The Mote in God's Eye Audiobook By Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle cover art

The Mote in God's Eye

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The Mote in God's Eye

By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Narrated by: L J Ganser
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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. Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction

Critic reviews

  • All-Time Best Science Fiction Novels (Locus Magazine)
Genuine Alien Worldbuilding • Complex First Contact • Distinctive Character Voices • Thought-provoking Themes

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I read the book many years ago and loved it. It is dated, but if you like shows like "Firefly", it won't bother you too much. The science isn't really dated...just the cultural norms. The story is interesting, as are the aliens. As others have mentioned the narrator is annoying. He would have been okay for 1 character, but having him read all the parts just didn't work. It is worth listening to.

Narrator does matter....

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This is a beautifully clever book. It is a worthwile spend of your time, but to avoid disappointment do not be too impatient at the outset.

I find Larry Niven slow going at first. I even get irritated by the care with which he sets the foundations of his proes, but then it hots up and you are transported to his world. A well thought out, clever, insightful and exciting place that is just around the corner. The world could be, or would be as he describes if we were only able to develop the technology to travel from star to star.

This is an excellent book. I recommend it strongly but prescribe you give the start a chance, you will be richly rewarded.

His book Ringworld is similar. It starts out slow and thereafter the only disappointment is that it ends.

Rgds

Paul Levy

Beautifully Clever

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Definitely a first-contact story with considerable depth. But at the same time the human perspective was a little hard to latch onto, and the overall story was a little dry. But it had moments.

The narration was okay, but this book needed someone more expressive to bring the material life. Or maybe it was the material itself, I don't think I've heard this narrator elsewhere, so it's hard to judge.

Overall: worth the listen just for the alien culture.

A classic, but shows signs of age.

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These "old/classic" sci-fi writers seem to get bored with their works and leave me swinging in the breeze. I find this in the writings of Heinlein, and Asimov and now Niven. The stories start out great, and then it's like... THE END.

What just happened?

Leave me dry.

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I've read this book twice and listened to it once. Someday, I may listen to it again. That's how good it is.

This is one of the best imaginings of what it would be like to really meet aliens, with a keen insight into just how "alien" aliens can be. When I first read this book, I got hooked by its "authenticity", with carefully thought out details that give the encounter a sense of realism, consequence, and danger that is very rare. The "science" (OK -- pseudoscience) is a big part of the story, but only a part. It has a fast-paced plot, plenty of action, complex villains, and memorable if sometimes stilted characters.

The narration is good but I gave it four stars only because I have heard other narrators who really rate five stars. I can say of this narrator that he could make you forget him and hear only the story -- which is quite a feat in itself.

One of the best SF novels ever

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