Hellstrom's Hive [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Frank Herbert (Author), Scott Brick (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2008

America is a police state, and it is about to be threatened by the most hellish enemy in the world: insects.When the Agency discovered that Dr. Hellstrom's Project 40 was a cover for a secret laboratory, a special team of agents was immediately dispatched to discover its true purpose and its weaknesses-it could not be allowed to continue. What they discovered was a nightmare more horrific and hideous than even their paranoid government minds could devise.First published in Galaxy magazine in 1973 as “Project 40,” Frank Herbert's vivid imagination and brilliant view of nature and ecology have never been more evident than in this classic of science fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A classic of modern science fiction, Herbert's tale of insects threatening to destroy the Orwellian state that was once America is a vivid and imaginative tale sure to please longtime fans and newcomers alike. Scott Brick's reading is straightforward, but bears a weighty tone that helps to create a stern, almost sedated atmosphere. Once the insects invade, however, Brick never ceases to up the ante and terrify his audience. The characters are rich and wonderfully realized; Dr. Hellstrom himself is exceptionally interpreted. Although written in 1973, Herbert's chilling tale still holds firm and Brick is aware of this. While overacting would have been easy and possibly even acceptable, Brick's understated reading makes this a fantastic experience. A Tor paperback. (May)
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Review

'... a glorious mix of actio and intruige ... a book that will leave you both thinking and talking about it for a long time after you've finished. Nine and a Half out of Ten' GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW 'a pretty unique piece of fiction, powerful and reflective... 5/5' SFBOOK.COM --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition (April 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400105641
• ISBN-13: 978-1400105649
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,108,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Herbert, Frank

More About the Author

Frank Herbert (1920-86) was born in Tacoma, Washington and worked as a reporter and later editor of a number of West Coast newspapers before becoming a full-time writer. His first sf story was published in 1952 but he achieved fame more than ten years later with the publication in Analog of Dune World and The Prophet of Dune that were amalgamated in the novel Dune in 1965.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scary, disgusting, yet compelling, September 26, 2002

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hellstrom's Hive (Mass Market Paperback)

I love science fiction that proposes "what if..." and takes that "what if" to a logical conclusion. In "Hellstrom's Hive", Herbert asks "what if humans were genetically engineered to be an insect-colony organism?"

This book, written long before genetic manipulation and cloning was a reality, is scarier than ever. The insect-humans in this novel are cunning yet totally without the human reactions we would consider "normal." This makes for some very disgusting scenes in "Hellstrom's Hive" and is possibly why this book has not yet been re-released along with the other Herbert novels that were out of print.

But if you can get past some of the more chilling aspects of "Hellstrom's Hive" you are in for a real thriller. No one can write about smells, sights, tastes, and all aspects of the senses, combined with exciting action better than Frank Herbert. This book will stay with you. If you like a bit of horror in your sci-fi, this is for you.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Book, April 1, 2001

By 

Svein Olav Nyberg "Apeiron" (Grimstad, Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hellstrom's Hive (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book we see Frank Herbert from his best side. A conflict between two societies - the Outside, which is our society, and the Hive, a human termite hill of gigantic proportions. Herbert lets you see the inside view from both sides in this fundamental battle over human nature, and he presents it so without prejudice that you can truly wonder which society Frank Herbert himself would have preferred.

The human characterizations are wonderful: Herbert lets his characters live through all 5 senses in such a way that you will feel immersed in the universe of this book. You will smell fear, sexual excitement and hopeful wafts of fresh air. He also hits it right with his characters observational abilities in this book, and makes the reader wish to keep his own observations equally keen.

The plot is rich, and the tension escalates all the way through the book. Who will survive? Who will escape? Who will be caught out? A surprise ending has you feel the book end with a spasm of tension rather than the release you would have expected.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL idea, great story, disappointing ending, May 22, 2003

By 

Michael J. Ainslie (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hellstrom's Hive (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the second Herbert book I'd ever read - the first being, not surprising, Dune. I was already in love with Herbert's imagination and development as he crafts a story. When I heard about this book - a group of humans with a Hive-insect mentality, I HAD to read it, the mere idea just seemed so cool. As with Dune's "Writings of Princess Irulan", parts of the book are divided by excerpts from characters journals, notes, reports, or what have you. I always thought that was a cool way of doing it. Herbert quite convincingly creates his Hive world, with it's superior technology, emotional stoicism, and hard insect drive for survival, which is neither cruel, nor kind, just based on what it takes to survive. The book is definitely a good read, I love the introduction of "stun wands", although I had read in a previous review of a "surprise twist ending" and man, was I looking forward to it. However, I didn't find the ending to be particularly surprising or even very good really. The whole book was enjoyable, but the ending was a bit of a predictable letdown, I thought.