White Plague

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Summary: Geneticist takes revenge against the IRA...and the world.
Review: The White Plague is a fantastic tale, and quick read. It possesses all the brilliance and imagination of Dune, but with a much more realistic format. SYN:In The White Plague, Herbert departs from the fantastic world of Dune, into an Earth-based tale of catastrophic revenge. One Dr. O'Neill witnesses the death of his family in an IRA created explosion. Blindly obsessed with revenge , he begins work on a genetic disease which will kill all women, but not efffect males. Though he intends the disease to be concentrated in Ireland(focal point of his anger), the "white plague" slowly spreads throughout the world, decimating the population of women everywhere. When O'Neill goes to the Emerald Isle to witness the destruction first-hand, he encounters a savage land of criminally minded and fearful Irishmen. Confronted with the chaos and death there, O'Neill slowly deteriorates into a pit of regret.

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Summary: It's an O.K. kind of book
Review: This book has been sitting on my living room couch for close to a month (bought and opened on a friend's recomendation). Granted, I lead a busy life, but this book is taking an unusually long time to get through! It may be because the book I finished before it was _The Handmaid's Tale_ by Margarot Atwood, and this novel simply doesn't come close to living up to Atwood's novel. Or, maybe, it's because the plot centers on a plague that kills (almost) every woman on the planet, and the main characters are men who lament the horror of their time while keeping their macho political game playing attitudes. ...That was a little harsh. Let's just say that I'm finding it difficult to relate to the characters, to find the plot appealing, and the book interesting. Yet, the novel isn't badly *written*. So, I guess you could say it's just an ok book. Adora

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Summary: Might get renewed interest in today's world
Review: This book should be getting some extra attention in this day and age of extreme terrorism and the threat of biological weapons. While certainly just fiction, and of course, over the top in its premise, this book is a good solid science fiction novel.
The main character is plunged into a world of revenge when his family is killed by terrorists and he comes up with an extreme punishment for the world; a plague that kills women only. Men are unharmed carriers of the disease. Hey, I said it was "out there" in it's premise...
The main part of the story takes place in Ireland, where it all starts with a car bomb, with an adventurous journey taken by the "most evil man in history", an under cover terrorist and a team of a priest and his young aide. The contemplation of the characters on this journey make up a good part of the story, and Herbert does a good job on letting the reader see the different sides and thoughts of each person.
While best known for Dune, which is a masterpiece, Herbert writes a solid book here that bears no resemblance to the former, but certainly could be made into a good movie in it's own right.

Rating:
Summary: Dated, lousy science, no tension
Review: This book suffers from dated (read wrong/inadequate) science, lousy plot-management, lack of proper tension-management. The Master author of the famous Dune series tries his hand at Greg Bear / Michael Crichton's genre (the scientific thriller) and fails miserably. For a work which aspires to world-spanning edge of seat teeth-gnashing plague-thriller this one comes no where near even Twelve Monkeys. Avoid it like the plague (pardon der pun). Ohhh, come to think about it, the protagonist could be a closet homosexual woman-hater (the genetically engineered kills off all women). Is Frank Herbert making an unintentional public confession about his misogyny and latent homosexuality? Tee hee hee....

Rating:
Summary: Dated, lousy science, no tension
Review: This book suffers from dated (read wrong/inadequate) science, lousy plot-management, lack of proper tension-management. The Master author of the famous Dune series tries his hand at Greg Bear / Michael Crichton's genre (the scientific thriller) and fails miserably. For a work which aspires to world-spanning edge of seat teeth-gnashing plague-thriller this one comes no where near even Twelve Monkeys. Avoid it like the plague (pardon der pun). Ohhh, come to think about it, the protagonist could be a closet homosexual woman-hater (the genetically engineered kills off all women). Is Frank Herbert making an unintentional public confession about his misogyny and latent homosexuality? Tee hee hee....

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Summary: The best novel Frank Herbert wrote outside the Dune series.
Review: This is a story about an American biochemist who travels to Ireland with his family on a business trip or vacation, only to have them blown up right before his very eyes by Irish terrorists. As revenge, he infects their money with the plague, thinking he'll screw the Irish real good, only to have his plague infected money spread across the globe like wildfire, leaving piles of dead humans everywhere. This is a tale of AWESOME Revenge, one not soon to be forgotten by Frank Herbert fans. If you liked Dune or Frank Herbert, I would strongly recommend this book to you.
... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

Rating:
Summary: Great terrorism/futuristic novel!
Review: This is one book all high school students should read. The terror is real and the consequences are just as real. Please print another "edition" of this book.

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Summary: White Plague Re-visited
Review: This is one of those books that you want to re-write so bad that it haunts you. Especially now with all that has happened during the past 6 months. The beginning premise is currently shown at your local theather under the title of "Collateral Damage." However, the White Plague is way beyond that intellect. There are places in the book that drags on and on. This is the area that you want to re-write. I think if you approach the reading with a re-write in mind, you may enjoy it very much. Evolving of mankind does not fare well in this book. Maybe you could give it a little hope.

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Summary: loaded with dark humor
Review: What is especially interesting about this book is that the author has captured the essence of the Irish tradition of creating unlikely folk heroes