Difference between revisions of "The Mote in God's Eye"

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'''''The Mote In God's Eye''''' is a science fiction book written by [[Larry Niven]] and [[Jerry Pournelle]] and published in 1974. It is about future Earthlings making first contact with an alien race.
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[[Image:Mote In God's Eye - Hardcover - USA - 1st Edition.jpg|thumb|256x256px|First edition hardcover, USA.]]
  
I'm about 1/3 of the way through it right now.
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'''''The Mote In God's Eye''''' is a science fiction book written by [[Larry Niven]] and [[Jerry Pournelle]] and published in 1974. It is about Earthlings in the year 3017 making first contact with an alien race. I chose to read this book after seeing it ranked among the best science fiction ever written. I finished it on 2017-08-06 and wouldn't recommend it.
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==Status==
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I don't own this book, but have listened to an audio book recording.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
* The authors do a decent job of not falling into the Star Trek aliens (humans with minor modifications to their face). The asymmetrical body and caste system were good ideas.
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* The authors do a decent job of not falling into the Star Trek aliens (humans with minor modifications to their face). The asymmetrical body, biological caste system, and sequential hermaphroditism were good choices.
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* The brownies become a rather impressive threat, and create a rather unsettling, but exciting scene.
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* It's apt, and rather frightful, how the Earthlings are so distrusting of the Moties, but angered that the Moties aren't entirely forthright with them.
  
 
===Bad===
 
===Bad===
* Overall, I find the book to be rather boring.
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* Overall, I found the book to be rather boring. It's hinted that something is amiss with the Moties, but it takes forever to get to it. And for a science fiction book, there is very little action and a whole lot of military and political protocol. The book could have been cut in half.
* Despite creating more creative aliens, they're still remarkably human. Arms, legs, brains in their heads, speech through a throat, etc.
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* Despite creating aliens that are more-creative-than-usual, they're still remarkably human. Arms and legs, upright walking, brains in their heads, eyes on their faces, speech through their throats, etc.
* The crew are surprisingly modest about being naked around one another.
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* Despite taking place in the 3000s, humans, even those who have grown up on different planets, all have the same sensibilities as Americans from the 1970s. The crew are very modest about being nude around each other and they feel awkward talking about sex and birth control around the Moties.
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* It is said that brownies don't have the capacity for intelligence, but can be trained to repair technology. However, they also improve alien technology, which isn't something that would be trainable.
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* The Moties claim to have biological capabilities to the point of minor genetic engineering, but they can't figure out how to make a birth control pill? Seems unlikely.
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* The book's ending isn't really an ending so much as a setup for a sequel. I don't like this even in books that I like.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===

Revision as of 10:29, 4 October 2017

The Mote In God's Eye is a science fiction book written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and published in 1974. It is about Earthlings in the year 3017 making first contact with an alien race. I chose to read this book after seeing it ranked among the best science fiction ever written. I finished it on 2017-08-06 and wouldn't recommend it.

Status

I don't own this book, but have listened to an audio book recording.

Review

Good

  • The authors do a decent job of not falling into the Star Trek aliens (humans with minor modifications to their face). The asymmetrical body, biological caste system, and sequential hermaphroditism were good choices.
  • The brownies become a rather impressive threat, and create a rather unsettling, but exciting scene.
  • It's apt, and rather frightful, how the Earthlings are so distrusting of the Moties, but angered that the Moties aren't entirely forthright with them.

Bad

  • Overall, I found the book to be rather boring. It's hinted that something is amiss with the Moties, but it takes forever to get to it. And for a science fiction book, there is very little action and a whole lot of military and political protocol. The book could have been cut in half.
  • Despite creating aliens that are more-creative-than-usual, they're still remarkably human. Arms and legs, upright walking, brains in their heads, eyes on their faces, speech through their throats, etc.
  • Despite taking place in the 3000s, humans, even those who have grown up on different planets, all have the same sensibilities as Americans from the 1970s. The crew are very modest about being nude around each other and they feel awkward talking about sex and birth control around the Moties.
  • It is said that brownies don't have the capacity for intelligence, but can be trained to repair technology. However, they also improve alien technology, which isn't something that would be trainable.
  • The Moties claim to have biological capabilities to the point of minor genetic engineering, but they can't figure out how to make a birth control pill? Seems unlikely.
  • The book's ending isn't really an ending so much as a setup for a sequel. I don't like this even in books that I like.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

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