Soul Catcher [Hardcover]

Frank Herbert (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: New English Library Ltd (April 26, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0450014711
• ISBN-13: 978-0450014710
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,379,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book I Won't Lend to Anyone, June 17, 2002

By 

"silverbee" (Santa Maria, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul Catcher (Paperback)

I don't lend this book, because I don't want to take a chance on losing it.

In all his writings, Frank Herbert had a way of getting to the core of ideas of the spirit. In "Soul Catcher" he managed to convey the meaning underlying the actions of Charles Hobuhet in such a way that I was able to set aside my cultural preconceptions. Even though I wanted Hobuhet to free the captured boy, I began to accept where his spirit world was leading him. I've read very few authors who could accomplish what Herbert did in this small novel.

A mark of a good book is when it haunts you for years with flashes of memory. This one does.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, September 8, 2003

By 

... "vilbs" (Montreal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul Catcher (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of those books that will stay with you a long time. When I finished it I just lay there in bed thinking about it. I loved it..... I hated it.... I loved it... it's just one of those books. It was easy to see why the copy I loaned from the library still had a big sticker across the front labeling it a "BANNED BOOK".

The narrative deals with Charles Hobuhet, a hurt, sensitive and vindictive young native american man and his kidnapping of a young white boy that he intends to sacrifice in reparation for all of the wrongs done against his people. It's also a dark look into the human spirit, and the bond that forms between captor and captive. The ending of this novel will stay with me until the end of my days, and I reccomend it for anyone in search of challenging and meaningful literature.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An atypical Herbert novel-- interesting read, December 29, 2004

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Soul Catcher (Hardcover)

This small mid-career novel is an interesting read for long-time Herbert fans or for people interested in treatments of Native American mythology in science-fiction/fantasy.

Like many Herbert novels, it features a young central protagonist (David Marshall) who is both threatened and taught by a mentor figure. In this case, his mentor is also his kidnapper-- Charles Hobuhet, a disturbed young Native American who becomes Katsuk (the avenger) after his sister is brutally raped by loggers.

While written with Herbert's usual sensitive feel for character and motivation, Soul Catcher lacks much of the complexity found in other Herbert titles. While in some places the simplicity feels intentional and fable-like, in other places it seems as though the novel were essentially unfinished. Certain aspects of Katsuk and the Marshall family are hinted at and never developed. Herbert's typical trope of scattering external viewpoints (newspaper clippings, past writings of the characters) throughout the book is present, but erratically employed and nearly fades out completely by the end.

The very simplicity of the book may make it as appealing for some readers as it may disappoint fans of Herbert's more political offerings (Dune or The White Plague). I would not recommend it as an introduction to his novels. However, it is an interesting digression in his career and contains many of the elements that make his overall body of work so impressive.