The Mote in God's Eye

The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a wordplay on the Biblical "The Mote and the Beam" parable and names a star as seen from a newly settled planet. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.Robert A. Heinlein, who gave the authors extensive advice on the novel, described the story as "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read."

Plot summary

In the year AD 3017, humanity is recovering slowly from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. A new Empire has arisen and is busy establishing control over the remnants of its predecessor, by force if required. Roderick Blaine is given command of an Imperial battlecruiser, INSS MacArthur, along with secret orders to take Horace Hussein Bury, a powerful interstellar merchant, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Another passenger is Lady Sandra Bright "Sally" Fowler, the niece of an Imperial senator.