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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Make no mistake, this sucker is a LONG book. It's not bad, in my opinion, although it fell more into the "listen to while I fall asleep" category than the "I've got to listen to this as much as I can, I can't wait to hear what happens next" camp.
It's old, but still interesting and enjoyable. It does show its age in a few places, notably when Sally talks to the aliens about morals and sexuality. That was definitely cringe-worthy, even though it was important to the key plot. Some of the key characters just being wealthy aristocracy and getting pretty much everything they wanted handed to them on a silver platter is also not great.
From the perspective of sci-fi, thinking about technologies and cultures and highly unusual "what if?" scenarios, this is definitely very interesting.
If you like Star Trek, you'll likely enjoy this.
Not to fear, there is action to be had, plenty of violence and deaths. There's even one moment that would be incredibly frightening (if it weren't utterly ridiculous), worthy of being included in Alien or any similar movie. It just felt completely out of character with the rest of the work.
Still a good story for dedicated sci-fi fans everywhere, but not the greatest. Know what you're geting into.
On the plus side, I'll always smile when I think of the term "Crazy Eddie," and will proudly consider myself to be one.
It's old, but still interesting and enjoyable. It does show its age in a few places, notably when Sally talks to the aliens about morals and sexuality. That was definitely cringe-worthy, even though it was important to the key plot. Some of the key characters just being wealthy aristocracy and getting pretty much everything they wanted handed to them on a silver platter is also not great.
From the perspective of sci-fi, thinking about technologies and cultures and highly unusual "what if?" scenarios, this is definitely very interesting.
If you like Star Trek, you'll likely enjoy this.
Not to fear, there is action to be had, plenty of violence and deaths. There's even one moment that would be incredibly frightening (if it weren't utterly ridiculous), worthy of being included in Alien or any similar movie. It just felt completely out of character with the rest of the work.
Still a good story for dedicated sci-fi fans everywhere, but not the greatest. Know what you're geting into.
On the plus side, I'll always smile when I think of the term "Crazy Eddie," and will proudly consider myself to be one.
Humanity has finally met aliens but can they be trusted?
This is a solid sci fi mystery about meeting an alien species and trying to figure out their true colors. Honestly I didn’t find the aliens all that fascinating so a lot of the novel didn’t exactly land for me. Still it’s an exciting space adventure/mystery with a wide cast of distinct, albeit depthless, characters. The human characters are all part of a space navy so it’s quite a bit like Star Trek. It’s a certified sci fi classic and even though it didn’t shine for me it’s easy to see why as I can’t think of anything at the time with as imaginative and unique aliens.
This is a solid sci fi mystery about meeting an alien species and trying to figure out their true colors. Honestly I didn’t find the aliens all that fascinating so a lot of the novel didn’t exactly land for me. Still it’s an exciting space adventure/mystery with a wide cast of distinct, albeit depthless, characters. The human characters are all part of a space navy so it’s quite a bit like Star Trek. It’s a certified sci fi classic and even though it didn’t shine for me it’s easy to see why as I can’t think of anything at the time with as imaginative and unique aliens.
I enjoyed this much more when I read it in 1987 than in 2024. My unreliable memory of it from 1987 was that it was suspenseful and exciting and I couldn’t read it fast enough. I was curious to find out what kind of life form the crew of the MacArthur would encounter and how this alien species would be described.
In 2024 I found it boring and trite. I had to force myself to finish it.
The book is quite good on the physics of travel between star systems and the world building required to shape an interplanetary imperial power. It’s also good on the moral, political and military dilemmas that are presented by a face to face confrontation with an alien civilisation.
There is a weak attempt at political intrigue to spice up the plot but this doesn’t really come to anything and is overshadowed by the major events in the novel.
Characterisation is barely there at all. Captain Blaine scratches his nose a lot. There are some grumpy and reckless scientists who don’t like following rules. There’s a scheming rebel trader from the Levant. There’s an engineer who speaks with a Scottish accent, which distinguishes him from his colleagues. There’s a ruthless Russian and an open-minded Christian priest. And there’s a lovely, wealthy and well-connected female anthropologist called Sally who has been rescued from a rebel planet. She has two servants called Adam and Annie who she is ready to abandon if it means she can go with Captain Blaine to meet the aliens. “I can take anything you can, Captain,” she declares valiantly (except her servants).
The aliens present the crew of the MacArthur with a few ticklish problems. There are some battle scenes. The aliens have some secrets and are resourceful enough to be a credible threat, in spite of the diplomatic overtures from both sides.
There are some dark moments in the book but the ending is a little smug. In the gap between 1987 and 2024 I’d forgotten the entire second half of the book. This may well apply to most of the books I’ve read but I think in this case it shows that my anticipation of what might happen was more compelling than what actually did happen.
I think there is another reason for this as well. All the characters are described in the first few chapters of the book. After that they stop being characters and are just agents of the plot. As I am more interested in character than in plot the second half of the novel made very little impression on me. The aliens are rather conveniently divided into functional types which means there is no need to characterise them at all.
I was glad when it was over any I won’t be re-reading any more books by these authors, which, if I recall correctly, disappointed me even when I read them in the 80s.
In 2024 I found it boring and trite. I had to force myself to finish it.
The book is quite good on the physics of travel between star systems and the world building required to shape an interplanetary imperial power. It’s also good on the moral, political and military dilemmas that are presented by a face to face confrontation with an alien civilisation.
There is a weak attempt at political intrigue to spice up the plot but this doesn’t really come to anything and is overshadowed by the major events in the novel.
Characterisation is barely there at all. Captain Blaine scratches his nose a lot. There are some grumpy and reckless scientists who don’t like following rules. There’s a scheming rebel trader from the Levant. There’s an engineer who speaks with a Scottish accent, which distinguishes him from his colleagues. There’s a ruthless Russian and an open-minded Christian priest. And there’s a lovely, wealthy and well-connected female anthropologist called Sally who has been rescued from a rebel planet. She has two servants called Adam and Annie who she is ready to abandon if it means she can go with Captain Blaine to meet the aliens. “I can take anything you can, Captain,” she declares valiantly (except her servants).
The aliens present the crew of the MacArthur with a few ticklish problems. There are some battle scenes. The aliens have some secrets and are resourceful enough to be a credible threat, in spite of the diplomatic overtures from both sides.
There are some dark moments in the book but the ending is a little smug. In the gap between 1987 and 2024 I’d forgotten the entire second half of the book. This may well apply to most of the books I’ve read but I think in this case it shows that my anticipation of what might happen was more compelling than what actually did happen.
I think there is another reason for this as well. All the characters are described in the first few chapters of the book. After that they stop being characters and are just agents of the plot. As I am more interested in character than in plot the second half of the novel made very little impression on me. The aliens are rather conveniently divided into functional types which means there is no need to characterise them at all.
I was glad when it was over any I won’t be re-reading any more books by these authors, which, if I recall correctly, disappointed me even when I read them in the 80s.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This book was so misogynistic even for the time it was written. I grew up watching classic Star Trek which aired years before this book was published and already represented women in the future/sci-fi way better than this book, so I can’t even excuse it as a product of it’s time. Everything about the romance subplot was annoying and flat and just not compelling at all. I would have much rather it not have been there at all. The alien world building was the only decent part of this book and the only part I managed to enjoy. Everything else I had to drag myself through (with quite a few eye rolls along the way). I cannot in any way recommend this book; as a lover of science fiction, especially the classics, I was so hopeful for this book which did nothing but disappoint me. There are so many better books out there and anybody who can rate this book well doesn’t know what they are missing. Maybe read something by Ursula K LeGuin and you’ll change your mind about calling this book good!
Intergalactic humans, you’ve gone and done it. You’ve discovered and made first contact with an alien species. It is paramount the interaction goes smoothly.
But we, the reader, opening this book to the first pages, know deep in our hearts it won’t. And how could it?
This is the premise over the circa 592 pages of The Mote in God’s Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven.
Not only do we have the violence, military power structures, and paranoia of the human race to exist at the center of this confrontation. We also have the intelligent “other,” the “Moties,” who, according to Niven’s Laws, “think as well as you do, but differently.”
Never have I spent so much time sitting at the edge of my bed, withholding screams to the characters central in this novel. “DON’T BELIEVE THEM!” “DON’T DO THAT!” “RUN AWAY!”
This act was futile, sure, but aren’t we all a little bit Crazy Eddie at times? Don’t we all wish for things to go well, and to end the Cycles?
These questions, which will make sense upon reading, made me sympathize with the Moties. There are no wholly bad or wholly good characters, only the deep-space exploration of what it means to be civilized, to discover each other, and to know where the lies end and the terrifying truths begin.
In my opinion, this novel is a work of storytelling, suspense-building genius.
Although there are some huge problems (see below), I would recommend this book to anyone who loves science, astronomy, biology, anthropology, and swashbuckling adventures.
Next to The Remembrance of Earth’s Past, this has been my favorite sci-fi in the past few years.
Thoughts after reading: Star Trek’s Prime Directive — don’t interfere with the internal development or affairs of alien civilizations — should have been the guiding light of this story.
The downside: The Mote in God’s Eye is uncomfortably male-centric. Patriarchial overtones were a huge problem for me while reading, and while they could be considered an effect of its time (published in 1974), I don’t believe it. This book was written by men, included mostly all male characters, and touched on some very misogynistic themes. Example: there are two or three times in this book where birth control is mentioned as a tool for “improper women.” Oof.