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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
Most relevant
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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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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more of the same pls characters were a revelation in the story real interesting

more great to listen to and imagination great

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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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Slowish start but give it a chance, it really gets going. Very well narrated, and a gripping story

slowish start but give it a chance, trust me

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