Soul Catcher (1972)

...The real controversy about Soul Catcher is probably the ending. In Dreamer of Dune (which mentions the end of the novel explicitly so if you don't want it spoiled read the novel first) Brian Herbert mentions Frank got a lot of responses either confirming the ending as something Katsuk would do or that he got it all wrong. Even the Native American community seems to disagree on it. From a literary point of view I'd say it works very well. It's one of those endings that will stick with you, although I already knew how the story would end it still hit me as emotionally very powerful. Soul Catcher is a very sophisticated piece of writing. It shows Herbert's fabulous capacity to research the topic of his novel but also to write a very intense, character driven story. Herbert shows us a side of his talent the reader doesn't get to see that often. I always considered The Dosadi Experiment to be his best novel but I may have to reconsider. Somebody do us al a favour and bring this back into print!

Full Random Comments review ( )

I read this book, because it was for seal (cheap) at the librairy and because Frank Herbert is also the author of Dune. I was curious what Frank would make of a non-Dune novel. I had no problem finishing it, but not a book I would recommend. ( )

This is by the "Dune" guy. I enjoyed the Dune series up to a point. This is a quiet, desperate meditation on native Americans and a deadly, delirious, scary and violent tale at the same time. It is not easy to pull this off. ( )