Customer Reviews

Man Of Two Worlds

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book. To compare every piece of literature to the masterpiece that was Frank Herbert's crowning achievement is ludicrous. This book stands alone as a great novel. I can see Frank's hand in it as well as that of his son, Brian; it is this that kept me reading it. It was incredibly well done on the science fiction front (i.e. Frank's touch), as well as being incredibly humorous (Brian's input into science fiction). I loved it when I read "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" many years ago. After reading and enjoying "Man of Two Worlds" I went back and reread "Hitchiker". Enjoy this book for what it is worth, not as a comparitive study to the masterpiece that is Dune.

I really enjoyed this book. You can't really identify which author did which sections, but the format and style is that of Frank's other works. This book had a great story line with a mix of emotions. This work isn't like the Dune books in its content, but is still very intuiging for the other twists, turns, and emotions that come out of it. You can definately find yourself relating to the experiences of many different characters in the book. The character development is very good, as you would expect from a book by Frank Herbert. This is a book that I just found difficult to put down and have actually read multiple times.

If you've read Frank Herbert and you've loved Frank Herbert and you expected Frank Herbert, you might be disappointed. Just as the main character is the synthesis of a curious alien and a self-indulgent human, Man of Two Worlds is the synthesis of veteran writer Frank Herbert with his less prolific son, Brian Herbert. The best way to enjoy the novel is to read it as if it is Brian Herbert's book, because you won't have all the expectations going into it. This is just like the movie everyone raved about that you didn't think was so great. Block out the pep rally and pick this book up for a very interesting twist to the two strangers on the run theme.

Man of Two Worlds

Published in 1986 - 426 pages by Frank Herbert and Brian Herbert

Frank Herbert is best known as the author of the SF masterpiece Dune, while his son Brian is best known for screwing up his father's legacy by writing the lousy SF books about the Dune universe.

Man of Two Worlds, tells the story of Ryll, who is a member of a pacifist alien race (a Dreen), and Lutt Hanson Jr. heir to a large business empire and a ruthless man who will stop at nothing to maximize profits and get his way with women.

After a tragic accident both men are forced to share the same body. While both men struggle for control of the same body, they are drawn into events, since before the merger Lutt created a machine that could threaten the Dreen homeworld. The Dreens struggle how to handle the Earther threat.

While Ryll and Lutt are clearly Jekyll and Hyde, the Dreens come across as a bunch of incompetent idiots (this is where the comparisons to Douglass Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy come from). For example, rather than consider the "erasure" of Earth, wouldn't it make more sense to take out this Lutt Hanson?

Then there are the love scenes. I mean an alien and a human squabbling over whether to have sex? Stupid!

Unfortunately, the end result is less than satisfaction.

Overall this book was very enjoyable. I felt that the story idea was very interesting and it reminded me somewhat of the style of Heinlein. I was somewhat disappointed with the ending, but I must admit that the book kept me reading and interested. Overall, not a bad read.

This is a book that, out of boredom, I reread after having not been impressed the first time around. While certainly not on the level of "Dune," the novel nevertheless portrays a unique future (profit-driven, of course; move over, cyber-punks!). If you have a few carefree days to spend reading, you could do much worse.

Not all books can be winners. MAN OF TWO WORLDS is a pointless story of selfishness without any direction and an unsatisfying ending. Definitely a do not read