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kejadlen's review against another edition
3.0
As usual, it's always neat to read Herbert's older works to see influences on Dune, but the book didn't hold up too well as a whole otherwise.
larsinio's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars, because i really liked it. more 3.5, but rounding up because Frank is the man.
Herbert nerds it up with secret government organizations, and weather underground meets 60s sex cult meets insects meets James Bond villain meets ant colony. Characters are , of course, thinking about thinking about thinking about what the other side is going to be doing. Lots of thinking - lots of narrative perspective shifting, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. Seems like some editing could have been used here.
In some ways this is a spiritual sequel to the green brain . The green brain had insects adopting human like characteristics. HH has humans adopting insect like characteristics.
Lots of interesting ideas on how to self organize, and societies built around genetic manipulation.
However it gets a bit too fantastic sometimes - it gets rather hard to believe that the hive was able to independently develop all this tech without the larger world noticing. The sex "hype" drugs - 18 times.... come on.. Too fantastic to believe , given the semi-realistic nature of the story.
Theres a wide cast of characters, however theres really no development - characters have a specific function they play and thats it. But given the action/thriller type story, i guess its ok.
The third act is a non stop action sequence, which i thought was rather well done.
I rather enjoyed the twist ending, pretty bleak - rather fooled me given the direction of the third act.
Herbert nerds it up with secret government organizations, and weather underground meets 60s sex cult meets insects meets James Bond villain meets ant colony. Characters are , of course, thinking about thinking about thinking about what the other side is going to be doing. Lots of thinking - lots of narrative perspective shifting, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. Seems like some editing could have been used here.
In some ways this is a spiritual sequel to the green brain . The green brain had insects adopting human like characteristics. HH has humans adopting insect like characteristics.
Lots of interesting ideas on how to self organize, and societies built around genetic manipulation.
However it gets a bit too fantastic sometimes - it gets rather hard to believe that the hive was able to independently develop all this tech without the larger world noticing. The sex "hype" drugs - 18 times.... come on.. Too fantastic to believe , given the semi-realistic nature of the story.
Theres a wide cast of characters, however theres really no development - characters have a specific function they play and thats it. But given the action/thriller type story, i guess its ok.
The third act is a non stop action sequence, which i thought was rather well done.
I rather enjoyed the twist ending, pretty bleak - rather fooled me given the direction of the third act.
knicassio's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
szczur_biurowy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
thescienceofcurls's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dianustita's review against another edition
4.0
So much tension and horror, could do with a sequel, although leaving the story as is is horrific enough.. loved it. Should read more sci-fi!
jamespaden's review against another edition
3.0
It had it's moments. It missed a few moments. If you like Frank Herbert, you will probably also like this but it's not one of my favorites.
yi5h's review against another edition
3.0
Like many people, I've mainly known Herbert for Dune. This story was a bit of a slow starter, and there wasn't really a huge twist anywhere. The mixed POVs and chronology sort of ruined the surprise for some of the story elements.