Rating: 
Summary: Very good
Review: A very good book which suffers from problems of pacing. Herbert seems to want to comment on the bureaucracy that hinders co-operation between governments, but fails to create many memorable characters or situations in that arena, the end result being that these sections tend to feel like padding.That said, the rest of the book - the descent into madness (and struggle between the real and adopted personae) of the main character, as well as his ensuing travels and adventures are exceptionally well done and exciting. For sheer plotting and writing, I would give this book five stars, but I feel that the lack of focus hurt and slowed down the story. I would have preferred to hear more about what happened in those unfortunate areas burned away pragmatically by Newfire than to follow the rather dry government functionaries and scientists who are searching - very, very slowly - for a solution. Also, I think anyone who is a fan of Herbert through the Dune books would do well to try to forget who wrote this novel. This is an apples and oranges comparison, and when apples are your favorite, oranges will always suffer in comparison no matter how good they are.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: A very good book which suffers from problems of pacing. Herbert seems to want to comment on the bureaucracy that hinders co-operation between governments, but fails to create many memorable characters or situations in that arena, the end result being that these sections tend to feel like padding. That said, the rest of the book - the descent into madness (and struggle between the real and adopted personae) of the main character, as well as his ensuing travels and adventures are exceptionally well done and exciting. For sheer plotting and writing, I would give this book five stars, but I feel that the lack of focus hurt and slowed down the story. I would have preferred to hear more about what happened in those unfortunate areas burned away pragmatically by Newfire than to follow the rather dry government functionaries and scientists who are searching - very, very slowly - for a solution. Also, I think anyone who is a fan of Herbert through the Dune books would do well to try to forget who wrote this novel. This is an apples and oranges comparison, and when apples are your favorite, oranges will always suffer in comparison no matter how good they are.
Rating: 
Summary: One man's revenge against the world.
Review: A well crafted science fiction, revenge thriller by the author better known for the Dune books. Molecular biologist Dr. John O'Neill's wife and children are blown to bits before his eyes by a terrorist carbomb. In the madness of his grief he is determined that those responsible be made to pay.
He uses his skills to create a plague of global magnitude. Invariably fatal, the plague is also selective, targeting only women. The world is left in chaos, scientists are baffled, governments refuse to work together and closet themselves, each trying to be the first to come up with a cure. Firebombing affected areas becomes the order of the day.
Not satisfied with merely creating disaster, Dr. O'Neill goes on a pilgrimage to Ireland to view his handiwork firsthand. He embarks on an overland trek thru the devestation, billing himself as a biochemist "who only wants to help", joined by a pathetic, almost faithless Catholic priest, a mute boy and (unbeknown to him) the IRA terrorist directly responsible for the death of his family. The book grows slightly tedious at this point, with much philosophical musing and many lengthy arguments as Dr. O'Neill is probed by his trek mates to determine who is he really. The ending is also a bit disappointing, building and building but failing to quite hit its expected peak.
Overall, though a frightening and altogether too possible scenario leaves the reader breathless and turning page after page to find out if the world is truly ended or if the scientists will pull together and save the day.
Rating:
Summary: Another classic by Frank Herbert
Review: A young scientist's family is killed in a terrorist bombing and he seeks revenge. Armed only with his own knowledge he creates a terrifing plague that only kills women
Rating:
Summary: A social study of science
Review: DuBos et al examine the social aspects of the TB epidemic, along with some of the biological factors. They show how TB was romaticized, how it was portrayed as a demon coming to rob the healthy of life, and how it sparked scientific invention - in particular the stethescope. The introduction is wonderful as it lays out the basic parts of the book. Words of advice: this book is best read as a whole from beginning to end, as the authors build on the arguments they make in past chapters.
Rating:
Summary: A social study of science
Review: DuBos et al examine the social aspects of the TB epidemic, along with some of the biological factors. They show how TB was romaticized, how it was portrayed as a demon coming to rob the healthy of life, and how it sparked scientific invention - in particular the stethescope. The introduction is wonderful as it lays out the basic parts of the book. Words of advice: this book is best read as a whole from beginning to end, as the authors build on the arguments they make in past chapters.
Rating:
Summary: Timely
Review: Frank Herbert is one of my favorite authors, and this book is a major reason why. The plot is briskly-paced, well written, and touches many of the most troubling issues of our time.
Rating:
Summary: The best non-Dune novel by Frank Herbert.
Review: Herbert crafts the finest social science fiction I've ever read. What makes this book excellent is the way you see events from all sides. Herbert handles complex characters and situations masterfuly. From the IRA terrorist to the biological terrorist, the villain and the hero exist in everyone at the right time under the right circumstances. To anyone who thinks this is just a macho melee, I would point out the power and reverence women gain from the outcome, as if these were possibly the first Reverend Mothers of the Bene Gesserit (my own leap--this book is completely apart from the Dune books aside from the great craftsmanship of the author.) Readers should also try the Dune books, Whipping Star, The Dosadi Experiment, and Man of Two Worlds. Any Herbert book is a good one, but those are some of his finest work.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling story of loss and revenge gone amuck
Review: Herbert weaves a wonderfully chilling tale of loss and revenge in this biotech centered sci-fi offering. In the book, the main character (a molecular biologist) loses his wife to a random terrorist bombing in Ireland. Fed up with the endless violence and loss of innocent life due to chronic IRA-British conflicts in Ireland, the scientist uses methods of genetic engineering to develop a virus that he plans to release in Ireland. He sends notice to the world of his intentions, and releases the virus. The virus kills only women. Ireland is devastated, but, of course, the virus escapes and the white plague becomes a pandemic. The technology certainly exists to develop genetically engineered viral vectors (i.e., viruses that carry genetically engineered DNA or RNA). Is such a plague possible? Technically, yes. That's what makes the tale so chilling. The spread of the disease in the book and efforts to protect uninfected women are described as effort after effort to stop the virus fail. This is great summer time reading for anyone who enjoys techno-sci-fi books. The story line is convincing, the scientific premises of the book are within the reach of feasibility, and the potential consequences of such an act are mind boggling. Please re-issue this book. There are certainly people out there who would enjoy it. 5 stars! Alan Holyoak
Rating: 
Summary: Too many ideas, not enough control
Review: Herbert's novel shows an impressive grasp of Irish lore, and he integrates, rather clumsily, historical archetypes (Mad Sweeney, Diarmuid and Devorgilla, the Fianna, rebels and crazed visionaries galore) into his story. (By the way, he never explains what the "Finn Sadal" stands for in their name, but Fenian and "sadall"--Irish for animal or "squat person" seems apt!) He also over-estimates the power of the Church, and attributes to it a confused mixture of irrelevance and dominance. The whole papal subplot seems to veer off wildly and seems forgotten. The trek across Ireland slows the plot, and what all the quotes from fictional and real people have to do with the chapters gains no clarification. A recommended updating of the genetic code-meets-Irish terrorism angle is Henry Porter's novel "Remembrance Day," about two decades later on the political and scientific front, if before the breaking of the genome. Reading Herbert reminds me that so much of SF depends more on the excitement of ideas at the expense of satisfying characterisation. Too much of the story's wasted on superfluous people, names, descriptions, backgrounds which matter little. Prominently featured scientists trying to find the cure, for example, get attention early on but then are relegated to barely a mention; horrendously stereotypical "stage Oirish" dialogue by cardboard IRA men undercuts genuinely ambitious attempts by Herbert to analyse terrorist thinking. You get little sense of what "ordinary" folks suffered in the world of "Panic Fires" and mass barricades, or how goods (and weapons) would have been traded and daily life would have stumbled on. Many of the characters are too far removed in labs, the White House, the Papacy, and isolation to convey what the plague world would have felt like, and this detachment weakens the novel's force. Like Michel Houellebecq's "The Elementary Particles," a massive scientific restructuring of global society gains barely a nod until the end of the book, when far too much is crammed into a few pages. I felt like a sequel could have done more justice to the fascinating drama of a planet with 10,000 men to a woman.
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