Reviews

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven

droar's review against another edition

4.0

Some relatively crunch , old-school sci-fi. I had a difficult time getting into this one as it's got a lot of Navy stuff at the opening and that often excessive spaceboats jargon that space science fiction seems to loooooove. That said once we got into the alien things I was 100% on board. The story managed to feel both unavoidable and unexpected at the same time, and I was completely surprised by at least one turn of events. What I like best about this books is that it hangs on the details and every detail is right. It is masterfully written, and while may not have enjoyed all the plot points (no women in the space boats Navy? seriously?) each one felt like it had intention and purpose in the greater storyworld.

jadechurch1983's review against another edition

2.0

I really wanted to like this book. The story was intriguing. I just couldn't get past the clunky, awkward writing style. I appreciate it the book for the cornerstone of modern Scifi that it may be, but I just found myself not looking forward to reading it at all.

I got about 2/3 of the way through the book before I just couldn't find the motivation to read on. Again, at the end of the day, it wasn't the story as much as it was just the writing. The writing doesn't read smoothly or poetically at all. To me, a good book is a story, as much as it is being able to savor the prose. This book feels as though a computer wrote it. There are extremely awkward sentences and at times it's hard to follow the dialogue. It doesn't read with ease.

I also found the main characters to be pretty flat and uninteresting.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this book.

nova_atoms's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

zairaurelia's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

blake921's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sillypunk's review against another edition

This is a terrible book, don't read it or let young children read it: http://blogendorff.ghost.io/book-review-the-mote-in-gods-eye/

presoblu's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

timzin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

charlibirb's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed this read. Excellent portrayal of an alien species in a way I hadn't seen before. The one drawback is that many of the secondary characters blended together for me. Would have liked a little more personality distinctions. And the book is dated - it's a teeny bit sexist, but not in a Stranger in a Strange Land way. Would read again.

spestock's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5