The Gripping Hand
Sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, resolving Motie conflicts.
The Gripping Hand, a science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, came out in 1993. It follows up on their 1974 book, The Mote in God’s Eye, and stands as the final story in the CoDominium universe’s timeline (though Jennifer Pournelle, Jerry’s daughter, later wrote an authorized sequel, Outies, in 2010, which is set after The Gripping Hand). In the UK, the title was changed to The Moat around Murcheson’s Eye, sometimes mistakenly written as “The Mote around Murchison’s Eye.”
The story takes place in 3046, twenty-eight years after the events of The Mote in God’s Eye. It centers on two characters from the first book: Captain Sir Kevin Renner (of the Imperial Space Navy, Reserve) and Horace Bury, a wealthy Imperial trader. The novel resolves many leftover conflicts and tensions from its predecessor, though much of the plot requires familiarity with The Mote in God’s Eye to follow.
At the close of the earlier novel, Renner and Bury are secretly recruited into Imperial Naval Intelligence. Neither is thrilled at first, but over the next quarter-century they work to prevent rebellions against the Empire, allowing the Imperial Navy to focus on blockading the Moties in their star system. While looking into suspicious economic activity on the planet Maxroy’s Purchase, they notice widespread use of the phrase “…on the gripping hand.” The origin is harmless—the governor picked it up as a crewman on the INSS MacArthur during the expedition to Mote Prime—but the memories it stirs overwhelm Bury. Haunted by nightmares and a deep fear for humanity’s safety, he needs to confirm the Empire is secure from the Moties. They travel to Sparta, the Imperial capital, to get permission to inspect the blockade.
In The Mote in God’s Eye, a protostar forming in the Coalsack Nebula is mentioned. The Moties studied it extensively and tricked astrophysicist Jacob Buckman into thinking it would ignite in about a thousand years. Bury and Renner discover, to their horror, that the object will collapse and ignite much sooner. The newborn star will create one or more new Alderson Points for interstellar travel, giving the Moties another exit from their system. The only existing Alderson Point leads into the photosphere of the red supergiant Murcheson’s Eye, which made the blockade practical.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle
- Cover Artist
- Lee MacLeod
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- CoDominium
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Pocket Books
- Release Date
- Feb 1993
- Pages
- 401
- Isbn
- 0-671-79573-2
- Preceded By
- The Mote in God's Eye
- Followed By
- Outies
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Gripping Hand is set in the year 3046, twenty-eight years after the events of The Mote in God's Eye. It revolves primarily around two characters from the first book, Captain Sir Kevin Renner (ISN, Reserve) and His Excellency Horace Bury, Imperial Trader Magnate. The novel resolves many conflicts and tensions remaining from the preceding work, but much of the plot cannot be understood without reading The Mote in God's Eye.
At the end of The Mote in God's Eye, Renner and Bury are secretly enlisted into Imperial Naval Intelligence. They spend the next twenty-five years preventing rebellions against the Empire so that the Imperial Navy can concentrate on blockading the Moties. While investigating suspicious economic activity on Maxroy's Purchase, they encounter the phrase '...on the gripping hand,' which triggers Bury's fears. They travel to Sparta to obtain permission to inspect the blockade, discovering that a protostar in the Coalsack Nebula will collapse and ignite much sooner than expected, creating new Alderson Points that could allow the Moties to escape.
Armed with this knowledge, Renner and Bury depart aboard Bury's ship Sinbad for New Caledonia. There, the Imperial Commission sends two warships and Sinbad to the star system where the new Alderson Point will appear. They observe seven unarmed Motie ships emerge and, unable to capture all, accept a Mediator's invitation to return to the Motie system. The second half involves shifting alliances, diplomacy, and space combat, with the aid of the grownup offspring of Lord and Lady Blaine. A genetically altered parasite limits the Moties' excessive reproduction rate, and the pro-human faction wins.
Reader's Guide
The Gripping Hand serves as the concluding novel of the CoDominium universe, directly continuing the narrative of The Mote in God's Eye. Its significance lies in resolving the central conflict with the Moties, a species whose cyclical overpopulation and collapse threatened humanity. The novel introduces the concept of a new Alderson Point forming, which forces a final confrontation. Reception was mixed: James Nicoll considered it an 'utterly unnecessary sequel,' 'unmemorable,' and 'rather dull,' with too much irrelevant wheel spinning. Publishers Weekly described it as 'perfectly adequate [but] largely irrelevant,' noting that the first third drags. Kirkus Reviews called it 'sometimes slow-paced and talky' but predicted it would be a Hugo finalist. The novel's legacy is as a closure to a classic series, though critics found it less compelling than its predecessor.
Did You Know?
- The novel was published in 1993 as a sequel to the 1974 work The Mote in God's Eye.
- In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Moat around Murcheson's Eye, sometimes misspelled 'The Mote around Murchison's Eye'.
- The phrase '...on the gripping hand' appears in the novel as idiomatic usage on the planet Maxroy's Purchase.
- Niven stated in his 1991 collection Playgrounds of the Mind that he and Pournelle were contractually forbidden from collaborating until they completed this sequel.
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