I found myself wading through too much... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Stephen K. Mercer
5.0 out of 5 starsPossibly my all time favourite SciFi book

Possibly my all time favourite SciFi book. This is hard core, classic SiFi at it's best. First contact by humans with an alien race. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Phil Stephens
4.0 out of 5 starsClassic Sci-Fi

A very interesting first contact story. Dated in some aspects, but it hooks you in.

Published 2 months ago by Matthew Lewis

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