Word: herbert
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...WHAT WILL give Herbert fans a feeling of deja vu, Dosadi, with its poisonous ecology, holistically breeds a supremely cunning civilization. The Gowachins established a colony there to observe human development. The densely populated city Chu is under constant siege from the desperate people of the "rim," who are exposed to the brunt of the planet's hardships. Their only chance for species survival is to breed uncontrollably...
...Herbert brings in potentially captivating ideas: the fantasy version of a Malthusian crisis and the clash of two omnicompetent cults both of which are the playthings of a greater power. However, he fails to develop them beyond the elementary stages. The lifestyle of those doomed to live on the rim goes unexplored when it could be the most graphic part of the book. Herbert only touches on the training it takes to be a Legum, how the newly indoctrinated members shed their skins (that is much easier for a frog to do than a human.) Herbert should initiate the reader...
...Some of Herbert's scenes are masterful, and only further frustrate the reader by showing how well Herbert can write. A conversation between McKie and a Gowachin takes on the intensity and precision of military strategy. With a minimum of narration and a taut dialogue, the scene provides one of the book's few gripping passages...
...male Gowach weeds out his weakest offspring at birth. The planet itself allows only the strongest to survive and then hones their capabilities to the keenest point, preparing them to infiltrate and alter the universe that spawned their world. If publishers were to apply the same rigors to Herbert's books, Dosadi would be the first of his progeny sacrificed. It is a competent work of fantasy but Dosadi is not what the faithful fan expects of Frank Herbert...
...spends too much time detailing individual maneuverings and fails to create a convincing atmosphere of intrigue and mysticism. There are religious fanatics, homosexual kamikaze warriors, and Fannie Mae, but Herbert does so little with them. Too often he leaves the reader teased with his imagination but unfulfilled with his writing. Dune is a book that pleased all, from fantasy freaks to History and Lit majors, but Dosadi is only for the most dedicated sci-fi readers...