panguitch's Full Review: Larry Niven - The Mote in God's Eye
This book seems pretty well covered here at epinions. But you haven't read it yet, have you? Well let me add my voice to those already recommending it: if you read just one science fiction book ever, this would probably be among the three I would suggest you choose from. (Along with Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.) Now, I admit I'm not the most widely read fan of SF, and I'm sure my peers are clamoring with their own top three suggestions, but this is my review, my epinion, and if you're one of those, then you've already read The Mote in God's Eye and can at least agree with me in wholeheartedly recommending it.
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, both major SF authors themselves, collaborated for The Mote in God's Eye, first published in 1974. It deals with a common theme: humanity's first contact with sentient aliens.
SETTING
The year 3017. 200 worlds are united in the second Empire of Man.
PLOT
An incoming alien spacecraft is detected, causing quite a stir for humanity, which up till now had the stars to itself. Its origin is calculated to be a star called the Mote in God's Eye. The alien craft is actually a probe, and its strange but roughly humanoid passenger is long dead, having made the journey at sub-light speeds.
Captain Rod Blaine (and his guests the noblewoman Sally Fowler and the devious magnate Horace Bury--all three of whom are introduced in a somewhat extraneous introductory episode) is assigned to accompany Admiral Kutuzov on a quickly planned expedition to the Mote. The first discovery is that the 'Moties' lack the technology that makes interstellar travel possible for humanity. In other words, they're restricted to their own star system for now. It is determined to prevent the Moties from learning that technology from humans at all costs, at least until they prove not to be a threat.
When first contact does occur, the Moties prove more adept at picking up human language than vice versa. Their mechanical superiority is also evident. Both these facts, and the nagging suspicion that the Moties have secrets of their own, make the expedition wary, if not nervous.
Without going further, let me say that, although it takes a while to get going, the plot becomes very exciting. The humans and Moties play the game of diplomacy, each trying to learn what they need to know while trying to keep the other side from learning dangerous secrets. There is also tension between the scientific and military sides of the expedition, and their conflicting goals in contacting the Moties. The scientists become convinced the Moties are benign, while the military sinks into paranoia. The truth is believably complex, and lies somewhere inbetween. Hopefully, no one will spoil the book by telling you what that truth is until you read the book yourself.
CHARACTERIZATION
There is plenty of room in a novel of this size to develop characters, and Niven and Pournelle do well with many of their portrayals. Pounelle's grasp of military life and jargon is convincing as always. There are few stereotyped soldiers, and even Admiral Kutuzov, who first seems a flat, letter-of-the-law commander, evolves into a duty-bound but conscientious admiral. The scientists are less developed for the most part, but their major representatives are also well-rounded.
Chaplain Hardy is one particularly interesting character and his philosophical musings establish a believable theologian who also sees things as a pragmatic soldier. Sally Fowler's character is perhaps the most disappointing: the scarring psychological trials she is declared to have undergone in the prison camp are never reflected in her brightly romantic personality. The most puzzling character is Kevin Renner. A former merchant, Renner lacks military discipline and his sarcasm provides comic relief. However, in the end he plays an important part that is perhaps not entirely credible.
The Moties turn out to be very human in their characterization. Their motives and actions seem not at all alien, except in the specifics. This is actually a plus to my mind. Otherwise, they would fail as characters. It should be noted, however, that Motie society is explored and characterized in depth, and proves very unlike human society. In fact, there are actually a few sub-species of Moties, each with a specific societal role. This has understandable impact on the Moties as characters.
THEME
Many themes are exposed by the plot of The Mote in God's Eye and different characters are involved with different themes. For example, Chaplain Hardy has the difficult commission from the Church of deciding whether the Moties have souls. The obvious question this commission raises is what exactly is a soul and what does it mean to have one? At the same time, the characterization of the Moties and their social structure leads to the development of entirely different themes which provoke the reader to examine the potential for humanity to fall into a Motie-like dystopia.
Of course, the overriding theme of the novel is that of first contact with sentient aliens, and it invites us to speculate about the best way to proceed with such contact. The military is charged with the responsibility of determining whether the Moties are a threat to humanity, and with preventing their discovery of human technologies that might increase such a threat. On the other hand, the scientists become champions of open communication. Among others, the question is raised whether a species is justified in causing the extinction of another sentient species in order to preserve itself. This theme is later taken up in depth in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Saga.
Most interestingly, the title of the novel is a reference to Christ's warning against hypocrisy. Knowing this, we realize both the Moties and humans are playing the same game: self-preservation regardless of the cost to others. In all of this, the novel reflects awareness of the cold war atmosphere of its time.
STYLE
As already mentioned, the portrayal of a navy in action is convincing and the novel is replete with jargon and nuances of military infrastructure. At the same time, these details do not confuse or detract from a civilian's enjoyment of the book. Scientific details are not explored to a disproportionate extent either. Renner's sarcasm provides humor, as does dramatic irony, and even chapter titles like 'Kaffee Klatsch' supply a sort of campy capacity for self-denigration. The authors have done well presenting their themes without being overbearing, and also have managed to weave their writing into a unified whole: not an easy thing for two people to do.
PERSONAL REACTIONS
I found the book to be entirely enjoyable, despite some minor flaws in characterization. After the introductory episode, the plot is consistent and even paced, and although it leaves few loose ends structurally, it encourages thought to continue along the themes it establishes. To their credit, Niven and Pournelle have written a book that conveys the realization that an alien species' concerns about contacting us for the first time would probably be the same as our concerns about contacting them; if we fail to keep this in mind, then we are only seeing the mote in our brother's eye without noticing the beam in our own.
Again, despite initial lag before the real story starts, and a couple cases of weak characterization, this book is magnificent. The portrayal of an alien society is thoroughly interesting. The tension created by first contact in this novel is surpassed by no other work, and the socio-political tact of that tension is refreshingly practical in comparison to works like Sagan's Contact and Clarke's 2001. In fact, it is that tone of practicality that I like most about this book. It induces the reader to contemplate enlightening questions while neither becoming pretentious, nor falling into lengthy abstract exposition, and at the same time remains accessible for all without being reduced to hollowness.
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