Review of several Frank Herbert novels

Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment are two of Herbert's less well known novels. Together with a short story "The Tactful Saboteur" they constitutes what could be termed the BuSab/J.X.McKie-series. They are overshadowed by the more popular Dune-series, but in my humble opinion these former two novels are as good, if not better than the Dune-chronicles. They are also shorter, a fact which combined with their prose makes them an easier read than Dune. The main characters are more believable, and contrary to most of the Dune-books there's some humour in the BuSab books. They are only slightly relevant for Orions Arm, but has a lot of good ideas and plots, even though as in all Herbert's work generally, Science and Technology is not important features.

The novels plot takes place in a distant future among a galaxy spanning supercivilization called the ConSentiency.

The ConSentiency consist of several sentient species, among them of course is mankind. The ConSentiency is a civilization with some of the feel of Ian M. Banks Culture, but it is not nearly as radically different from today's societies. Unfortunately Herbert's ConSentiency still carries a lot of 20th century heritage around, but it has got some very interesting features, foremost among these are the Bureau of Sabotage or just BuSab for short.

BuSab has as its primary obligation to obstruct the workings of government and big business, because it has earlier been found that a society working to smoothly, could be a danger to the life and liberty of its citizens. To prevent this, BuSab is allowed to sabotage and harass, especially in a ridiculing way, the governmental /administrative and economical powers in the ConSentiency, including BuSab itself. Private citizens must not be harassed, and vital functions of society, power and f.ex. a public waterwork, are also exempt. BuSabs mottoes are "In lieu of red tape" and "When in doubt, speed the little ones (citizens) and delay the big ones (government and big business)".

The main character of the two novels is J.X. McKie, Saboteur Extraordinary, senior agent in BuSab.

In Whipping Star McKie is given the unenviable task, of establishing a meaningful communication with an utterly alien entity, who's concepts seems to defy our understanding (the reverse is true for the entity), all in a race against time to prevent a mad billionairess to wipe out all life in the ConSentiency.

In the follow up novel The Dosadi Experiment McKie is sent to the planet Dosadi to investigate. Here the mysterious and enigmatic frog-like Gowachins has made a terrible and highly unethical experiment. They have placed an (unwilling) subject population of humans and Gowachins on Dosadi and then sealed it of from the rest of the universe. Conditions on Dosadi are then deliberately made as hellish as possible. Hellish planets as a testing ground are a recurrent theme of Herbert, but this time he probably creates the worst of them all : On Dosadi physical prowess and toughness is not nearly enough. Mental agility, shrewdness and absolute ruthlessness is also necessary just to survive for a short period. The planet is a place of constant power struggles, violence, and suffering.The Gowachins conducting the experiment was hoping to produce extremely hardy survivors and something more......Now they have succeeded, but are scared out of their wits by their own creation, which threatens to run out of control. McKie is enlisted by the Gowachins to help them solve the Dosadi problem, but as he experiences Dosadi for himself, he begins to sympathize with the "prisoners", and especially with the warlord/warlady Keila Jedrik, a cunning woman who has formed herself into an instrument for the liberation of Dosadi and the punishment of its creators. Now begins another race against time to save Dosadi from being destroyed by the shadowy forces among the Gowachins, the ConSentiency and even among BuSab itself, that originally set up the experiment. Good, intelligent entertainment even though it is certainly Science Fantasy rather than anything resembling hard Science Fiction.

The Novels Destination : Void, The Jesus Incident and The Lazarus Effect were written by Herbert and co-writer Bill Ransom in the late 1970ies/early 1980ies. Later Ransom singly wrote The Ascension factor after Herbert's death in 1986. The four novels are called the "Pandora saga", and the plot revolves around the deliberate creation of a rogue AI, which acquires godlike powers, and then goes on to test, and challenge mankind's ability to survive on the strange and hellish water-planet Pandora As in most of Herbert's works the main theme is about adaptability, evolution of the human races, and the true definition of "what it is to be human". Although the Novels are only slightly relevant for Orions Arm, they include some very interesting ideas about motives and actions of a godlike AI.