Rating: 
Summary: Prophetic
Review: I am sure this book will turn out to be prophetic. With time, it only becomes more relevant. I wish this were not so.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Irish
Review: I guess this is a treatise on Irishness, with only the barest hint of science fiction (it is set very much in the here and recent past). Not being an expert on the Irish I can say nothing on the veracity of the characterisation, but it looks very convincing. It brings to light the various aspects of the Irish soul (Ireland being a modern state but also the land where the catholic faith permeates social life but, even after centuries, cannot touch the core of the green land where the fairies still live, if you see what I mean?)
Rating:
Summary: Brief, but well read
Review: I'm not a regular books-on-tape person, but I missed this book, and wanted to read it again, and when I couldn't find a copy of the printed version, I decided to try it out on tape. While this is no secret, the recording is of a _very_ abbreviated version of the book. However, it was well done, and I suspect that if I hadn't already read the book, I might well not have noticed that anything felt like it was "missing". The pieces that were read fit well together, and I thought the reader did a good job with voices and such.If you're looking for the complete work, find a copy of the book somewhere, but if you want only to get the basic story, with a sampling of the passages written, then this recording will do nicely.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Science Fiction, Deserves to be in Print
Review: If you're looking for another "Dune", be warned: This book takes place on Earth, albiet an Earth that is about to go through some huge changes. Our story opens with the death of the wife and children of brilliant biochemical researcher John O'Neill at the hands of terrorists. O'Neil is driven mad with grief and unleashes a biochemically engineered plague on the world, one that is 100% fatal to women. While not Herbert's best book, it is still fantastic. Frank paints a horrific picture of governments racing first against each other to be the first to find a cure, and soon realilsing that a cure will only come with cooperation. Each country deals with the plague differently and the sweep of the story stretches around the world and back to the beginning as O'Neil admires his handiwork. The story is quite action driven for a Herbert book. With most women dying off, the planet soon becomes unrecognizable. Will a cure be found in time? What form will it take? How will humanity survive? Herbert's trademark philosophical ruminations are there, just below the surface for plucking if you're interested. I will say, though, that the irony of thousand-year-old cultures having to re-write themselves overnight in the name of survival wasn't lost on me. Even more tantalizing is the ending which will leave you wondering what will happen next. Not that there's a cliffhanger, but the world is so different you imagine a sequal would have done very well. This is a really good book. It may drag a bit in spots and some of the science involved is a bit dated, but it is still very enjoyable. There's something wrong when a book as good as this one written by a author as popular as Herbert is out of print. Surely there must be some publishing company out there willing to cash in on the writings of a man whose works have been brought to the screen twice (soon to be three times, with "Children of Dune"). Anyone? Until that happens, pick up a copy at a used bookstore. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-developed---in the wrong places
Review: It is difficult to read any Frank Herbert book without comparing it to the classic Dune. This book is similar to Dune in several ways. It documents individual experiences in political situations. The book explores the descent of John O'Neill into vengeful madness, and near the end, his weird transition into legend. Every chapter is introduced with an excerpt from writings by the characters. The attention to detailed psychology that was given to the Dune character Paul Atreides is also given to O'Neill. However, here, it seems excruciatingly boring and meaningless. The White Plague falls far short of Dune's stature in imagination, plot, and in some cases, realism. After an exciting introduction, it falls into a rut that makes O'Neill's trek across Ireland seem like a plodding trek around the world. Antagonists are conveniently rubbed out in the last few pages, leaving us to wonder when they produced the works that are excerpted! In Dune, Herbert shows mastery of imaginative speculation. My hopes for similar content in The White Plague remained high until the very end, and then were dashed. This book also suffers from an excess of characters. They are generously developed, but this merely bloats the book. Herbert makes numerous comments about Irish people, and other groups, that seem insightful, but it's hard to know how accurate they are. In many cases, these generalizations seem contrived and melodramatic.
Rating:
Summary: Many think this his best
Review: It is tremendously frightening that this might someday soon become a book for our times. A molecular biologist watches from a building window as his wife and two daughters get blown to bits during a terrorist bombing on the street below. This triggers a vengeful madness that culminates in his developing a disease and infecting those he sees as responsible: The countries of Ireland, Libya, and England. I have met many Frank Herbert fans online, especially on usenet. There is some argument as to what is Herbert's greatest work. Many who have never read the White Plague insist that nothing could top Dune. Many who have read Dune insist that The White Plague is his crowning achievement. I leave it to you to decide.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating premiss, but a bit flawed in the telling
Review: John O'Neill, his wife, and his two children were visiting Dublin, Ireland. While John was
taking care of business in a local bank, his family was to visit the sights and then meet him at
the bank for lunch. As the manager was processing his request, John lifted the heavy curtains in the office and saw
Mary and the girls crossing the street. "Right on time," he thought as he dropped the curtains,
planning out the rest of the day. After lunch, they would head to Trinity College so John could
complete the research that had brought him to Ireland. Suddenly his world was destroyed in a
sudden explosion. A local terrorist group had planted a car bomb to protest the government's
failure to listen to their demands, and an innocent American family were simply in the wrong
place at the wrong time. Unfortunately John O'Neill was a molecular biologist on the cutting edge of genetics. When he
swore his revenge, the result was a plague unlike any ever seen before. Originating in Ireland,
Britain, and Libya, it soon spread to most of the world, killing half of the population wherever
it went. That's bad enough, but making matters worse was the half it selected: Every woman
who was infected died within a matter of hours; the men were carriers but never got sick. Then came the demands. Unless all Irish, Britains, and Libyans were sent back to their home
countries, additional plagues would be released. The three countries were to be isolated, and
no attempt was to be made to sterilize those areas. You can imagine the results. Areas outside the three countries which were infected were
"purified" by those outside either by fire or by nuclear destruction. Researchers also began
looking for a cure, for unless some way could be found to stop the plague, the human race was
doomed to extinction. The premise behind Frank Herbert's The White Plague is fascinating, but it has some
significant flaws. Had Herbert given us a good terrorism novel, focusing on the search for a
cure before it was too late, he would have a winner. But he wants to make this a "serious"
book and just throws in too many different ideas. The debate over the role of women in this
new society is certainly legitimate (and interesting), but I really didn't care about his views on
Irish history and why the country has had so many problems over the past thousand years. Nor
was I interested in why the Catholic Church and its priests were or were not to blame for those problems. I was also irritated by his tendency (shared by all too many modern writers) to switch the point
of view from chapter to chapter. We move from seeing events through O'Neill's perspective to
seeing what's going on in Washington to the manipulations in England to the Pope who is
traveling through America (I never did figure out what that had to do with the story). I was intrigued enough by his story, however, to wade through the more peripheral aspects of
the book. And I must admit that the ending was quite well done; it surprised me, though in
retrospect it was quite logical. This isn't a perfect book, but I think it's worth the struggle.
Rating:
Summary: A good idea gone astray
Review: More than twenty years ago, Frank Herbert foresaw some of the possibly disastrous consequences of genetic engineering. One expert scientist could create a fatal disease that would sweep the world, if he were sufficiently motivated. In this case, the scientist sees his wife and children killed by a car bomb in Ireland. He devises an awesome means of revenge, initially focused on the countries he holds responsible. The new plague gets out of control. This should have been sufficient material for a focused novel. For reasons that seem murky, Herbert chose to limit his treatment of the basic issue to his first few chapters. Most of the book is taken up with the scientist's long journey on foot across Ireland in the company of an IRA terrorist, a Catholic priest, and a mysterious boy. Much of the dialogue is about Irish anger over the way they have been treated by the British. All this is moderately interesting, but largely irrelevant to the basic story. The scientist, by now shamed by the consequences of his actions, helps to devise a cure before going mad. Herbert offers some speculations about the social impact of the plague toward the end of the book, but they seem far too late.
Rating:
Summary: A good idea gone astray
Review: More than twenty years ago, Frank Herbert foresaw some of the possibly disastrous consequences of genetic engineering. One expert scientist could create a fatal disease that would sweep the world, if he were sufficiently motivated. In this case, the scientist sees his wife and children killed by a car bomb in Ireland. He devises an awesome means of revenge, initially focused on the countries he holds responsible. The new plague gets out of control. This should have been sufficient material for a focused novel. For reasons that seem murky, Herbert chose to limit his treatment of the basic issue to his first few chapters. Most of the book is taken up with the scientist's long journey on foot across Ireland in the company of an IRA terrorist, a Catholic priest, and a mysterious boy. Much of the dialogue is about Irish anger over the way they have been treated by the British. All this is moderately interesting, but largely irrelevant to the basic story. The scientist, by now shamed by the consequences of his actions, helps to devise a cure before going mad. Herbert offers some speculations about the social impact of the plague toward the end of the book, but they seem far too late.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fiction novel from Herbert...NOT SCI-FI!
Review: Once again, Frank Herbert dives into humanity full force and thrusts the reader into a twisted surrealism that makes you unable to put down the book and continue turning the pages. This is a dark book with a twist on genetics. It is truly amazing to read this book and realize how long ago Mr. Herbert wrote it! Anyway, the book focuses on the life of a tormented scientist after he witnesses the death of his family in a bombing. His goal: to destroy humanity since he has no faith in humanity himself anymore. An age old story right...WRONG! It is the method in which this man decides to bring humanity to its knees that is so compelling. Try a little Frank Herbert without the Sci-Fi... you might like it! I know I did!
| 
