The Mote in God's Eye

Rating:
Summary: Superb as Ringworld !!
Review: Most of the books I read, I first get in the library. If then a book is outstanding good I buy it, and I will read it several times in a one to two year time span to discovering new details. This is necessary as a good (catching) book of this quality will be read by any reader much too fast the first time. As you might have guessed by now this is one of the books I own.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A MASTERPIECE
Review: This is, possibly, one of the best SF books I ever read. It sits on my bookshelf next to The Ender's Game and The Lord of the Rings (however unsimilar these books are).

Many of the ideas described in the book are startling and thought-provoking. Especially astounding is the very introduction, although one can't really measure its importance well until he's half through the book. Known space - is just a collection of tiny bubles floating within a ghlass of water. And there's nothing we know (and possibly never will) of the waters...

Being trapped within one tiny buble of air called 'Earth', having absolutely no way of escaping it. Is it not scarry? What would humanity do, say, 200 years from now if we don't find a way to travel between the palnets of the Solar system at a decent speed and a reasonable cost? And then again a question of terraforming: are you ready to spend your whole life in an air-tight sute? Inside a bunker? Somewhere on Mars, or better yet Io without a way to get to your long-forgotten Earth-planet any time before next year, when all the freshest news you get are not quite THAT fresh anyway...

And what if those aliens come to us and we try to get out of our tiny buble and we consider us dangerous and would NOT let us out?

This is a must read, take my word.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Well thought out SF...
Review: SF writers don't write books like this anymore!! Most writers are trying to imitate the cyberpunks these days. This book is grand, old-fashioned, compelling and obviously well thought out. The Aristocratic human empire is as well developed as the culture of the Moties. The characters are fleshed out and well drawn. The only other SF book that I can compare to this to is Speaker For The Dead by Orson Scott Card which also had an intriguing, well developed, alien culture. The only thing left to say is Read It! Enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Best concept of an alien race
Review: OK, I might be a bit biased, I read it 4 or 5 times so far. The concept of a good-at-everything but doomed race is the best I've seen. At the end, you're almost skipping pages to see if 'we' (the humans) are going to get wise in time.

That said, avoid the Gripping Hand, its sequel which is a total let-down.

Rating:
Summary: NIVEN'S FYUCK CLICK
Review: POR "EL" JURO QUE TODO ESTO ES VERDA

Rating:
Summary: The Best Future History SF Novel, EVER!!!
Review: "The Mote in God's Eye" is the best extrapolation of where humanity could be headed, and of the impact and issues surrounding First Contact. However, unlike the current crop of First Contact novels, the tables are quite turned.

The story is set in a future where Mankind is rebuilding the Second Empire of Man following the devastation of the Succession Wars. Due to the human losses in those centuries long wars, human society is plausibly reverted to a male-dominated mode in which ladies are treated as such, and are protected. Women are neither second-class citizens or helpless, but the Navy is all-male. Honor and courage are exalted. The government is that of a representative monarchy, in which the Emperor rules, but is advised by Parliament. All Imperial officers have sworn the Oath of Reunion so that Mankind will be brought into a single government, one way or another, so as to prevent the horrors of another galactic war.

The re-unification of Mankind, however, is about to hit a bump.

Into the fringes of the Empire sails an alien probe powered by a light-sail. It's course indicates that it comes from the "Mote in God's Eye," a small star visually next to a red giant, both against the backdrop of the Coal Sack Nebula, which, from that angle, looks like the "Face of God."

A young Captain (My Lord) Roderick Blaine, in a ship barely recovered from a battle with rebel "Outies," is ordered to intercept the alien. He does so, and brings to the sector capital of New Scotland a sub-light starship stuffed in his hanger deck. The pilot is dead. It is also quite obviously non-human, with a lop-sided head, one ear, two small arms on one side and a massive three-fingered arm on the other. To quote Rod, it looks like "a nightmare."

From here, Rod is ordered to command his ship, MACARTHUR, as he accompanies the Battleship LENIN to the Mote to investigate the aliens. Onboard the MAC is Lady Sally Fowler, niece of the Imperial Prime Minister. MAC is to have contact with the Moties, while LENIN is to destroy MAC if it may be captured with imperial technologies intact. What the expedition finds is a system full of friendly sentients who have taken control of all resources in the Mote system, and have inhabited all planets, moons, and asteroids possible.

Unlike humans, who can perform many roles, the Moties are a differentiated species with specialized sub-types: Doctors, Runners, Mediators, Master, and Watchmakers, to name a few. Their society is unlike any human one, with the exception of feudalism. But, they DO like chocolate, with a dash of motor oil, of course.
While in the Mote system, though, The Moties begin to appear to be more than they seemed, at first. Are the Moties really as old a race as they claim? How have they survived millenia in a single system? And, are they are threat to the Empire?

As romance develops, the reader will see Rod and Sally who, as Imperial artistocrats, have to deal with the question: Should we let the Moties into the Empire? If not, . . .???

"The Mote in God's Eye" is well written and fast paced. While suitable for pre-teens, it is the adult who will be able to absorb the full impact of the dilemmas Rod, Sally, and the Empire face. The book has a balanced mixture of action, dialogue, and narrative. It's technoliges are plausible and well-defined. Characters have depth, even those on the periphary. Humor is interspersed throughout. You will cheer Rod and his officers on, laugh at the irrepressable Sailing Master Renner, and cry when ...

A MUST READ for anyone interested in good, hard (scientifically plausible) Science Fiction. Start it on a Friday. That way you may get some sleep before Monday.

Reviewed by: Buddy Knight ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: The finest man-meets-alien novel I have ever read!
Review: Plausible in every respect, this novel introduces us to aliens friendly enough to be our neighbors, intelligent enough to be our teachers, and so voracious they must be kept bottled up.

The best part about this book is what it tells us about us. After all, the only thing seperating us from the Moties is time.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: This book is definitely one of the best sci-fi books ever written. As said, Niven and Pournelle came up with a completely believable alien society. As usual, there are great characterization and hard sci-fi involved. The reality of it all is strengthened by the very accurate and succintly described physics. This sure ain't Star Trek

Rating:
Summary: The best science fiction book written about alien contact
Review: I agree with Heinlein as he wrote "possibly the best sf I have ever read".The authors build an extraterrestrial culture complete with art, social interactions, detailed history and most important of all a plausible philosophy and way of life. The book not only raises questions about a different life form coming into contact with humanity but also answers them from military, technological and ethical viewpoints

Rating:
Summary: I was nearly lynched for suggesting this book.
Review: When I suggested that my "Interdisciplinary Studies" class read this book as an example of a complex fictional society, I was nearly lynched on the spot (this is a fairly long book. I had, of course, selected the book idependent of its length, beacuse, quite frankly, this is the best science fiction story I have ever read (and I've read a lot).

When the class showed up the next week, they were all bleary eyed from not being able to put the book down, they forgave me!

Larry Niven is a master of "hard" (scientifically plausible) science fiction, and is at his best here (not to disparage Jerry Pournelle, who is a respected author in his own right). If you like this kind of science fiction, take a look at Niven's "Protector" or, in fact, any of Niven's short story collections.

If it's well-written books about fictional societies, check out J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit", or Robert Jordan's "Eye of the World".