Time Traveler Show #24: Missing Link (Frank Herbert)

[james_davis_nicoll]

Missing Link (Frank Herbert)

A hapless junior officer is put on the job of working out if a newly discovered group of aliens can be reasoned with or if the human ship in orbit will have to kill them all. The key to friendly relations turns out to lie in Insane Troll Logic combined with some extremely dubious North American anthropology.

The performance is fine; my snarking is directed at the story. Why was Herbert a Big Name Author, again? How low was the bar set in his hey day?

Comments

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

The Santaroga Barrier

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Have you read it recently enough to have an opinion about it?

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Recently, no. Opinion, yes! I remember the story quite well because it made such a taupe impression on me. Taupe because it was not terribly exciting or fun. Even though the protagonist was in danger the stakes seemed incredibly low. Solidly interesting even when I read it about 1990 without being fun or full of beautiful scenery that would make it popular.

I think what made Dune such a big thing was that it was sort of a Sci-Fi Gormenghast. A few good SF ideas and wondrous imagery in a easy to understand nobility on adventures/battling for power framework. It is not a hugely better book in terms of character or science, but Herbert got the emotional impact right.

[awesomeaud.livejournal.com]

I thought you were talking about Hellstrom's Hive!

:)

[(Anonymous)]

I don't recall there being a hivemind I Hellstroem's Hive. It was hormones or something.

[scentofviolets.livejournal.com]

One of Herbert's best. The last line is the giveaway . . . you can read this one as either a horror story or a 60's ecotopia.