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The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
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The Mote in God's Eye (original 1974; edition 1991)

by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

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6,3051081,524 (3.93)125
In the year 3016, the Second 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 light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched. In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one million years old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The Moties are welcoming and kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years.… (more)
Member:AndreasJ
Title:The Mote in God's Eye
Authors:Larry Niven
Other authors:Jerry Pournelle
Info:Pocket (1991), Mass Market Paperback, 592 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:science fiction

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The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven (1974)

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» See also 125 mentions

English (102)  Italian (2)  Dutch (1)  All languages (105)
Showing 1-5 of 102 (next | show all)
I think I'm gettin old... and stuff. It's tiresome to read true hardcore sci-fi where action is mere mote in the eye of the world. So much descriptions, so many explanations, tons of details, endless right and wrong guesses... And much of it ending been just a time filler between some twisting points of story.

Even if it's very good and stylish book, I can only admit that it's not my kind of thing. ( )
  WorkLastDay | Dec 17, 2023 |
It managed to keep my attention long enough to get through the whole book, but I thought the ending was quite disappointing and pretty noneventful. ( )
  BrettElliott | Apr 13, 2023 |
Highly celebrated novel, somewhat disappointed. Nice premise, great conclusion, but feels, reading today, very dated. One only female character who was just the typical Princess Leia. The Prince, cliched. Loved their Inferno novel. Really enjoyed the Ringworld novels. Maybe I would have enjoyed this if I had been reading it around the time I was reading and thoroughly enjoying Heinlein. ( )
  DavidRFWarner | Nov 10, 2022 |
Excellent portrayal of an alien culture and how this could clash with our own through population factors. ( )
  brakketh | Jul 29, 2022 |
As a story this was not, in fact, very good. But as a piece of fiction it was excellent.

What do I mean by that? Well, there's not really much of a plot. The characters are not terribly interesting, and their individual story lines are rather predictable. But all that's okay, because those are not what this book is about. This book is about how two species alien to each other might actually go about establishing contact with each other.

How is trust established in such an environment? How is risk balanced against assumption of good intentions? How does the human tendency to want to reduce things to good or evil deal with the reality that an alien species -- like humanity -- is unlikely to be easily reducible to such simple terms? At it's core, this book is an exploration of these and other questions.

So if you're looking for a good story, this may not be the best choice. But if you're looking for speculative fiction, this will likely be a good option. ( )
1 vote eri_kars | Jul 10, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 102 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (91 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Niven, Larryprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Pournelle, Jerrymain authorall editionsconfirmed
Cap, YomaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Egge, DavidCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ganser, L JNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
MacLeod, LeeCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
And why beheldest thou the mote that is in thy brother's

eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

MATTHEW 7 : 3
Dedication
To Marilyn and Roberta,

who put up with us while we wrote this;

and to Lurton and Ginny,

who made us do the job over again.
T
First words
PROLOGUE

"Throughout the past thousand years of history it has been traditional to regard the Alderson Drive as an unmixed blessing."
A.D. 3017

"Admiral's compliments, and you're to come to his office right away," Midshipman Staley announced.
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Rape it.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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In the year 3016, the Second 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 light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched. In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one million years old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The Moties are welcoming and kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years.

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