Status
Available
Call number
Publication
London : New English Library, 1981, 1974, c1972.
Description
On the edge of a war-weary and devastated galaxy, charismatic Lewis Orne has landed on Hamal. His assignment: to detect any signs of latent aggression in this planet's population. To his astonishment, he finds that his own latent extrasensory powers have suddenly blossomed, and he is invited to join the company of "gods" on this planet-and the people here place certain expectations on their gods. The Godmakers is an expansion of four short stories written from 1958-1960. It is an exploration of the concepts of war and peace, government and relgion.
User reviews
LibraryThing member DirtPriest
I'm not sure what to make of this. Lewis Orne is a member a group that searches out signs of war and violence on planets around the galaxy. He learns a few things about hiding signs of war as well as himself and his many talents. Meanwhile on a planet called Amal, the priest planet, the Abbod
Interesting story and a fun read but what for?
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convenes a gathering and summons a new god in to existence. Things weave together, prophecy is fulfilled, and so on, but I honestly have no idea what the point was. When I first read it years ago I had no idea what was going on at all, so that has improved, but still...Interesting story and a fun read but what for?
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LibraryThing member LaserWraith
Not much action. Mostly about some guy thinking deep thoughts about the universe and solving a few problems. 50% or more of the book was philosophical stuff which I mostly disagreed with.And the end of the book was about him finally using his "God" powers. Blah.
LibraryThing member themulhern
Frank Herbert's favourite word was "prescience". The stories that make up the novel were published a few years before Dune although the novel wasn't published until 1972.
This explains the structure. The first half of the book consists of a bunch of episodes of detection, kind of like Asimov's "I,
I seem to remember that in "Count Zero", someone gets blown up and then regrown in a vat. A bit more dramatic than the fate of the protagonist in this book.
This explains the structure. The first half of the book consists of a bunch of episodes of detection, kind of like Asimov's "I,
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Robot" stories which involve the two cowboy robot detectives. The second half is like Dune-lite, as the character develops the power of prescience. The whole book resembles Dune in the deepities which are sprinkled at the start of each chapter. If I were fifteen, I would have bought into the tough talk of the planet-adjusting cowboys, but not any more.I seem to remember that in "Count Zero", someone gets blown up and then regrown in a vat. A bit more dramatic than the fate of the protagonist in this book.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Frank Herbert is the author of the Dune books but this book is a totally separate universe. Lewis Orne is monitoring a planet that was once devastated by war. His job is to detect any sign that war might restart. Because of his extrasensory powers he comes to the attention of the "gods" and is
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invited to join them. Show Less
LibraryThing member gregfromgilbert
Very creative but never really came together for me. I would not recomend it.
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Sadly, it's another book I didn't like too much. I picked up this 1972 copy of this out-of-print book because I'd never read anything by Herbert except the first 5 'Dune' books, and thought I'd check out a non-related work. Unfortunately, this book has none of the complexity or depth of 'Dune.'
'The
The first half of the book shows us Orne in a series of episodic missions to different planets, basically swaggering around chauvinistically (yeah, yeah, we KNOW you don't like women running your life... get over it already) and saving the day.
Then, suddenly, Orne develops psi powers, and travels to the religious planet of Amel, where they decide that he has the remarkable potential to be a 'god.' Orne now must undergo psychic training ordeals... What will he do with his new and unprecedented power?
Herbert was very obviously trying to make several philosophical statements regarding peace vs. war (and the irony/futility of trying to enforce peace through military action), and religion - but the writing here is too choppy for it to seem more than awkward...
'The
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Godmakers' gives us Lewis Orne, an agent for a military-style organization that is charged with enforcing peace. After a disastrous interstellar war, no sign of warlike qualities in a culture will be tolerated - and any sign of an incipient militaristic attitude would justify blasting that civilization out of existence.The first half of the book shows us Orne in a series of episodic missions to different planets, basically swaggering around chauvinistically (yeah, yeah, we KNOW you don't like women running your life... get over it already) and saving the day.
Then, suddenly, Orne develops psi powers, and travels to the religious planet of Amel, where they decide that he has the remarkable potential to be a 'god.' Orne now must undergo psychic training ordeals... What will he do with his new and unprecedented power?
Herbert was very obviously trying to make several philosophical statements regarding peace vs. war (and the irony/futility of trying to enforce peace through military action), and religion - but the writing here is too choppy for it to seem more than awkward...
Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
A visit to the idea of bending people to your will, if you can control the inputs. As usual there will be consequences.
LibraryThing member majackson
There are really two stories here: 1) the fun escapades of the hero learning the trade of determining whether a newly rediscovered Terran colony is hiding any militaristic tendencies in its hope of gaining free entry into the growing new galactic order; 2) an essay on religious mysticism on the
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part of the author....in the form of the hero of the first part of the book being transformed into a god in the second part. The first part of the book is a moderately well done 3* adventure. The second part is also a moderately well done 3* description of a man being squeezed into deitism(?). The extra 1/2* is bonus points for the intellectual challenge of describing a time when all of the world's religions come together and accept that they each believe in GOD, etc. and only differ in the particular way that God instructed them each to worship Him/Her/It. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1972
Physical description
175 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0450017982 / 9780450017988
Local notes
First published in the U.S.A. by
G. P. Putnam's Sons
First published in Great Britain by
New English Library
Copyright © 1972 by Frank Herbert
First NEL Paperback Edition October 1974
Reprinted April 1975
New edition June 1978
New edition May 1981
Reprinted November 1984
G. P. Putnam's Sons
First published in Great Britain by
New English Library
Copyright © 1972 by Frank Herbert
First NEL Paperback Edition October 1974
Reprinted April 1975
New edition June 1978
New edition May 1981
Reprinted November 1984
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Pages
175