The Godmakers (novel)
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Author | Frank Herbert |
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Cover artist | Vincent DiFate |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Putnam |
Publication date | 1972 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
ISBN | 0-399-11006-2 |
OCLC | 534343 |
813/.5/4 | |
LC Class | PZ4.H5356 Go PS3558.E63 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Fantastic_196002.jpg/170px-Fantastic_196002.jpg)
The God Makers (1972) is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. Some later editions used a variant title, The Godmakers.[1]
Publication history
[edit]The novel The Godmakers expands upon a storyline appearing in four short stories over a decade earlier:
- "You Take the High Road". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1958;
- "Missing link". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction February 1959;
- "Operation Haystack". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1959; and
- "The Priests of Psi". Appeared in Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, February 1960.[2]
Plot summary
[edit]The story focuses on Lewis Orne, an agent for a government agency which develops 'lost planets.' After correctly identifying a warlike civilization on the planet Hamal, he is drafted into Investigative Adjustment (I-A), which manages dangerous planets. Under the auspices of I-A, he travels to various planets in order to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. At the same time, the priests of the planet Amel, who practice 'religious engineering', set about creating a god, something they have done numerous times before:
We do not know from what creature or thing the god will be born', the Abbod said. 'It could be one of you.[This quote needs a citation]
After resolving a number of dangerous situations, Lewis is injured and has a near-death experience. Following this, his psychic powers develop, and after passing a series of tests he becomes a god.
Reception
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Colin Greenland reviewed The Godmakers for Imagine magazine, and stated that "For all his ever-expanding cosmic perspective, Herbert still writes characters who look and sound as if they'd been cut off the backs of cornflake packets."[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Title: The Godmakers".
- ^ https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?853 [bare URL]
- ^ Greenland, Colin (January 1985). "Fantasy Media". Imagine (review) (22). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 45.