The Mote in God's Eye
Science fiction classic about the rise, fall and subsequent rise of a civilization where the peak catastrophe is known as the "crazy eddy point". Introduces the concept of frictionless toilets that don't have any water in them but I suspect the authors didn't think it all the way through - I don't recall a negative air pressure that would keep odours in their rightfull place. Nevertheless a fascinating read. I haven't read this for donkeys years which is why I'm searching for an e-copy.
What you might want to know about The Mote in God's Eye
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In the year 3017, the Imperial battlecruiser MacArthur and the merchant ship Lenin are sent to the home star of an alien probe found drifting in human space. There they meet the Moties, asymmetric three-armed aliens with a quietly catastrophic biological secret that the captains have to figure out.
Yes. The Mote in God's Eye was a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1975. Robert Heinlein called it possibly the finest science fiction novel he had ever read.
Yes. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a sequel, The Gripping Hand (1993), and a co-written 2010 prequel set in the same Empire of Man universe. The Mote in God's Eye is the foundational entry.
The Mote in God's Eye was written by Larry Niven, published in 1974 by Pocket.
The Mote in God's Eye is 560 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Mote in God's Eye takes most readers 8 to 12 hours to finish.
The Mote in God's Eye is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
