Rating: 
Summary: Such a disappointment
Review: I love Niven's work, and Pournelle's no slouch :), but this book really disappointed me. Maybe because Mote was so incredible, maybe not. Basically, my impression of the book is a bunch of characters running around in space doing not much for 3-400 pages. Maybe I need to read it again. But, I can say that this is the only Niven book that I didn't like upon finishing. But don't let it discourage you! All of his other books are 4-5 stars, and the Pournelle collaborations 5+ (Mote, Lucifer's Hammer -- CLASSICS).
Rating: 
Summary: Severely Underrated - Another Thought Provoking Masterpiece!
Review: 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. It starts off thirty years later, with an unlikely pair - Bury and Renner, cracking into rebel secrets and finding traitors. The relationship between the two is fascinating and Niven did a good job of giving the relationship thirty years maturity. The Blaines were a little different (Rod and Sally), but thier children were interesting characters (More Glenda Ruth than Chris). Anyway, the new Motie civilization of the stars is fascinating - similar to the Mote Prime civilization, but even more territorial and with more deals. The bargaining between the different Motie houses, and between the humans and motie was all very well done. And the space battle at the end - breathtaking. For those of you who havent read this, here's a taste - it spans three star sytems and includes at least 2000 ships. The end was a little rushed, but aren't all of Niven's works? The two books fit very well together - I give this one a very high reccomendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting concept, but bad writing
Review: I read "Mote" many years ago, and unlike most people, didn't think it one of the top 20, or 50, SF novels at the time. Now along comes the sequel, reinforcing the idea from the end of "Mote" that a blockade of the Motie system is a stop-gap measure at best. Sooner or later (as it turns out, MUCH sooner), Empire of Man must deal with the issue. Niven & Pournelle have concocted an interesting follow-up, where characters from the original (namely Renner and Bury) stumble almost accidentally on to the fact that all hell's about ready to break loose. It was a quick read, which fortunately doesn't require the reader to remember all the details from "Mote." What bothered me was the quality of writing. Albeit better than "Ringworld Throne", the dialog is hard to follow, scene breaks are choppy, and characters actions/dialog often make no sense to the reader, as if the authors deleted all internal dialog that might have provided clues to what the characters were thinking. More than once I had to backtrack a few pages and attempt to reconstruct the sequence of who-said-what-to-whom. Sadly, if this book had been written by relatively unknown authors, I doubt it would ever have been accepted for publication.
Rating: 
Summary: A continuation of a classic
Review: I really enjoyed this book as a continuation of the classic 'Mote in God's Eye'. I found it to be a little rougher on the mystery that was so created with the first one, but still enjoyable in it's own unique way. I think any fan of Niven and Pournelle would enjoy this sequel. It had more of a political emphasis than the first and I understand the need to include this factor in the saga, but I felt somewhat disappointed with the ending, wanting more as a reader. There are many action packed moments, however, and it does lend a new light on the aliens encountered than the first book. The imagination of these two brilliant authors is commendable. The two books together are very entertaining, but both entirely different in tone.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was easy to put down.
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. As a big fan of the
Mote In God's Eye (I have recommended it to many many
people, all of whom have thanked me) I was bored to tears
with this book. In fact, I put it down when halfway
through and then ended up starting it over because it had
been so long. I finished the book only out of loyalty to
Niven (I usually devour his books), and out of the hope
that perhaps it would improve. The story line was very
slow to develop, and the ending, I thought was complicated
and difficult to follow.
Rating:
Summary: "The Gripping Hand" Is Not Gripping at All!
Review: I was very disappointed with "The Gripping Hand". I read "The Mote in God's Eye" over 20 years ago and just re-read it in preparation for reading the sequel. "The Mote" was as good as I remembered even though it got a bit "sappy" with the Blaine/Fowler relationship towards the end. I expected the Blaines to be the central characters in "The Gripping Hand". To my dismay, one of my least favorite characters from "The Mote", Horace Bury, is the central character! I didn't buy the "evolution" of the Moties. It didn't seem like a natural evolution from "The Mote". Why were these space fairing Moties so strong? Why didn't they conquer Mote Prime for its land and where did they get their material since they appeared to have raped every asteroid, comet, etc in the Mote system? Why did they like Bury so much? That was never a point in "The Mote". As for the humans, the only likable character is Kevin Renner. The other characters are bland and annoying. I expected more from the Blaine children. The son is just another navy officer and the daughter is a precocious teenager. And what ever happened to Terry and Jennifer? Where was the blockade fleet at the Alderson point? What happened to Rod and Sally? They were summoned to New Cal and then that story line was dropped! There is so much "filler" in the book -- filler that neither helped move the story nor developled the characters. I had to struggle to complete this novel. "The Gripping Hand" is a disappointing, slow moving novel that limped along towards an uneventful ending.
Rating:
Summary: The Moties are Back!
Review: In this sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, humans and the alien "Moties" once again come into contact with dramatic results. The Empire of Man has a blockade to keep the Moties bottled up in their own system because the Moties are explosively expansive and would quickly overrun the Empire. Horace Bury, an Imperial Trader, and Kevin Renner, his pilot, travel through the Empire helping Naval Intelligence quell rebellion. But Bury and Renner, veterans from the first contact with the Moties, have another goal: to make sure that the Moties stay penned up in their system. When they find possible evidence that the Moties may escape, they pull all the strings they can find in order to visit the blockade. Events unfold quickly and they end up once more in the Mote system, trying to prevent a disaster. They have help of Chris and Glenda Ruth Blain, the two children of the first expedition's captain. The Blaine's have unique insight into the situation because they grew up around the only Moties allowed into the Empire. The tension is thick at times, and the space battles are well plotted. However, there are large stretches consisting of political intrigue and Motie history lessons that slow down the plot considerably. I think the sections are interspersed well enough to hold the reader's interest. Some of the plot twists were hard to follow, especially once the Moties are involved. However, considering the chaos involved during battles and throwing in completely alien thought patters, it's probably fair to have some confusion in the plot. The characters are engaging, but I found it a little annoying that some of them just drop out of the story at the end without resolutions. The Gripping Hand is definitely easier to read if you have the background found in The Mote in God's Eye. However, like most sequels, it doesn't live up to the promise of the first book. It's entertaining, but not destined to be a classic.
Rating:
Summary: The Moties are Back!
Review: In this sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, humans and the alien "Moties" once again come into contact with dramatic results. The Empire of Man has a blockade to keep the Moties bottled up in their own system because the Moties are explosively expansive and would quickly overrun the Empire. Horace Bury, an Imperial Trader, and Kevin Renner, his pilot, travel through the Empire helping Naval Intelligence quell rebellion. But Bury and Renner, veterans from the first contact with the Moties, have another goal: to make sure that the Moties stay penned up in their system. When they find possible evidence that the Moties may escape, they pull all the strings they can find in order to visit the blockade. Events unfold quickly and they end up once more in the Mote system, trying to prevent a disaster. They have help of Chris and Glenda Ruth Blain, the two children of the first expedition's captain. The Blaine's have unique insight into the situation because they grew up around the only Moties allowed into the Empire. The tension is thick at times, and the space battles are well plotted. However, there are large stretches consisting of political intrigue and Motie history lessons that slow down the plot considerably. I think the sections are interspersed well enough to hold the reader's interest. Some of the plot twists were hard to follow, especially once the Moties are involved. However, considering the chaos involved during battles and throwing in completely alien thought patters, it's probably fair to have some confusion in the plot. The characters are engaging, but I found it a little annoying that some of them just drop out of the story at the end without resolutions. The Gripping Hand is definitely easier to read if you have the background found in The Mote in God's Eye. However, like most sequels, it doesn't live up to the promise of the first book. It's entertaining, but not destined to be a classic.
Rating:
Summary: The Moties are Back!
Review: In this sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, humans and the alien "Moties" once again come into contact with dramatic results. The Empire of Man has a blockade to keep the Moties bottled up in their own system because the Moties are explosively expansive and would quickly overrun the Empire. Horace Bury, an Imperial Trader, and Kevin Renner, his pilot, travel through the Empire helping Naval Intelligence quell rebellion. But Bury and Renner, veterans from the first contact with the Moties, have another goal: to make sure that the Moties stay penned up in their system. When they find possible evidence that the Moties may escape, they pull all the strings they can find in order to visit the blockade. Events unfold quickly and they end up once more in the Mote system, trying to prevent a disaster. They have help of Chris and Glenda Ruth Blain, the two children of the first expedition's captain. The Blaine's have unique insight into the situation because they grew up around the only Moties allowed into the Empire. The tension is thick at times, and the space battles are well plotted. However, there are large stretches consisting of political intrigue and Motie history lessons that slow down the plot considerably. I think the sections are interspersed well enough to hold the reader's interest. Some of the plot twists were hard to follow, especially once the Moties are involved. However, considering the chaos involved during battles and throwing in completely alien thought patters, it's probably fair to have some confusion in the plot. The characters are engaging, but I found it a little annoying that some of them just drop out of the story at the end without resolutions. The Gripping Hand is definitely easier to read if you have the background found in The Mote in God's Eye. However, like most sequels, it doesn't live up to the promise of the first book. It's entertaining, but not destined to be a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely disappointing in light of its predecessor
Review: It pains me to confess that I was very disappointed with the Gripping Hand especially because I really enjoyed The Mote in God's Eye. The Mote was a classic work of Science Fiction, one which has all the elements of a great book. It is gripping, exciting, intriguiing and internally consistent - a real page-turner. The sequel on the other hand, is boring and trivial. The characters are cardboard cutouts who lack depth and intellingence. The story is boring and captures none of the original excitement - we don't get to learn anything new about the Moties or their civilization. I would definitely not recommend buying this book - rather reread the original.
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