Synopsis: Twenty-five 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. (from the online description)Review: As the sequel to the Mote in God’s Eye, I was excited to return to this universe. Mote was a fine book, a little slow, but fantastic, easy to see what it won all those awards. This one – not as much. First, it starts very slow, a rounding up of all the previous characters. The main character this time isn’t Lord Blaine, but Bury, the merchant, magnet, and now, spy to the Empire. His PTSD from his time with the Moties leads to strong paranoia about them – and it serve the Empire well. The Moties are close to breaking the blockage and it is up to Bury to use all his power to convince the right people to prepare before it is too late.
We get to meet Lord and Lady Blaine’s children and a few
other new characters, and revisit old ones too. However, the story moves
slowly. So much time spent on the characters speaking yet very little development
or action. The action takes place at the end, and will intriguing, by the time
I got there, I just wanted the story over. There are some tense parts (being
the very real dangers the Moties present) but those don’t make up for the tedious
back and forth of nothing.
Sadly, this doesn’t live up to the first novel, although it
is part of the series and worth reading if you enjoy hard science fiction with
strong conflict and real moral dilemmas.
Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5
Awards: None
ISBN:0-671-79574-0
Year Published: 1993
Date Finished: 4-17-2017
Pages: 413
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