The worlds of Frank Herbert

A reasonable collection of science fiction stories, but nothing too exciting, with an average of 3.33. Nothing bad to be found here, though. Worlds of Frank Herbert : The Tactful Saboteur - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : By the Book - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : Committee of the Whole - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : Mating Call - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : Escape Felicity - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : The GM Effect - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : The Featherbedders - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : Old Rambling House - Frank Herbert Worlds of Frank Herbert : A-W-F Unlimited - Frank Herbert Life transfer attitude appointment. 3.5 out of 5 Seedling contact repair. 3.5 out of 5 Personal weapon power restraint. 3.5 out of 5 Musical breeding assist. 3 out of 5 Pilot bars breakdown advanced discovery. 4 out of 5 Genetic memory group conflict. 3 out of 5 Smeg parent mission. 3 out of 5 Strange trade. 3 out of 5 Poor armour coverage design. 3.5 out of 5 3.5 out of 5

This is an interesting book for fans of Frank Herbert. These short stories are classic sci-fi, but show the master in his developmental stages. At times, the stores seem ill-fitted to the genre of short story sci-fi. The conversation has Herbert's elliptical, convoluted style with the characteristic thoughts in italics, something that would be familiar to readers of the Dune series. As a critical reader, you could see how this type of dialog and exposition would fit a novel, a long novel better. Eventually, Herbert moved from novels to full-blown long books in series, really one long work. It's fun to contrast this with an author such as Robert Silverberg, whose novellas are in my opinion, his best work and show off his writing like a small but perfect gem in a restrained but elegant setting. Herbert needed room to expand and grow. The short story shows him ill-at-ease in the confines of a story, but clearly developing grand themes. One reward--the first story is about Jorg X. McKie, saboteur extraordinaire and the Bureau of Sabotage's real activities. The Pan-Spechi, humanoid aliens who move their ego between five members of a creche, are more fully drawn out in this tale, so readers of "Whipping Star" and "The Dosadi Experiment", two of Herbert's most successful novels outside the Dune series will be able to get some insight and background. One senses there were other Jorg X. McKie tales that never saw the light of day or were never written, an interesting thought. What if "Dune" hadn't taken off. Perhaps McKie would have been Herbert's greatest creation. A treat for Herbert fans, even if the rest of the stories are a bit clunky.