W. M. Ransom

This is a tough one for me. There's times this novel absolutely captured and engrossed me, and there were times when my eyes slid over the words without retaining anything, because it was just...dense? Boring? Overly confusing? All of the above?

There is so much going on in this novel, not all of it necessary. I truly believe the book could have been trimmed by half and it would have been much more impactful.

For me, when the authors (and by the way, having read a lot of Herbert, I do have to credit Ransom for making the writing both less annoying--because it's not quite as confounding as Herbert alone--and more annoying--because of the poetry) tackle the scenes with Ship and examine what it means to be an all-knowing, all-seeing omnipotent God and what it means to be aware of that God and Its power, well, then the narrative just sings.

But all the stuff around it? Ugh. It just plodded for the most part.

Not quite sure if I'm going to invest the time in reading the next one in the series The Lazarus Effect or not. We'll see in a few days.… (mehr)

...Given the obstacles life threw in Herbert's direction during the writing of the series, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it is not his a highlight in his oeuvre. They are perfectly readable in a way but The Jesus Incident is unpolished, The Lazarus Effect uninspired and The Ascension Factor unconvincing. In a way, I can still enjoy the ideas Herbert and Ransom put in this novel. They are genuine Herbert in most places and I can see how they fit in the larger body of his work, but the story itself is just weak and not very well executed. It's not the kind of novel one would wish for when closing a successful career in science fiction.

Full Random Comments review… (mehr)

My reaction to reading this in 1994. Spoilers follow.

This was an exciting espionage/sf thriller of which I raced through its second half, and that haste may explain why I found what I took to be certain holes in its convoluted plot.

Why doesn’t Joshua Casey, like Marte Change immediately does, realize that Dajaj Mishwe has a secret access to the top level of the ViraVax compund – otherwise his frequent topside trips would necessitate a great deal of decontamination time? If the Defense Intelligence Agency is so suspicious of ViraVax why not confront them openly rather than send Chang in – or they could cut off their support? (Of course, you can argue that they simply want intelligence before they make such decisions.) It’s also never clear if Yolanda Rubia aka agent Mariposa is a DIA employee or is just a guerilla known to the DIA (seemingly contradicted by the novel’s end when Solaris inquires as to her identity).

The plot of this book just ended a bit too neatly and happily. Mishwe’s plan to literally melt down humanity is foiled; Sonja Bartlett and Harry Toledo – with Major Scholtz; Colonel Toledo’s genetic inspired bouts of anger, lust, and drunkenness are going to be cured, and it’s hinted that the DIA – who seems to have collaborated with ViraVax on some of their shadier deals – are suddenly nice guys willing to watch over Harry and Sonja out of gratitude.

Still, there was a lot to like in this book.

First, there is the sinister, scary notion of a pharmaceutical company programming the human immune system with seemingly benign vaccines.

Second, I liked the depiction of the Children of Eden as a plausible mix of radical, Sabbath keeping, holistic minded (in the medical sense – they distrust doctors), environmentalists, who are masters of genetic engineering and bent on world domination. I liked Mishwe’s twisted loyalty to the cult. He tries to kill the other members off because he sees them as traitors. I liked the twisted morality of the Children (or at least the Caseys) as they are willing to covertly sterilize Catholics, encourage mongoloid births (they regard Down’s Syndrome sufferers as nonhuman subjects for experimentation, sources for organs, and a work force), contemplate the murder of millions all very coolly. It is only through Chang’s eyes we are reminded of the horrors they plan. I liked Colonel Toledo hoping to die a heroic death and regain his family’s respect with the mission that takes up most of the novel’s second half. Instead, he ignominiously fails, Sonja and Bartlett rescue themselves, and he survives and still has to deal with his family.

Stylistically, Ransom diverges from the usual thriller writing method. Rather than take the traditional approach of introducing characters and expounding on their background and how they got to be at this point in the story, Ransom takes a less linear approach and drops in background expositions on his characters, the country of Costa Brava, the Children of Eden, and ViraVax. I also liked the notion of a church being connected to a high tech bioengineering firm. It runs counter to the cliché of religious and/or fundamentalist types being scientifically illiterate.… (mehr)

This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it numerous times and own several copies although it's out of print. I gave a little seminar thing on it once. I tried to use it as the foundation of my Master's thesis but my advisor said there was too much to say about it and to save it for my PhD.

And yet I can't review it. Perhaps that's the reason: what I have to say would be a dissertation. So anything I could write here would be insufficient.

So I'll just tell you I love it because the main question I take from it is, "What, who, where, why, and how is/what's the nature/definition of god?" which is why I went to grad school to study religion.

So if that topic interests you, read this book. Now. Find a copy in a library or through ILL or on Alibris or somewhere else online and read it. I may even be willing to send you a copy if you can't get one any of these places. It's that good.

(Note: You do not need to read the first book in the series as it really doesn't add a whole lot and isn't very good. It does give a little more background then is provided in The Jesus Incident but I don't want you to hate it and then not read this one. I first read [b:Destination: Void|761449|Destination Void (Destination Void, #1)|Frank Herbert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1194121358s/761449.jpg|3634673] many years after I'd already decided this was my favorite book and didn't even think about it.)

… (mehr)