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The Gripping Hand

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The Gripping Hand

By: Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
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About this listen

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. Fiction Historical Fiction Military Romance Science Fiction

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All stars
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I liked part one very much because there were some exciting new concepts in it. This second book is very long winded and really just involves ships going back and forth, shooting at each other, and not much else. The revelations of the relationships within the Moti families did little to help the story.

Long-winded and without the revelations of part 1

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I had relatively low expectations for this sequel to one of my favourite ‘first contact’ stories. It was wriitten many years after the original, for example. I was pleasantly surprised; the plotting was good and the expansion of familiar characters from the ‘Mote In God’s Eye’ was well done. The only negative is the rather rushed ending after a long build-up; rather too many plot points left open-ended. Recommended. Beware, it won’t make a lot of sense if you haven’t read the original.

Much better than expected

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As with the previous book it is set in a empire filled mostly royal Scottish people who are either Christian or Muslim - why this is i have no idea. What it lacks however is Moties. The story takes many hours going into irrelevant directions which don't give us anymore info on Moties. A wasted opportunity basically to build on a interesting first book.

Far too little story related to the Moties

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This is the sequel to "the mote in god's eye" which was a brilliant book that left me wanting to know more about the odd civilization of the Motie race and the humans interaction with them. This book provides that little extra something. It was satisfying to rejoin the story, set some years after the original, but sharing most of the original protagonists, while adding in many new to the mix. It lacks some of the tension and drama of the first book and is perhaps more politically focused regarding the various factions but all in all was an enjoyable listen and well read by the same actor. I would recommend you listen to to the books in order, although it is possible to follow this story in isolation.

A Little Extra Motie

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I did enjoy listening to this book however I did get lost in the middle and had to re-listen to several of the chapters to get back on track.
It was read well.

Good listen

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It's not often that I don't finish an audiobook since I drive and run quite a lot, in the end I just drifted away from this. I may go back to it at some point, for some reason I can't really explain I didn't feel quite compelled to carry on and switched back to podcasts whist waiting for my next two Audible credits.

Doesn't pack the punch of the first book...

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Dull and overlong- disappointing.
Much talking by characters whose presence in the narrative only appears to to discuss what’s happening for the benefit of the reader.
The whole first section could easily have been dropped

sadly, a dull sequel to a classic

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Gripping Hand to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the printed book.

What other book might you compare The Gripping Hand to, and why?

Matrix 3. It answers all the hanging questions of Mote in God's Eye.

What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The reader has a good empathy with the written word.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If it wasn't so long I would listen to it in one hit. But if it was short enough to listen to in one go it wouldn't be as involving or enjoyable. I was happy to listen to this over several days.

Any additional comments?

A brilliant sequel, I'm just waiting for Hollywood to realise there are good stories out there without having to re-hash anymore fairy tails.

Surprising sequel to Mote in God's Eye

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Enjoyable but underwhelming conclusion to the series, however seemed rushed at the end, fairly big jump to conclusion.nonetheless enjoyed the characters and the somewhat limited expansion of the asteroid moties.
Understand there’s a third book from one of the authors daughter.

Adequate sequel to Motes Eye

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Enjoyed the prequel, however, the many long space scenes do not translate well to an audiobook and the narrator has difficulty fleshing out a dry story

A suitable followup!

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