Destination

Rating:
Summary: A little trippy, but a must for the Herbert libray
Review: Destination: Void centers on man's attempts to create an artificial mind, and the consequences its birth. The book has its strong points, and its failings, however small they may be. The most striking downside is how much computer technology has advanced since the writing of the novel. (A great deal of time is spent on detailed specifics of the characters' computer system, and it is central to the story.) There were a couple of leaps of logic in the plotline that seemed a little tenuous as well. However, overall the upside outweighs the downside. The most exciting thing for me in reading this novel was that it provided a fascinating view into Herbert's creative process. It felt to me as though Herbert was trying his hand at certain writing techniques, certain technologies, etc. There are also some very intriguing references to Axlotl tanks. Makes you wonder if Herbert may have had in mind an even wider sweeping expanse to the Dune Chronicles. This book is best appreciated by the devout Herbert fan.

Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: Destination: Void is perhaps my favorite Frank Herbert novel. Mind-blowing dialog discusses the nature of consciousness while the action unfolds at a lively pace. The description of computer circuits seems at once arcane (reflecting the 1966 publish date) but strangely fresh and compelling. Somehow, Herbert's extrapolation from 1960's computing machinery makes the computers more entertaining and more tangible (there are lots of wires and flashing lights instead of chips, for instance). Additionally, Herbert's characters have their own realistic-sounding mathematical jargon that makes it fun to try to understand what they are saying. In this respect, it reminds me of the descriptions of the math of "psychohistory" in Asimov's Foundation.

The real strength of the book, though, is the constant narrative and ruminations on thoughts of artificial intelligence and consciousness (and fortunately Mr. Herbert only indulged himself with an expected but brief discussion of "consciousness-expanding" drugs in a subplot!)

Rating:
Summary: Not Herbert's best
Review: I am in general a fan of Herbert's writing, and sought out and bought this book since it contained the story leading up to The Jesus Incident.

Herbert tends to idealize his characters' observational abilities. In this book, however, he takes it a bit far in the sense that he lets the characters read from each others' body language and behaviour things that simply cannot be deduced from those contexts in such a way. A bit too far towards mind-reading, in my opinion; it continually broke off my identification with the characters and thus made the book appear very fragmented.

Frank Herbert is none the less intriguing to read, so while this book would deserve a mere 1 on a Herbert 1-5 scale, it gets a 2 on a more general scale.

If I was to finish this off as the review I would have liked to read before reading the book, I would say: "Drop reading this book, and go right on to The Jesus Incident. The Jesus Incident is fully independent of Destination Void."

Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking Sci-Fi meets Platonic Dialogue
Review: I happened to come upon a yellowed, 75 cent copy of Destination: Void while browsing through a used book store. The title intrigued me and I was familiar with Herbert's writings so I bought it. When I finally got around to reading it-- I was amazed! It followed a storyline that seemed, at first, to be a cliche sci-fi plot of colony-ship-meets-computer-intelligence, but emerged as an incredible tale. It is, I must admit, a bit technical. Jargon and concepts from computer programming and other areas of science were prevalent, but could be understood from context without an extensive scientific background. Aside from all that, the dialogue between the four primary characters developed into a discussion on the nature and origin of intelligence, religion, and life itself. No new age factless speculation here: arguments were carried out on a firm and cogent level palatable to academics of all sorts. I firmly recommend this book to any mature person who wishes to investigate what it is we mean when we say we are 'conscious'.

Rating:
Summary: Not very good
Review: I love Herbert, my favorite book of his being Dune with none of his others coming anywhere close. That being said, D: Void is my second favorite of his books. I love it that Herbert's characters seem to almost psychically be able to interpret each other's body language. I love the pacing of Herbert's prose, and I love the concept of this book. I like being walked through, step by step, what is necesarry to create an intelligence. It's like getting a crash course on the inner workings of the brain. It's fun, it makes you think, and the writing is so classically Herbert.

This book is obviously not for everybody. It's skewed to ideas rather than a narrative story (such as Dune), but the ideas are interesting, fun to think about, and I believe, still timely.

(8 out of 10)

Rating:
Summary: Interesting set-up to the Pandora series
Review: I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I picked up "Destination: Void" from a seedy little used book store. I'd been a huge Herbert fan for years (one read of "Dune" is all it took for that), but I'd heard very mixed reviews of this particular novel. This is different from a lot of his other works, in that the plot is completely secondary to the philosophical/technical issues he raises. Usually Herbert weaves an intricate plot around his ideas that keeps the pages turning, but that just wasn't the case here. In some areas it becomes a tad tedious to read, but if you pay attention, it's a very insightful novel, even if the technology that's discussed is a tad dated.

One of his favorite themes has always been consciousness, how we define it, what levels can be attained by humans, and is there something more that we're lacking. In "Destination: Void", the characters are forced to attempt the creation of artificial intelligence for their very survival, and all of these questions are called in to play, not to mention the ethical ramifications of their "playing God". Eventually they succeed in creating "Ship", and thereby set the basis for the entertaining, if bizarre Pandora series.

This is not the best book for someone hoping to read a story, but if you love Herbert and have an interest in philosophy, then he will take you on a great ride and share his perspective with you in "Destination: Void".

Rating:
Summary: Terrible!!
Review: This is not a story. This is a discussion of what an artificial intelligence computer should be like. There is absolutuley no progression of events, no new ideas, and the ending is a farce. It is a complete waste of time to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Frank Herbert at his Best
Review: This novel is by far what I consider to be Frank Herbert at his best.
The novel revolves around what the different characters think constitutes consiousness and those ideas are manifested in their attempts to build the necessary artificial intelligence that is required for their survival.
The novel does have a tendency to be rather hard to read during the technilogical sections however the discussions on ethics and other questions of conciousness are absoulutely priceless.
This novel should not be read quickly. I should be read slowly, carefully contemplating and pondering upon each of the chapters main topics.
Frank Herbert is a purposful writer. There is no sentence or word that does not have signicance. So my advice is to read it slowly and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: The premise for a series. The sequels are better.
Review: Unlike Dune, this series has been out of print for some time. Shame! No one does it better than Herbert but Dune-Mania has left too much of his best work unread and unknown. Dune was a masterpiece, no question. But the series devolved into action novels - the work of creating his universe did not have to be re-done so the rest was just what happens next (and as Brian continues the series, what happened before). The Voidship series is different. Beginning with Destination: Void, which establishes the premise, each novel must reestablish the world in which it is set. Each set of characters has very new hurdles and new forms of intelligent life(? at least self-awareness) to deal with, each with their own world view. A good marketing bet would be to reintroduce these novels in paperback, capitalizing on the popularity of the Dune series. Let the new generation of sf readers discover the other worlds of Frank Herbert. This review refers to the series - Destination: Void, The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor