Customer Reviews

The God Makers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Some are confuded about the references some of these reveiws have to Mormonism. This book does not discuss Mormonism, the book that they are refering to is a book by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt which has the same title.

I just recently completed this one, even though it sat on my shelf for siz years after buying it. The individual episodes all seem to be fertile material for entire books. Instead, the reader is shown glimpses of fascinating alien worlds only to be whisked to the next scene. All in all, I found it very fun to read.

Although some will jump at this book and see a few similarities with the Mormon religion, there are just as many similarities to Buddhism and Shinto. Much like Dune, this book provokes thoughts into both the philosophical and metaphysical. At first prompting a reader to ask, "If man WERE to create a god, what would the consequences be?" Through the following chapters, however, the reader is forced to wonder if interference in other cultures for the sake of industry and economics is morally right. It is also a book that forces the reader to wonder whether attempting to dominate other cultures in the hope of peace is feasible, and whether it is even moral. With the three concepts intertwined the message is more along the lines of "By interfering with other cultures and forcing them into our image of peace and nationality, are we playing God?" Like any Herbert novel, it both entertains and enlightens. I highly recommend this novel to intellectuals and the philosophically inclined, as well as those who have an interest in great science fiction.

The grand drawn-out scale to Herbert's novels are daunting. New civilizations take birth that challenge us and our definitions of absolutes. The engine of his novels is a network of politics for a power struggle. In the Godmakers a man is pushed to his limits and forced to take a larger part into something he knew nothing about. In most of his novels religion is used as a toy to manipulate (or subue) a race or class of people. But religion is also a connector to the feats of human possiblity which Herbert dreampt up. The book is not as damanding for our attention as the Dune series. It is a more casual and relaxed Herbert telling a simpler and tight story.

This book is a captivating read from one of science fictions masters. It intermingles religious and social philosophies from a post apocolyptic intergalatic war. The idea that Gods are made not born and the ominous consequences of making. It question good and bad at a very base level.

The first thing that struck me about the main theme of The Godmakers is how incredibly prescient it was of what kind of climate we would face today. Along the same kind of prophetic lines that Dune was, The Godmakers takes on the idea of pre-emptive war or subversion of foreign states in the pursuit of engineering peace (or at least, avoiding mass-scale war). Herbert's storytelling elucidates the hazards of engineering peace, and the great danger of contradicting ideas with actions when it comes to giving peace at the barrel of a gun.

Don't worry, Herbert won't bash you over the head with these ideas like I've been doing. Just like in Dune, he delicately develops this and other tangential themes using complex characters who seem human on one side, and messiahs on the other (think Paul Atreides). If you want science-fiction that glistens with the sheen of brilliance but never blinds you, this book affirms that yet again, Herbert is your man.

A novel predating all but Dune from the Dune series, actually takes place an unknown number of years after the scattering. Dune and Herbert fans will enjoy finding the references to the Dune universe.

The story itself, while quite enjoyable, is only a bit more than a number of short stories connected by the main character as he progresses towards self discovery. Herbert continues to explore social, political, and religious issues and how they intertwine.

If you're a Herbert fan and come across a copy to buy, do so.

While nowhere as deep and philosophical as his DUNE series, this book presents an interesting premise: Gods are Made, not Born. Set in a universe where human civilization has fallen back to a handfull of worlds after a devestating war, explorers are sent out to "re-discover" populated planets, judging them for furthur contact based on their militarism. Behind the scenes, a psuedo-religious-telepathic Church engineers the creation of "Gods" out of men. An interesting look at how primative a "modern" society can be, and an unassuming hero, who's a hero through and through.

It's an excellent story, as can be expected from Frank Herbert: the philosophy, the insights, the characters, and the inventiveness are all superb as usual-- but this time he adds a brash and down-to-earth touch that's a lot more refreshing than the deep, dark waters of the Dune series. The people are more real, more human, more accessible, more easily annoyed, more.. humble, I guess.

To put it simply: it's not an epic. It's short, it's sweet, and it's extremely enjoyable as a light read.

The only problem that I encountered was the lack of coherency. The events of the first half seemed completely stand-alone from the second half-- and even if they were centered around similar themes, there were a lot of things left dangling by the end of the book.
But actually, that might have been his entire point: leave things open-ended.

In any case, I don't mind. It was a great book. Not earth-shattering or ground-breaking, but I'm glad I read it.

...This is not a book version of the anti-Mormon film The Godmakers. Rather, it's Frank Herbert's oldie, but goodie science fiction novel about a civilization out to use technology to create a godlike entity. Cool stuff.