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)

Over rated, but not bad.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mote in God's Eye to be better than the print version?

Yes.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Disappointed. It seemed to fall flat.

What does L J Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a fabulous job differentiating between the aliens and the humans.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too long.

Any additional comments?

I thought it was a good story, but all the reviews I had read made it sound like it was the best first alien encounter ever. I did not agree.

still an amazing read!

test you mind against the moties! such a great story action and suspense. one of the classics

Hard to understand which character is talking.

This is a very interesting story that is never cliché or obvious about what happens next. It has slow moments, usually when it is humans talking to each other about irrelevant political details. my biggest problem is that I would loose track of who was talking to whom. By the end of the book I still wasn't sure which character jad which name except for a few noteworthy personalities but that didn't impact the story as much as you'd think.

Epic, entertaining, but confusing performance.

Great story, but the overlapping voices were difficult to keep track of at times. Got a little slow in the middle, but all around a great epic sci-fi tale.

Great Book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

drop the last chapter to boring

Would you recommend The Mote in God's Eye to your friends? Why or why not?

yes held my attention all the way untill last chapter

Could you see The Mote in God's Eye being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

no

Any additional comments?

no

Great Sci-Fi!

Great story, well thought out and intriguing all the way. Characters and situations are quite believable for the genre. It's an enjoyable ride!

Good classic sci-fi

A little dated but innovative and leaves you thinking. Also, this is an original story. I've read a lot of sci-fi but never encountered anything quite like it. Good characters too. also long, so good value. Narrator is terrific.

Excellent classic sci fi

Pretty sure Patrick Stewart read this prior to STNG releasing. Its a great book even if the alien concept is a little goofy.

Not perfect but really… really good

Negatives: Mild character inconsistencies. I’d normally deduct more for that particular sin but this book glides through them. Thats all. To have that few objections is in itself praise.

Positives, with concept spoilers. They are too numerous, but I’ll highlight: The picture painted of necessary consequences analogized to bacteria is believable, the voice acting of particularly important persons is well done and their comeuppance deserved, the offensive but irresistible portrayal of an aristocratic necessity of such class at large is well put.

These are engaging and challenging ideas which amount to everything you want from a work of science fiction.

Why, oh why won't someone make this into a movie?

For fans of hard science fiction, this book will not disappoint. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to ever be made into a movie because the story is quite long and complex, and to present it visually would probably be very difficult and require a lot of CG. Therefore, this audio book version is as close as we're likely to get. This is a very good production, and I much enjoyed the reader's performance. If you liked this, I recommend Niven & Pournelle's "Footfall."