Rating: 
Summary: Fun! Realistic as well.
Review: The human race has a lot against it. We pollute, we exterminate other races on Earth, we kill eachother, we fill the planet with our own offspring. We are cruel and suppressing. On the other hand: we are concerned too, loving and caring, curious, protecting, we like to clean things and we realise the problems at hand.We are Moties ourselves, in a lot of ways. And in the end, we have just been a bit luckier than them. I like the book. The story is well told. It is quite funny. It contains some nice plot twists. It contains scientifically rather possible goodies and almost no technobabble. The charactes develop nicely, even though most of them are clearly very tong-in-cheek. There are lessons to be learned from this book for now and for the future. So: read it! And I would certainly go to see it in cinema if a movie will be made of this.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the all time best
Review: This book is full of moral ambiguity and dilemas: help the aliens and risk destruction or exterminate the whole race? A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Great book with well developed ideas.
Review: First let me say that the review is wrong. They aren't trapped in their solar system because of lack of a star drive. They are trapped because they lack the sheilding necessary to escape. Anyway, I won't give away anymore. I only occasionally enjoy Sci Fi and this one is great.
Rating: 
Summary: difficult to follow
Review: This book was sort of difficult to follow. Although I understood the plot line and story, I got lost a couple of times in reading it. It was not the most captivating book that I have ever read and i would rank it a C+ or B-
Rating:
Summary: The Epitome of Alien Contact stories
Review: Set out to be the Epitome of Alien Contact stories and succeeded. This is SF as it should be and anyone who isn't enthralled must be suffering from a seriously deficient imagination and sense of wonder. This book is very different to "The Lord of the Rings" but they have three things in common: (1) they restore faith in the survival of the story-teller's craft, (2) they are both long books, and, (3) the reader finishes them wishing they were a lot longer.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Excellent. Excellent
Review: This has to be one of the finest Sci-Fi books ever written. Niven and Pournelle have woven a richly textured universe that explores mankind's future and the never ending quest to answer the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe? Leave it Niven and Pournelle to conjure up an alien that is truly alien. No Klingons or Romulans here. The Moties are as bizarre as they are fascinating. One thing I like about Niven and Pournelle is that they let their own opinions and politics come out in their writing. For me it gives the characters a real quality, somehow more connected to the world we live in. This novel would make a spectacular movie. Why hasn't it been done yet?
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Rich.
Review: It is hard to describe the flavor of this book. Like thick milk chocolate. Deliciously interesting and the Moties themselves are pure wonderment that enriches the novel to no end. Niven and Pournelle have created themselves a thick and creamy universe. That's as best as I can think to describe it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best works I've ever read
Review: Fantastic! I read back in about 1978...have since read it again twice more. Without a doubt, one of the most intricate, captivating, and creative works of sci-fi ever...
Rating:
Summary: Best SF novel ever! Movie would rival Star Wars!
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this book, from the beggining to the end. It was very realistic, I would have handled those situations exactly as Captain Blaine handled them. If this was done right it would make an excellent movie. Whoever rated this under four is either not paying attention or is in the wrong genre. The storyline was rich and the battles were very well done. Imagining miniatures hauling around a heavy laser cannon was very enjoyable and the way the moties covered up was quite intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: True Sci Fi at it's best.
Review: I read this one 20 years or so ago, and it was excellent then. Rereading it now, it is as fresh and current as ever. Highly recommended.
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