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: 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: 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.
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: 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: 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.
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