"Under Pressure" succeeds where so many of today's doorstopper novels fail: Herbert is able to sketch believable, smart characters quickly and desicively then send them out into a taut plot that keeps one turning pages. A smart, smart novel by a master. Don't miss it!

great book-would make a great movie as i love submarine movies!!updating this for the big sceen would take very little effort. i think of this story as more of a suspense/mystery novel rather than sci-fi. i see James Cromwell as the sub commander. economics,deceit,paranoia,loyalty,and betrayal!Herbert wrote a very strong story with characters that are flawed,couragous,and real.A hidden gem! -tough to put down.

This is a very exciting book that takes place in a not so distant future. The world is divided in two and they are a war.

Our side is stealing oil with submarines. And we have a sabuteur.

In my eyes, this is a very good book. I suggest you spend a week or two to read it. You will feel better after you read is. It makes me wonder my this wasnt a hit instead of Dune. They are both outstanding books and this book gets my gratitude.

I feel that people everywhere should read the Pandora series. It mixes action, love, literature, and culture into an action packed yet down to earth book. I feel that Frank herbert, and Bill Ransom have created a marvelous Series that shows how people are nto what they seem.

Unlike Dune, this series has been out of print for some time. Shame! No one does it better than Herbert but Dune-Mania has left too much of his best work unread and unknown. Dune was a masterpiece, no question. But the series devolved into action novels - the work of creating his universe did not have to be re-done so the rest was just what happens next (and as Brian continues the series, what happened before. The Voidship series is different. Beginning with Destination: Void, which establishes the premise, each novel must reestablish the world in which it is set. Each set of characters has very new hurdles and new forms of intelligent life(? at least self-awareness) to deal with, each with their own world view. A good marketing bet would be to reintroduce these novels in paperback, capitalizing on the popularity of the Dune series. Let the new generation of sf readers discover the other worlds of Frank Herbert.

This book contains four complete novels by Frank Herbert:
1. Whipping Star
2. The Dosadi Experiment
3. The Santaroga Barrier
4. Soul Catcher

I found it at a local used book store for $6.98... Not bad for a hardback book... Four novels for less than seven bucks... Great bargin, great novels..

While Frank Herbert is justly famous for the Dune series of novels, which are some of the greatest science fiction ever written, he also wrote a number of other shorter novels.

The four included here have odd titles: Whipping Star, The Dosadi Experiment, The Santaroga Barriet and Soul Catcher.

Whipping Star has a strange concept: Calibans, strange, communicative but confusing creatures have given star gates (called S'Eyes) to the galaxy. But they are disappearing amid waves of madness and death. One Caliban is left, and has been hired by the world's richest and kinkiest woman to be flogged. How do you flog an energy being? Jorg X McKie must communicate with the cryptic Caliban and find the connection between the whippings and the disappearance of the other Calibans and a threat to the entire world.

The Dosadi Experiment brings McKie back again, this time to find out the secret of a Gowachin (froglike sentient being) experiment on the brutal and toxic planet Dosadi. The Gowachin seek to control McKie and manipulate the Dosadi situation, but McKie makes some unexpected moves.

In The Santaroga Barrier, psychologist Gilbert Dasein is sent to Santaroga in Northern California. Why has every company that set down a chain store in Santaroga failed to succeed? Why did previous investigators die in seemingly innocent and coincidental accidents? Dasein finds out much more than anyone ever else did, but can he ultimately escape Santaroga?

The Soul Catcher is set in contemporary times, and is the story of a native American who undergoes a frightening transformation as Katsuk, the avenging spirit who purifies the world. Is it madness or is it the spirit world intruding into modern reality?

All four are different novels, and quite different from Dune. All four are some of the best non-Dune writing Herbert ever did.

As a college graduate in Botany, I have seen many field guides. I probably own of 30 in different categories, and this one is one of my favorites. It was the only one I carried on a trip to California to identify trees in the Bay area. The color illustrations make a huge difference as they are very accurate and easy to use a field guides. It does require you to have a little more than a basic knowledge of trees, as it does not start out with a dicotomous key.

The best book I found for understanding the classification of trees, and for getting clarifying the differences between the major tree families...

This personal memoir of building two Frank Lloyd Wright houses is intriguing. Herbert and Katherine Jacobs offer a frank, honest account of their experiences. I have read this book twice. I think the glimpse of the personality of Frank Lloyd Wright is the most fascinating part of this book. You comprehend what a "pain" he was to work with and then you realize that he had the big picture and was trying to create a "timeless work of art" and the Jacobs' were just "not getting it". They didn't seem to understand that to make things work out correctly they needed to follow the details of the plans. Parts of the book, including chapters 18 and 19 are a trip down memory lane for them and offer the reader little information about their building experience. The black and white photos which illustrate this book were shot from 1936 to 1959. This is not a coffee table book like 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright , and 50 Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright by Diane Maddex. This book makes me curious about the famous architect whose style is timeless. An architect who could design a house of beauty and style for the common man -"the Usonia".

This personal memoir of building two Frank Lloyd Wright houses is intriguing. Herbert and Katherine Jacobs offer a frank, honest account of their experiences. I have read this book twice. I think the glimpse of the personality of Frank Lloyd Wright is the most fascinating part of this book. You comprehend what a "pain" he was to work with and then you realize that he had the big picture and was trying to create a "timeless work of art" and the Jacobs' were just "not getting it". They didn't seem to understand that to make things work out correctly they needed to follow the details of the plans. Parts of the book, including chapters 18 and 19 are a trip down memory lane for them and offer the reader little information about their building experience. The black and white photos which illustrate this book were shot from 1936 to 1959. This is not a coffee table book like 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright , and 50 Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright by Diane Maddex. This book makes me curious about the famous architect whose style is timeless. An architect who could design a house of beauty and style for the common man -"the Usonia".

This is an an excellent book, written by the owners on the construction of their two Wright house designs - Jacob I & Jacobs II Solar Hemicycle. Each chapter outlines the process of design, construction drawings , materials selection and construction itself, Owner built by the owners - to save money- it is full of b & w photos of each stage, and some of the plans. The book illustrates how the simple plans are put into action and reveal the intricate structural solutions that Wright developed. For the architect in you, you will mullover the photos and plans working out in you own mind how this was put together. Both extraordinary designs for their time, this book will inspire you to have a home like them.

It is difficult to read any Frank Herbert book without comparing it to the classic Dune. This book is similar to Dune in several ways. It documents individual experiences in political situations. The book explores the descent of John O'Neill into vengeful madness, and near the end, his weird transition into legend. Every chapter is introduced with an excerpt from writings by the characters. The attention to detailed psychology that was given to the Dune character Paul Atreides is also given to O'Neill. However, here, it seems excruciatingly boring and meaningless.

The White Plague falls far short of Dune's stature in imagination, plot, and in some cases, realism. After an exciting introduction, it falls into a rut that makes O'Neill's trek across Ireland seem like a plodding trek around the world. Antagonists are conveniently rubbed out in the last few pages, leaving us to wonder when they produced the works that are excerpted! In Dune, Herbert shows mastery of imaginative speculation. My hopes for similar content in The White Plague remained high until the very end, and then were dashed.

This book also suffers from an excess of characters. They are generously developed, but this merely bloats the book.

Herbert makes numerous comments about Irish people, and other groups, that seem insightful, but it's hard to know how accurate they are. In many cases, these generalizations seem contrived and melodramatic.

If you're looking for another "Dune", be warned: This book takes place on Earth, albiet an Earth that is about to go through some huge changes.

Our story opens with the death of the wife and children of brilliant biochemical researcher John O'Neill at the hands of terrorists. O'Neil is driven mad with grief and unleashes a biochemically engineered plague on the world, one that is 100% fatal to women.

While not Herbert's best book, it is still fantastic. Frank paints a horrific picture of governments racing first against each other to be the first to find a cure, and soon realilsing that a cure will only come with cooperation. Each country deals with the plague differently and the sweep of the story stretches around the world and back to the beginning as O'Neil admires his handiwork.

The story is quite action driven for a Herbert book. With most women dying off, the planet soon becomes unrecognizable. Will a cure be found in time? What form will it take? How will humanity survive? Herbert's trademark philosophical ruminations are there, just below the surface for plucking if you're interested. I will say, though, that the irony of thousand-year-old cultures having to re-write themselves overnight in the name of survival wasn't lost on me.

Even more tantalizing is the ending which will leave you wondering what will happen next. Not that there's a cliffhanger, but the world is so different you imagine a sequal would have done very well.

This is a really good book. It may drag a bit in spots and some of the science involved is a bit dated, but it is still very enjoyable. There's something wrong when a book as good as this one written by a author as popular as Herbert is out of print. Surely there must be some publishing company out there willing to cash in on the writings of a man whose works have been brought to the screen twice (soon to be three times, with "Children of Dune"). Anyone?

Until that happens, pick up a copy at a used bookstore. You won't regret it.

It is tremendously frightening that this might someday soon become a book for our times. A molecular biologist watches from a building window as his wife and two daughters get blown to bits during a terrorist bombing on the street below. This triggers a vengeful madness that culminates in his developing a disease and infecting those he sees as responsible: The countries of Ireland, Libya, and England.

I have met many Frank Herbert fans online, especially on usenet. There is some argument as to what is Herbert's greatest work. Many who have never read the White Plague insist that nothing could top Dune. Many who have read Dune insist that The White Plague is his crowning achievement.

I leave it to you to decide.

While God Emperor of Dune (GOD) is no easy read, it acts as a bridge for the first three Dune novels and the last two novels: Heretics & Chapterhouse. We are given a glimpse of a ruler who purposely combines politics, economics, and religion under his reign to ensure the survival of the human race. It is a somewhat slow read and focuses more on dialogue than action but plays a pivotal role in the Dune Chronicles. This book creates a lot of questions.

Taking place 3,000 years after Children of Dune, there is hardly any connection left with the Dune we were introduced to in the first three novels. All our beloved characters are long dead and instead we are presented with the descendants of the Atreides Family. Leto II is the only one who survived though as an amalgam of man and worm. He who controls the spice, controls the universe. Control the worms and you control the spice. Become the worm and you become the spice. Like his father, Muad'Dib, both see the future and while one cannot accept the fate laid out for him, the other selflessly accepts it and propels humanity into 3,500 years of enforced peace.

The writing is cryptic at times and like Moneo and Duncan Idaho, we were left pondering what Leto II means in his rantings. Does he create a renaissance to make humans understand the pitfalls of complacency? Is he saying that chaos is necessary for our survival? Is it possible that his Golden Path is an exercise to prepare humanity for what is to come, how to prepare for it, and more importantly how to overcome the threat and evolve? What is the threat? We are cast allusions that very soon, spice will no longer be needed for interstellar space travel (space fold) thus breaking the Spacing Guild's monopoly. It all points to the end of his empire of which he has always been aware. What has become of humanity after so many years of the spice's influence? How has humanity evolved? The crux of his Golden Path is not he himself but what arises from his death and years of tyrannical control. We know that he has been selectively breeding Atreides genes with the long successions of Duncan Idaho gholas for thousands of years but for what purpose?

The world of Dune in books 5 & 6 are so different from what was introduced to us in the first three books, that without GOD, we would be more lost that we already are. Well, some of these questions are answered in books 5 & 6, and others are left to our imagination or until the release of Dune 7 by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson who will rely on notes left behind by Frank Herbert. Let's hope that they use an approach similar to GOD than their recent slew of Dune House and Butlerian Jihad books have demonstrated. They could use a splash of the metaphysical instead of the graphic.

After I read the first fifty pages of God Emperor Dune, a sudden sadness overtook me. I thought of all my friends that loved Dune, but got stuck in Dune Messiah. I thought of all the other ones that made it through Dune Messiah, but got stuck in Children of Dune. Can we please have a moment of silence for these unfortunate souls.

While I did like books 2 and 3 of the series, I'm the first to admit that they were not of "Dune" quality. God Emperor of Dune, however, may be its rival. It is so rare in a series, especially in Book 4, that you think to yourself, all the other books have been leading to this one moment. Leto II's Golden Path indeed shines through. For non-sci-fi people, this series is more than sci-fi. It's an examination of political philosopy, economy, and religion. One could almost call it allegory. Herbert's characters: Maud'dib, Leto II, even Moneo (in God Emperor) are so well developed as to become Messiah's, God's, and friends in their own right. The Dune books force you to think, they entertain, and they sweep the imagination to a world millenia away from now. God Emperor of Dune itself take place 3 thousand years after Children of Dune. If you are thinking of quitting the series, I counsel you to wait until after you have read this amazing fourth book. My idea: there's now way anyone could stop now.

This is an awesome book. I think that it is a lot like Messiah for a couple of reasons....In Children of Dune, we read about the soon-to-be Emporor. The same things happened in Dune. Then in this book, we read about his strugles and tyranies. The same thing that happened in Messiah! And in this book, the Emporer just like in Messiah is Super-Human and has to deal with reagular humans and how his prescience allianates him from his brethren. This book is Dune Messiah on a much greater scale.

This book takes place 3,500 years since we last left Leto II and he is still alive! The sandworm skin has mede him live super long, but he is far from human. He's turining into a sandworm. The planent of Arakis is far different from where we left it. It is green and lush. The Fremen are no longer really Fremen, and Duncan Idaho and been reincarnated again. This book is most philosophy but there is some action in it and its not that hard to understand because of two characters. Moneo and Idaho. Leto II says a lot of really deep stuff that is hard to understand, but he says it mostly to Moneo and Idaho. THey don't understand it either, so Leto II explains it to them and US making this book a relaxing read. If your looking for and action book don't read this. If your looking for a psycological triller, then you have found it in God Emperor of Dune.

In the novel Dune, Frank Herbert created an original world of fiction that could go toe to toe with Middle-Earth. In the subsequent novels, like an aging rock star, Herbert has thrown out uninspired mess. While an improvement over Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, the 3rd novel in the Dune series, isn't much better.

Leto and Ghanima Atreides, the twin children of Paul Atreides, are now nine years old and struggling with the curse of being pre-born. When you are pre-born, it means that all of your ancestors exist in your mind, all their memories and experiences are a part of your consciouness. The danger is that one of these memories can rise up and seize control of your mind, a state called "abomination". We could call it possession.

The two twins are being raised by their aunt Alia, also a pre-born, who has taken over the reins of the Empire after the almost certain death of her brother Paul. Along with her priesthood, she holds sway over the world of Arrakis, and thereby holds power over the spice and the universe. The twins learn that she is harboring a horrible secret.

Not everyone is satisfied with Alia's rule. Those Fremen who adhere to the old ways have begun to grumble and to seek ways to reverse what is happening to their planet. Also complicating things are the plots of Farad'n, the grandson of Shaddam IV, the emperor deposed by Paul Atreides. It is up to Leto and Ghanima to renew the dying spirit of Arrakis, and also to avoid the trap of prophecy that claimed their father.

I can't really say I enjoyed this book. I read it. The thing about the first book of the Dune series is that it combined action, politics, philosophy, religion, and other genres. In the next two books, Herbert has taken out all the action and just turned them into almost Platonic dialogues. It's almost as if he got consumed by his message of environmentalism and philosophy and ideas outstripped his talent to portray them. Maybe he was a one book wonder. I'll have to read his non-Dune novels to be a judge of that. When there is action, which probably adds up to two whole scenes comprising about 5 pages of the 400, this book is great. I don't know if I will continue with the series.

After reading Dune Messiah, I believe that any Dune fan has to feel a bit disappointed. My faith in Herbert was lowered when I saw he couldn't live up to what he had created. That all changed when I read Children of Dune. The ecological depth of the first book came back as the planet sat in the hands of humanity. With expansions on both the role of the Atreides line and how Duncan Idaho figures into the grand scheme of things, it was clear that Children of Dune walked right in step with the original. Paul's role, although seemingly degraded, possesed a very dangerous yet passive stature. The Ghanima and Leto II added an odd level of youth and maturity that was reminiscent of Paul's chindhood. While the Guild and CHOAM were where they should have been in the struggle, (away from the conflict) the Sisterhood showed how they could be a driving force. All in all, I would have to say that Children of Dune perfected how a sequel such as itself had to stand on its own yet be part of a cycle.

As the title suggests, this Dune novel, book 3 in the Dune series, focuses on Paul's children. It is an altogether different kind of story than the first two Dune novels, but a great read nonetheless. It starts out with Paul's children receiving clothes as gifts from someone who wants them dead. Publicly refusing the gift would be a slap across the face to the giver, which could start a war, so the Atreides children accept the gift. Larza Tigers have been trained by the giver of the clothing to attack and eat anyone wearing these specific clothes. And the story goes from there. Children of Dune and Heretics of Dune are largely considered to be the third/fourth best novels in the Dune series. If you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one as well. Frank Herbert has a captivating writing style all his own.
...

I have read all the books in the Dune series, and I have to say that I feel "Dune Messiah" is the worst of the lot. After the initial novel, "Dune", the other books in the series took a turn for the philosophical. "Dune Messiah," perhaps more than any of the other books, concentrates on the philosophical, and leaves action and plot development by the wayside.

The story focuses on Paul Atreides after he has become, essentially, emperor of the universe. His legions of religious zealots spread the word of Muad'Dib to all the worlds in the universe, in a religious jihad. Paul, blessed or cursed with prescience, becomes more and more inhuman, he begins to question the Golden Path which he has created.

The book covers a very short period in Paul's life, during which he wrestles with his self-doubts, as well as contending with a plot which has arisen against him. Look for the first "rebirth" of Duncan Idaho, a pivotal character throughout the whole series.

I found it hard to read because, I was rooting for Paul, in "Dune," he was, in every way, the hero, and you wanted him to win. In "Dune Messiah," though, now that he has won, its sad to see how his initial dream has been has been corrupted by circumstances. I wanted Paul to be as heroic as he was in the first novel, but he is not. This may be more realistic, but its sad, and you really don't know who you should be rooting for, if, indeed, you should be rooting for anybody.

All in all, Herbert took a very long time to say very little. However, he says it well, and as in all his books, Herbert's characters are quite compelling, even if they are more tragic, so it still reads very well, even if it isn't as interesting as the first novel.

Dune Messiah, the follow-up to Dune takes place 12 years after the end of the first book. Paul is now emperor and is finding that the real challenge is not gaining an empire, but ruling it. He has become cynical and disillusioned, as plots against him abound and the jihad continues.
Although Dune Messiah is an enjoyable sequel it lacks the sweep and grandeur of Dune, while keeping its complexity. In Dune Messiah the complexity is the result of Herbert just not fleshing out the story enough. I've read the novel twice and I still don't understand exactly the nature of the conspiracy against Paul. Why the stoneburner if Duncan Idaho was programmed to kill Paul. Why did Paul feel that Chani's death was necessary? What was the point of the dwarf? It seemed as if Herbert had more in mind than he put on paper, and the reader is left to fill in the blanks.

Frank Herbert's DUNE is arguably the best novel of speculative fiction ever written. That book is a tour de force, binding wildly disparate elements of ecology, religion, politics and sex into a compelling plot about rebellion and empire. His follow-up, DUNE MESSIAH, is perhaps a less ambitious effort, choosing to frame the story in very intimate terms. But as with DUNE, the actions of individuals have galaxy-wide repercussions.

Trying to read DUNE MESSIAH without having read DUNE is an exercise in futility. Familiarity with the characters and plot of DUNE is an absolute necessity, as Herbert makes no effort to spoon-feed back story to his readers. DUNE MESSIAH opens years after the events of DUNE. Paul Atreides has not only retained his imperial throne, but has extended his influence over countless worlds. A jihad has spread from world to world like a viral outbreak, spearheaded by religious fanatics steeped in the traditions of Arrakis' ferocious Fremen warriors and fueled by the ongoing rule of their living god. A suffocating religious orthodoxy has constructed itself around Paul and his sister Alia. With this invasion of holy bureaucrats comes a web of conspiracy that draws in the old players of the Bene Gesserit and the Guild, as well as new forces such as the Bene Tleilax.

Unlike DUNE, which frequently leaped from planet to planet in the Imperium, updating the reader with short scenes that kept the reader updated about all the various plot threads taking place, DUNE MESSIAH chooses largely to keep the subtleties running in the background and focus squarely on Paul and his "abomination" of a sister, Alia. Herbert wished to make a point with DUNE about the ability of one man to make a difference on the universal stage. In DUNE MESSIAH, Herbert strives to demonstrate how grand events like the taking of an Empire can easily turn on their manipulator and destroy him utterly.

Those readers who cared little for the philosophical meanderings of DUNE will likely have little patience for DUNE MESSIAH. Because this work is primarily about issues of fate and Paul's rumination on same, whole sections go by when nothing is "happening" in the traditional sense. Herbert doesn't fail to keep the machinations of power in full view during the course of DUNE MESSIAH, but he's clearly far more interested in the topic of Paul, and what it must be like to be turned into a deity against one's will by one's followers.

There are still more layers to DUNE MESSIAH for those who care to look. As if the rest were not enough, Herbert delves into the nature of oracular vision, as well. Taken together, all the major issues Herbert has chosen to discuss could fuel late-night philosophical discussions for decades, and probably have. No single volume could possibly hope to adequately address all of Herbert's divergent interests, but DUNE MESSIAH does quite a bit with fewer pages than DUNE boasted.

In the final analysis, DUNE MESSIAH is a lesser work than its predecessor only because it doesn't pretend to stand alone. The book is entirely supplemental to DUNE, a true sequel in every sense of the word, as if Herbert had decided to pen a few hundred more pages and attach them to the conclusion of his masterwork. And thank goodness he did.

A bit more in-depth discussion of the effects (and more importantly, some of the unconventional backlot techniques used to achieve them) would have been greatly appreciated. After watching the series I was personally impressed at the depth they were able to establish with such a (reportedly) small budget.

As stands, this book gives a great overview of the process and challenges that went into creating the excellent cable miniseries 'Frank Herbert's Dune', and I highly recommend giving it a read!

This is a great addendum to the Dune miniseries on the Sci-Fi channel. I thoroughly enjoyed the color section in the middle of the book and reading about the director and production of the expensive series. The DVD that came with it was fun but long winded at times when the interviewees went into what they 'believed' to be Frank Herbert's desires. But how could they know? Anyway, a good book for the Dune fan to pick up.

I don't have a DVD, so that part didn't make much difference to me. But I am a fan of Dune the book and a hater of Dune the movie. So I wanted to know what was going on with this television adaptation. Even though it's mostly a picture book, it still has a bunch of information. I really liked seeing all the photos. And I'm very happy they had a color insert so we could get an idea on how the sets really look. I liked this book a lot--it made me want to see the show.