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Book Details

The Mote in God's Eye

71.4% complete
1974
1994
1 time
See 64
Prologue
Part One - The Crazy Eddie Probe
1 - Command
2 - ThePaasengers
3 - Dinner Party
4 - Priority OC
5 - The Face of God
6 - The Light Sail
7 - The Crazy Eddie Probe
8 - The Alien
9 - His Highness Has Decided
10 - The Planet Killer
11 - The Church of Him
12 - Descent into Hell
Part Two - The Crazy Eddie Point
13 - Look Around You
14 - The Engineer
15 - Work
16 - Idiot Savant
17 - Mr. Crawford's Eviction
18 - The Stone Beehive
19 - Channel Two's Popularity
20 - Night Watch
21 - The Ambassadors
22 - Word Games
23 - Eliza Crossing the Ice
24 - Brownies
25 - The Captain's Motie
Part Three - Meet Crazy Eddie
26 - Mote Prime
27 - The Guided Tour
28 - Kaffee Klatsch
29 - Watchmakers
30 - Nightmare
31 - Defeat
32 - Lenin
33 - Planetfall
34 - Trespassers
35 - Run Rabbit Run
36 - Judgment
37 - History Lesson
38 - Final Solution
Part Four - Crazy Eddie's Answer
39 - Departure
40 - Farewell
41 - Gift Ship
42 - A Bag of Broken Glass
43 - Trader's Lament
44 - Council of War
45 - The Crazy Eddie Jump
46 - Personal and Urgent
47 - Homeward Bound
48 - Civilian
49 - Parades
50 - The Art of Negotiation
51 - After the Ball Is Over
52 - Options
53 - The Djinn
54 - Out of the Bottle
55 - Renner's Hole Card
56 - Last Hope
57 - All the Skills of Treason
58 - And Maybe the Horse Will Sing
Epilogue
Book Cover
Has a genre Has an extract Has a year read Has a rating In my library In a series 
282
 Mote*
#1 of 2
Mote*   See series as if on a bookshelf

1) The Mote in God's Eye
2) The Gripping Hand
© 1974 by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
To Marilyn and Roberta, who put up with us while we wrote this; and to Lurton and Ginny, who made us do the job over again.
"Throughout the past thousand years of history it has been traditional to regard the Alderson Drive as an unmixed blessing."
May contain spoilers
If anyone could teach a horse to sing hymns, it would be a trained Mediator.
No comments on file
Synopsis not on file
Extract (may contain spoilers)
The slivers turned red, then black.  Clearly the things were cooling; but how had they become hot in the first place?
    The Engineer had stopped wondering about that when one of the slivers came toward her.  There were power sources inside the metal bulks.
    And they were self-motivated.  What were they?  Engineers, or Masters, or senseless machinery?  A Mediator on some incomprehensible task?  She resented the Mediators, who could so easily and so unreasonably interfere with important work.
    Perhaps the slivers were Watchmakers; but more likely they contained a Master.  The Engineer considered running, but the approaching bulk was too powerful.  It accelerated at 1.14 gravities, nearly the limit of her ship.  There was nothing for an Engineer to do but meet it.
    Besides... al that metal!  In useful form, as far as she could tell.  The Clusters were full of metal artifacts, but in alloys too tough to convert.
    All that metal.
    But it must meet her, not the other way around.  She had not the fuel or the acceleration.  She worked out turnover points in her head.  The other would do the same, of course.  Luckily the solution was unique, assuming constant acceleration.  There would be no need for communication.
    Engineers were not good at communication.

 

Added: 21-Feb-2018
Last Updated: 29-Jun-2022

Publications

 01-Jan-1984
Pocket Books
Paperback
In my libraryOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Jan-1984
Format:
Paperback
Cover Price:
$2.50
Pages*:
560
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
2027
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-671-82358-2
ISBN-13:
978-0-671-82358-0
Printing:
11
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Credits:
Ed Soyka  - Cover Artist
A black hole in space.  And piercing through, a beam of ruby light brighter than a hundred moons.  Was it the eye on the face of God, or the blood red-sun of our first intergalactic visitors?

"Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read."
- Robert Heinlein

"One of the most engrossing tales I've read in years."
- Theodore Sturgeon
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
First Pocket Books printing October, 1974
Stated 11th printing per number line.

I picked this up at Second Chance Books and Comics with a Christmas gift certificate from my daughter.

All Covers for this edition of the series

 01-Jan-1986
Pocket Books
Mass Market Paperback
I read this editionOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Jan-1986
Format:
Mass Market Paperback
Cover Price:
$3.95
Pages*:
560
Read:
Once
Internal ID:
239
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-671-49175-X
ISBN-13:
978-0-671-49175-8
Printing:
17
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Credits:
David Egge  - Cover Artist
OF WHAT THE EYE SEES WE KNOW NOTHING...

A black whole in space.  And piercing through, a beam of ruby light brighter than a hundred moons.  Was it the eye on the face of God, or the blood-red sun of our first intergalactic visitors?

"Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read"
- Robert Heinlein

"One of the most engrossing tales I've read in years"
- Theodore Sturgeon
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
Read while working at the City of Oklahoma City in the basement of the courthouse.  Bought at Lute's.  Gave to Audrey at MAR-K in 2013.

All Covers for this edition of the series

 01-Sep-1993
Simon & Schuster
Hardback
In my libraryOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Sep-1993
Format:
Hardback
Cover Price:
$9.98
Pages*:
475
Internal ID:
242
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-568-65054-X
ISBN-13:
978-1-568-65054-8
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Credits:
Lee MacLeod  - Cover Artist
"The best novel about human beings making first contact with intelligent but utterly nonhuman aliens I have ever seen and possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read."
- Robert A. Heinlein

The Mote in God's Eye
Larry Niven
Jerry Pournelle


It is the far future and the human race has conquered the galaxy.  Or so it seems - until a strange ship appears out of nowhere carrying the emissary of a civilization at once bizarre and terrifying by Earth's standards.

Before Contact can be established, the emissary is accidentally killed.  But during the encounter a danger signal is transmitted across space, forcing mankind into a desperate race to find the visitor's world and try to convince its unimaginably alien inhabitants of our desire for peace and friendship.

The question is, will they listen?  Or will their culture permit nothing less than an all-out galactic war for supremacy?

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are the best-selling co-authors of Footfall, Lucifer's Hammer, Oath of Fealty, Inferno and, most recently, The Gripping Hand, the long and eagerly awaited sequel to The Mote in God's Eye.  Niven, a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, is also the author of the Ringworld series and many other novels.  Dr. Pournelle is the Chairman of the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy and is the author of numerous works of both science fact and fiction.

Jacket art by Lee MacLeod
Designed by Kwonk Wong
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
No price on book or jacket.

All Covers for this edition of the series

 01-Jan-1994
Pocket Books
Paperback
In my libraryOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Jan-1994
Format:
Paperback
Cover Price:
$2.50
Pages*:
560
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
241
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-671-74192-6
ISBN-13:
978-0-671-74192-1
Printing:
11
Country:
United States
Language:
English
"Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read."
- Robert Heinlein

"As science fiction, one of the most important novels ever published."
- San Francisco Chronicle


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 bestsellers Inferno, Footfall, and The Legacy of Herot, among others.

THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE is their acknowledged masterpiece, and epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends genre.
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
First Pocket Books printing October, 1974
Stated 11th printing per number line.

Related

Author(s)

Larry Niven  
Birth: 30 Apr 1938 Los Angeles, California, USA
Notes:
Larry Niven is the pen name of Laurence van Cott Niven.  He was born in 1938 in California.  He received a Bachelor's of Science in mathematics from Washburn University in Kansas.  His first publication was "The Coldest Place" for If in 1964.  He has since written many books including those in his Tales of Known Space series which also began in "The Coldest Place".
From Beowulf's Children:

Born April 30, 1938 in Los Angeles, California. Attended California Institute of Technology; flunked out after discovering a book store jammed with used science fiction magazines.  Graduated Washburn University, Kansas, June 1962: BA in Mathematics with a Minor in Psychology, and later received an honorary doctorate in Letters from Washburn. Interests: Science fiction conventions, role playing games, AAAS meetings and other gatherings of people at the cutting edges of science. Comics. Filk singing. Yoga and other approaches to longevity. Moving mankind into space by any means, but particularly by making space endeavors attractive to commercial interests. Several times we’ve hosted The Citizens Advisory Council for a National Space Policy. I grew up with dogs. I live with a cat, and borrow dogs to hike with. I have passing acquaintance with raccoons and ferrets. Associating with nonhumans has certainly gained me insight into alien intelligences.

Jerry Pournelle  
Birth: 07 Aug 1933 Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Notes:
Jerry E. Pournelle, Ph.D. has earned a Bachelors degree Mathematics a Masters degree in Experimental Statistics and Systems Engineering and Doctorates in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Washington.  He is Senior Consulting Editor at BYTE Magazine and chairs the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy and the Lunar Society, Inc.

With Larry Niven he has written several novels, one of which is The Mote In God's Eye which is considered to be one of the best "first-contact" novels written.

Jerry Pournelle was the first writer to use a computer to write both fiction and non-fiction and his first personal computer, Ezekiel, is displayed in the Museum of American History, History of Computing and Communications exhibit, at the Smithsonian Institution.

He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and now lives in California.  He married Roberta Jane nee Isdell in 1959 and they have four sons and one daughter.
From Beowul's Children:

Jerry Pournelle is the author of the popular Janissaries and CoDominium series and co-author with Larry Niven of several bestselling science fiction novels, including INFERNO, FOOTFALL, LUCIFER'S HAMMER, OATH OF FEALTY, THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE, THE GRIPPING HAND, THE BURNING CITY, BURNING TOWER and ESCAPE FROM HELL. Dr. Pournelle has advanced degrees in engineering, political science, statistics and psychology. As an aerospace Systems Analyst he participated in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Following a brief tour in academia he was the Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Los Angeles. He was the Science Editor for Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, and is a past president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has written columns on political and technology issues for decades, in addition to his career as a fiction writer. His columns for Byte magazine have been an internet staple for many years. Dr. Pournelle has been involved in the development of government policy on space enterprises and defense, and he is active on several committees for the advancement of science and space exploration. He was Chairman of the Reagan "kitchen cabinet" Citizen's Advisory Committee on National Space Policy, and frequently participates in conferences on the future of technology.

Awards

1975Locus MagazineBest SF Novel Nominee
1975World Science Fiction SocietyHugo Award - Best Novel Nominee
1976Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of AmericaNebula Award - Best Novel Nominee
*
  • I try to maintain page numbers for audiobooks even though obviously there aren't any. I do this to keep track of pages read and I try to use the Kindle version page numbers for this.
  • Synopses marked with an asterisk (*) were generated by an AI. There aren't a lot since this is an iffy way to do it - AI seems to make stuff up.
  • When specific publication dates are unknown (ie prefixed with a "Cir"), I try to get the publication date that is closest to the specific printing that I can.
  • When listing chapters, I only list chapters relevant to the story. I will usually leave off Author Notes, Indices, Acknowledgements, etc unless they are relevant to the story or the book is non-fiction.
  • Page numbers on this site are for the end of the main story. I normally do not include appendices, extra material, and other miscellaneous stuff at the end of the book in the page count.






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