The Book of Frank Herbert

by Frank Herbert, Vincent Di Fate (illustrator)

Contents:

"Seed Stock"
"The Nothing"
"Rat Race"
"Gambling Device"
"Looking for Something?"
"The Gone Dogs"
"Passage For Piano"
"Encounter in a Lonely Place"
"Operation Syndrome"
"Occupation Force"
"Listening to the Left Hand"

Cover Illustration: Vincent Di Fate

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy, Literature

218 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 16, 1973

About the author

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.
The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

DAW Collectors #39

Cover Artist: Jack Gaughan

Herbert, Frank Patrick, Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington, USA,

Birthdate: 8 October 1920 - 11 February 1986)

Contents:
"Seed Stock" Analog, April 1970
"The Nothing" Fantastic Universe, January 1956
"Rat Race" - Astounding Science Fiction, July 1955
"Gambling Device" first appearance, 1973
"Looking for Something?"Startling Stories, April 1952
"The Gone Dogs" Amazing Stories, November 1954
"Passage for Piano"first appearance, 1973
"Encounter in a Lonely Place" first appearance, 1973
"Operation Syndrome" Astounding Science Fiction, June 1954
"Occupation Force" Fantastic, August 1955

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a time--the 70s--when I would have said Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was my favorite author. At that time, I was reading his DUNE series...I haven't read any of Herbert's books in a long time, but he is still ONE of my favorite SF authors. This book is a collection of some of his short stories, from the 50s. The stories are:

Seed Stock *****
The Nothing **
Rat Race ****
Gambling Device ****
Looking for Something ***
The Gone Dogs ****
Passage for Piano **
Encounter in a Lonely Place *
Operation Syndrome ****
Occupation Force *****

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories have not aged well. Some of them are alright, but most of them feel flat, dull, or outdated (too much ESP and telepathic mumbojumbo).

'Seed Stock': I actually liked this one, the mood of the colony on a weird and difficult planet was interesting. The story, not so much so.
'The Nothing': A dull story about people with special telepathic abilities. Meh.
'Rat Race': A little detective story. Pretty good.
'Gambling Device': This felt like a short little Asimov tale, where a man has to outsmart a computer to save him as his girl. Meh.
'Looking for Something': I like this one. Turns out that hypnotism and pseudo-science gives some insight into the real nature of our universe.
'The Gone Dogs': What happens if a disease killed all our dogs? A long and boring story, is what.
'Passage for Piano': Pretty boring story of a colonist family that realize their son will probably die if they don't bring a grand piano with them on their space ship. Yeah.
'Encounter in a Lonely Place': A poor, telepathic man is only telepathic for one person: a woman he loves, but one that he's creeped out with his abilities. Pretty good story.
'Operation Syndrome': Too long, but perhaps the best story in this collection. A strange telekinetic stage device is killing people, and a man saves the world and gets the girl.
'Occupation Force': Too cute. Aliens come and offer interesting information about how long they've been here.

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of ten short stories by Frank Herbert was published in 1973, as one of the first 100 titles of DAW Dooks, and the first editions of it are thereby collectible items. Six of the stories are reprints from digest magazines of the 1950s, and four are from the 1970s, with three of those newly published here. Frank Herbert’s earlier writing is characteristic of the 1950s, using the tropes of the times, and characters whose backgrounds are always assumed to be mid-century Anglo-American strict-gender-role American. By the 1970s, after his fame became established, his writing demonstrates more evocative descriptions. I did not find this collection to be noteworthy, and it would certainly be a disappointment to any readers expecting the likes of Dune.

Seed Stock (Analog, April 1970). Survival of the human settlers on a new colony world will depend on their own adaptation to the environment, rather than the originally planned terraforming of the planet. Rating 4/5.

The Nothing (Fantastic Universe, January 1956). In a world where everyone has some psi powers, there are an increasing number of pitied “nothings” with no such powers. Can the young pyro Jean Carlyse love such a young man? Indeed, the Prescients say it is already a done deal. Rating 2/5.

Rat Race (Astounding, July 1955). Running a routine chore to a mortuary, a police detective notices suspicious tanks of “embalming fluid.” The detective, being a reader of science fiction, thinks they may be an indication of some sort of unearthly conspiracy. Rating 3/5.

Gambling Device (new in this collection, 1973). A man and his new wife reluctantly check into a desert motel with some very strange rules. The short story revolves around a single gimmick, and I found it unsatisfying. Rating 1/5.

Looking for Something? (Startling Stories, April 1952). During a theater performance, hypnotist Paul Marcus finds a subject who under later private hypnosis gives him a glimpse into the true rulers of Earth, from Deneb. The Denebian Chief Indoctrinator cannot allow that. The truth is revealed to the reader through a succession of reversals. Rating 3/5.

The Gone Dogs (Amazing Stories, November 1954). All canines on Earth are endangered by a deadly virus that humans are unable to contain. Vegans (the beings from Vega, not the vegetarians) to the rescue, but with a twist! Rating 2/5.

Passage for Piano (new in this collection, 1973). A population has been selected for a colonization ship soon to be launched, and each member has been given a strict weight quota. The story follows the family members of one mission leader, whose son is a musical prodigy whose piano far outweighs the quota. I had the idea that Davey would perform an emotional piece for the assembled colonists, inspiring them to understand the value of the cultural connection to Earth, and finding a way to make weight donations towards bringing the piano. I even had a piece picked out – Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. But no, Herbert accomplished the same thing by Margaret’s use of a phone tree. I think my plot would have been better. Rating 3/5.

Encounter in a Lonely Place (new in this collection, 1973). A young man has had to live with his sole ESP connection being to a woman he loves, but does not love him. Rating 3/5.

Operation Syndrome (Astounding, June 1954). If human psychology worked like physics, then psychoanalysis researchers could look up the details in Freud, Jung, or Adler to build an electronic device, perhaps pulling a circuit out of a spare tape recorder, that would read minds but would inadvertently leave a radius of insanity 28 hours after being turned off. This story has loads of technobabble surrounding an unlikely concept. And by the way, the supposed romance is also contrived. Rating 2/5.

Occupation Force (Fantastic, August 1955). A very short post-WW2 story about fear of alien invasion, ending with a last-sentence twist. Rating 1/5.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book sits in sort of a 'dead zone' for me: mid 50's short science fiction. It's the sort of writing where you imagine everyone living in bland featureless buildings and eating pill-dinners. While competently written, the stories lack the "pow!" I was really wanting.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews

Summary
A collection of speculative stories by Frank Herbert.

Review
Frank Herbert is mostly remembered for Dune, but along with its sequels and several other excellent novels and series (e.g., The Dosadi Experiment), he also wrote some pretty good short stories. This is the second of two such collections I have, which together comprise much of the now-available Collected Stories (which, annoyingly, does not include several unpublished stories available separately).

The stories here definitely have the feel of their time – largely the mid-’50s – with men firmly in charge, but it’s not as obtrusive or unfortunate as with some authors of the period.

The stories are uneven, with a few quite strong, some merely clever, and at least one, “Listening to the Left Hand”, actually a meandering and fairly uninteresting essay. The good ones, while they won’t knock your socks off, are good, and include:

"Seed Stock"
"The Gone Dogs"
"Encounter in a Lonely Place"

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by the author of the Dune books. I really enjoyed the collection, there were a few stories that didn't work for me, including one about the extinction of all canines due to an over-enthusiastic genetically engineered virus, but there were many more thought-provoking, enjoyable or just darn funny stories. The last one, Occupation Force had a punchline that actually made me laugh out loud. This is a collection that shows that Herbert had a wide range in his SF and wasn't a one-hit wonder with Dune.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main problem with Frank Herbert's non-Dune writing is that it's, well, not Dune. Most of these stories feel like standard 1950's-60's science fiction, with plenty of rocket-ships and ESP (and some casual sexism, of course). Most of the stories are fine but forgettable. A few I enjoyed were "Seed Stock," "The Gone Dogs," and "Occupation Force." "Passage for Piano" isn' t super exciting, but it's a sweet little story about a family finding a way to bring their son's piano on a space voyage. "Operation Syndrome" is the longest story (maybe technically a novella) about finding the cause of a mysterious illness that's turning entire cities mad.

Probably my favorite part was ironically not a fictional story, but a philosophical essay at the end, "Listening to the Left Hand," where Frank Herbert gets into some themes familiar to Dune readers about the human inability to fully understand the universe. A great quote: "In the universe thus described, we are destined forever to find ourselves shocked to awareness on paths that we do not recognize, in places where we do not want to be, in a universe that displays no concern over our distress and that may have no center capable of noticing us. God-as-an-aboslute stays beyond the reach of our demands we can articulate. The old patterns of thinking, patched together out of primitive communication attempts, continue to hamstring us." (p. 217).

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of stories by the author of Dune had some fun crossovers with the questions/ideas that the Dune Chronicles explore more fully. That provides a pretty clear review in itself, I think that many of the stories held some interest, but the ideas were more fully examined and developed in Herbert's more famous series. I think my particular favourites were the first and last entries in the book, the first is a story of a colony on a distant planet, and the last is not a story but rather a sort of microcosm of philosophies and ideas that Herbert is interested in and I found it quite neat, especially having read the Dune series.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really solid collection of short stories. This book was my first dive into the Herbert Universe. At some point I'm sure I will check out the all powerful and renowned "Dune", but I thought I'd start with some of his stories. My personal favorites here were "Operation Syndrome, which talks about a destructive piece of technology being used to cause insanity in every place it goes, "The Nothing", which deals with wavering talents in the population and genetic selection, and "Passage for Piano, which deals with sentimental attachment and loss. Great stuff.

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories Herbert wrote in the 1950's. Well worth reading for Herbert fans and non-fans alike. Herbert is a master of language and his stories do rely on SK gimmickry, but are very character driven, and he manages to fit a lot of character into the small amount of space he has.

There was one story that had a very amusing anachronism: The story (written, recall, in the 1950's) was set in 1999. The protagonist is rushing to develop a mind manipulation machine to counteract the antagonist's machine, and is using a slide ruler to do his calculations!

[Tbfrank · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ten short tales in this anthology, six from the 1950's and four from the 1970's. Most are fair representations of the genre at the time - lots of aliens wandering around Earth, some pieces on psychic and metal powers, a few scientist and engineer heroes, a bit on the problems of looking backward and forward in time.

Two stories stood out for me (both original stories in this volume)- Gambling Device in which a human outfoxes an alien computer; and Encounter in a Lonely Place, an example of how a perfect mental connection between two people isn't always for the best.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank Herbert is like Robert Silverberg or CJ Cherryh - I will always pick up one of their books in the used bookstore. This particular book was actually a collection of short stories. They were all trying to make a particular point, which made them a little stilted, and they were so short that they never gave Frank Herbert a chance to shine in his best areas (world building and psychological suspense), but I was entertained.

Sometimes, that's all I ask.

Nothing outstanding here, but if you see it in your bookstore for $2, it's worth the read.

[Elie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank herbert never disappoints. What a man.

[Attila Erdei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, it is very clever like Asimov. In places, it shows its age, but it makes it more fascinating

[Sigbjørn Revheim Svellingen · Rating 3 out of 5]

En samling av noveller med veldig varierende kvalitet

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK collection of short stories from Frank Herbert. The first half of the book is merely serviceable....the stories set themselves up and resolve themselves quickly, without much impact. But things pick up halfway through with great pieces like "The Gone Dogs," "Passage For Piano," and "Operation Syndrome." Will be of interest mainly to Herbert completists.

[Jake BS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great compilation of short (non-dune related stories) by Frank Herbert. As a big fan of Dune, I was excited to see other writings by Frank Herbert. This book delivered a series of consistently good short stories like few sci-fi compilations do.

[Kyle Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Golden age science fiction is so much fun! These stories are wide ranging, silly, and involves science and politics that we now understand to be incorrect, but that is what I love about this era of sci-fi and fantasy. A collection of classic short stories from one of the greats.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad. honestly, hes done a lot better. worth reading, but probably not owning.

[Mariliis]

It is Frank Herbert. Do I need to say more? ;)

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really good stories here.

[Daniel Callister · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy his writings. This collection of short stories was pretty fun to read.

[Daniel Callister · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy his writings. This collection of short stories was pretty fun to read.