The Mote in God's Eye

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Narrated by: L J Ganser

Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Writing separately, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are responsible for a number of science fiction classics, such as the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ringworld, Debt of Honor, and The Integral Trees. Together they have written the critically acclaimed best-sellers Inferno, Footfall, and The Legacy of Heorot, among others.

The Mote In God's Eye is their acknowledged masterpiece, an epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends the genre. No lesser an authority than Robert A. Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read".

©1991 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• All-Time Best Science Fiction Novels (Locus Magazine)

outstanding! !! must read!

amazing! must read!!! good very good book to read. must read. must read must read

Excellant Sci-Fi story out of the norm

If you could sum up The Mote in God's Eye in three words, what would they be?

Good characters and story

What did you like best about this story?

It took me to possible places and events not of our time and place.

What about L J Ganser’s performance did you like?

The story kept me interested througout most of the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No but I was interested throuhout most of the book up to where it ended non-difinitively (as many books do when authors want to leave a thread for the future.

Any additional comments?

For me it was well worth listening to.

Best Sci-Fi I've read in a long time

I've seen this book on "best sci-fi stories" for a while, but was turned off my the seemingly sacrilegious title.

But I realise now the title is innocuous and the book is indeed great. More than once I found my heart racing at the prospect of real peril for characters I liked and well written excitement.

Niven and Pournelle write superbly and craft a unique human based sci-fi universe that is believable and not fantastical and also not overly explained. Their depiction of a militaristic space-based cicilization making first contact with the first non-human intelligent species is well done.

Good story

Like it a lot, the read made it a like hard to know who was talking

Must read for students of humanity and nerds

A study of human nature cleverly disguised as thrilling but believable science fiction. Questions of philosophy and "what if" history considered in depth. Highly recommend to serious and casual fans of the genre. If Starship Troopers is the best work of science fiction of the era, this is a close close close second. Over due for a movie series adaptation, but I fear it would be ruined (like starship troopers).

Great first encounter story

Some good sci-fi here, great first contact story with interesting aliens and good world building.
Only downside is the very 70s attitude to sex and race, which is just a sign of the times I think.
Good narrator too, I definitely recommend it.

Lots of real tech and science enhance a good story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

No I think it was very well written.

What did you like best about this story?

Niven uses a lot of real tech and real science in the story. It makes the story much more interesting.

What aspect of L J Ganser’s performance would you have changed?

A little more destinction between characters would have made it easier to follow in a few of the more complex passages.

Do you think The Mote in God's Eye needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

There are sequal to this book. I have not read/listened to them yet but I plan to in the future.

over rated

What did you like best about The Mote in God's Eye? What did you like least?

Like best? Not much, don't get why this book is so popular. Characters are weak, gullible and naive. Authors seem to forget earlier parts of story

Very little profound, timeless sociology as id expect from good science fiction. Kept waiting to get sucked in. Just wound up being anxious for it to end.

Granted, SF authors cant predict future technology, but many things seemed plain stupid.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

annoyed by the e Scottish characters

Did The Mote in God's Eye inspire you to do anything?

Write this review to save others

Any additional comments?

Stranger in a strange land....

Enjoyable extraterrestrials and a good story

Haven’t listen to ring world, I was looking forward to a good storyline that was enjoyable, nothing complex nothing too deep in thinking, and this was a good fun science fiction ride. I found the story because of an article described extraterrestrials and good descriptions of the aliens that were different from humans. The best, I would still say are the ET‘s in the enders game series, but these are a good second. Two though, that Octavia Butler short story would probably be first. Anyhow this is a good story with good characters it might be old fashion and was written in the 70s, but it still enjoyable Starland

this science fiction classic is a great read.

It was thoughtful and thought provoking. I often wonder how we will behave on first contact with aliens. The depth of detail gave the story life and the narrator gave the characters gravitas.