The Gripping Hand

By: Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Robert Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read". The San Francisco Chronicle declared that "as science fiction, The Mote in God's Eye is one of the most important novels ever published". Now Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, award-winning authors of such best sellers as Footfall and The Legacy of Heorot, return us to the Mote, and to the universe of Kevin Renner and Horace Bury, of Rod Blaine and Sally Fowler.

There, 25 years have passed since humanity quarantined the mysterious aliens known as Moties within the confines of their own solar system. They have spent a quarter century analyzing and agonizing over the deadly threat posed by the only aliens mankind has ever encountered - a race divided into distinct biological forms, each serving a different function: Master, Mediator, Engineer, Warrior. Each supremely adapted to its task, yet doomed by millions of years of evolution to an inescapable fate. For the Moties must breed - or die. And now the fragile wall separating them and the galaxy beyond is beginning to crumble.

©1993 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

How can the same reader mispronounce this word?!

"Fyunch(click)" The "click" part is pronounced with a sound made by pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth and then suddenly moving it downward.

The same guy read book 1 and pronounced it correctly but in book 2 he literally says the word "click" instead of making the sound. Yeah, it's a big deal along with his very low range of having any distinction between characters' voices.

Yeah, it's a big deal.

A very good sequel, but does not to the original.

A quick "read" and well done follow-up to the ground breaking "Mote in God's Eye".
25 years after it was written it stands the test of time well, even though its universe does show its age.

Very enjoyable listen,

If you liked Mote in God's Eye and wanted more storyline then this is the book for you. It starts off a bit slow but the ending is well worth it.

Ho Hum

This book was not as interesting as the first the only reason I finished it was to find out the ending and I hate to stop in the middle of something and not finish. Book 1 was much better.

Uninspired

I generally enjoy Niven/Pournelle books (Niven more so) ... but this one was rather uninspired. Nothing new was introduced, the characters weren't so interesting, there was no internal conflicts ... just recycled stuff to get the page count up so they could get paid.

Not as good as The Mote In God’s Eye

The first book was a classic. This was good but it had a lot to live up to. It’s worth a listen but I wouldn’t rush out to get it.

I was wrong all these years

I have never finished this novel despite The Mote in God's Eye being my favorite novel. I don't know if it was my extremely high expectations or I was just judging it too harshly. Well I listened to this and I really enjoyed it and found it to be a decent sequel to "The Mote" I think the reader "who was excellent" really brought the novel to life and greatly enhanced the experience. So thanks Audible I am really glad I listened to this. Well Done!

Good Sequeal!

Good overall sequeal but it takes about haft way into the book before any action. No really big space battle. Will their be another book? Who knows. If so I'll get it.

Not as good as the Mote in God's Eye.

Any additional comments?

The story is a bit slow and seems especially drawn out at the end. The characters are not particularly well developed except for the main 2 or 3. Several of the situations that caused major plot events seemed implausible. If you liked, The Mote in God's Eye, this one falls well short of the mark set by the classic.

Not my favorite

Perhaps its just me, but I find on average most sci-fi novels written with a British influence tend to progress the story VERY slowly and describe protocol at every opportunity. These two things really pulled me out of what is otherwise a very good story premise that is very well written. While I enjoyed the story enough to finish this listen, I probably will not be returning to this series anytime soon.

As I also have Larry Nivens Ringworld series on my playlist, I am hopeful this series was a creative exercise that does not translate over into what I understand is a very popular series. Reviews of the Ringworld series to come once I listen to a handful of faster paced novels and create some distance from this slow moving series.