The mote in God's eye

by Larry Niven, L.J. Ganser, Jerry Pournelle

Paperback, 560 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 1980 by Macdonald Futura.

ISBN:: 978-0-86007-906-4

Science fiction classic about the rise, fall and subsequent rise of a civilization where the peak catastrophe is known as the "crazy eddy point". Introduces the concept of frictionless toilets that don't have any water in them but I suspect the authors didn't think it all the way through - I don't recall a negative air pressure that would keep odours in their rightfull place. Nevertheless a fascinating read. I haven't read this for donkeys years which is why I'm searching for an e-copy.

24 editions

Milla H reviewed The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven

Ihmiskunta kohtaa rikkalaiset

2 stars

Koko kirjan lukemisen ajan mietin miten kertomuksen alienit käännettäisiin suomeksi. Rikkalaiset?

Ihmisten asuttamaan aurinkokuntaan pölähtää keinotekoinen kappale jostain kauempaa. Lähtöpiste näyttää olevan aurinkokunta ison punaisen tähden, Murchesonin Silmän lähistöllä olevan pienemmän tähden Rikan luona. Luotaimesta löytyy alieni ja ihmiset lähtevät tutkimaan mistä se tuli.

Vähän liian vanhanaikainen ja junnaava kerronta teki pitkästä kirjasta vielä pitemmän. Sen lisäksi yhden kiintiönaisen ja pakollisen romanssin änkeminen tarinaan oli ihan turhaa.

Ihmisnäkökulman lisäksi alienien omaa ajattelua kuvattiin. Tarinan twisti ei ollut kovin yllättävä. Hyvä lisä kuitenkin first contact -kokoelmaan.

joelchrono reviewed The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven

Simply fantastic

5 stars

The authors did a great job on this one.

The setting in this is superb. It starts out with a chronology of events that immediately made this world really interesting to me. I loved it all the way. Characters are good.

Having watched quite a bit of Star Trek old TV shows really helped me picture a bunch of the things and dialogues in this. It made it really enjoyable.

The Moties are one of the most interesting species I've seen, even if I couldn't take it seriously as a name, its just too cute, which I guess makes sense. Their discovery and their history is quite interesting too, so many what ifs.

It is not the most action packed or the most intense book overall, but it has its moments of great suspense and thrill. I found it quite realistic and the plot developed really …

The authors did a great job on this one.

The setting in this is superb. It starts out with a chronology of events that immediately made this world really interesting to me. I loved it all the way. Characters are good.

Having watched quite a bit of Star Trek old TV shows really helped me picture a bunch of the things and dialogues in this. It made it really enjoyable.

It is not the most action packed or the most intense book overall, but it has its moments of great suspense and thrill. I found it quite realistic and the plot developed really well, and the way the conflict resolves is quite human and real.

The characters are also fantastic! Rod and Sally made a great duo and the rest of the characters are also pretty nice. Or at least they worked the way they're supposed to, some are really annoying, but its only human nature.

I would love to lose my memory and read it again, its that good

Alyanorne reviewed The mote in God's eye by Larry Niven

Review of "The mote in God's eye" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book is classic Science Fiction, and a must read for all fans of the genre. I'll admit it isn't easy at first. It takes a while to get going. But it is well worth the effort. The science in it is far before its time. It is clear just from the reading that it was written in the 70s, but it isn't as dated as some other "old" SF I've read. The Moties are unique and interesting.

Give this book a chance. Even if you have to skim the first part. It's worth it.

infryq reviewed Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven

Review of "Mote in God's Eye" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Just-in-time refactoring as a model for all engineering, the instinct of one of several highly specialized subspecies of tragically overpopulating aliens.

Also contains a nicely imperfect model for FTL space travel.