The Gripping Hand

Finished Larry Niven's sequel to the famous The Mote in God's Eye, The Gripping Hand (aka The Moat Around Murchison's Eye).Published in 1993 , 19 years after the first book I cant say I really took to it. Lots of conniving Moties determined to escape from the single wormhole blockaded for 25 years by the humans' Empire to prevent them overunning the galaxy as they overbreed to an insane extent,repeatedly destroying their own culture as the struggle for resources leads to widespread destruction of their world.The humans however have discovered a biological way to end this crazed imperative to breed. But with so many factions among the very tricky and manipulative Moties,who can be trusted?

I found this book a bit flat and sometimes a bit confusing with all the different shifting alliances etc,and the characters were a bit thin too.But the sly,brilliant devious Moties were as interesting and original as ever.On its own a reasonable sort of read,but as a sequel to the first book, a bit of a letdown.I had hoped for more.