excellent. This is one of the best science fiction books ever. It is perhaps the defining book of that subset of the "universe is not a friendly place" genre that involves man having superior technology. In other words, an opponent is real dangerous, but we have superior arms (at least for now). Many Star Trek episodes were based on this premise.
In The Mote in God's Eye, the action is terrific. The characters work. The science fiction scenario makes sense. Basically, men in the future, when we have spread to other solar systems and have faster than light travel, encounter a space ship from a technologically more primitive culture. Upon investigation, the aliens, whom we call the Moties, turn out to be potentially extremely dangerous. The story never stops moving, with terrific suspense. Pournelle and Niven have a bit of a political message; after all, The Mote in God's Eye was written during the Cold War, but the message makes sense. If the message is disagreeable, ignore it -- the book is great anyway. |
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