The Jesus Incident (1979)

This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it numerous times and own several copies although it's out of print. I gave a little seminar thing on it once. I tried to use it as the foundation of my Master's thesis but my advisor said there was too much to say about it and to save it for my PhD.

And yet I can't review it. Perhaps that's the reason: what I have to say would be a dissertation. So anything I could write here would be insufficient.

So I'll just tell you I love it because the main question I take from it is, "What, who, where, why, and how is/what's the nature/definition of god?" which is why I went to grad school to study religion.

So if that topic interests you, read this book. Now. Find a copy in a library or through ILL or on Alibris or somewhere else online and read it. I may even be willing to send you a copy if you can't get one any of these places. It's that good.

(Note: You do not need to read the first book in the series as it really doesn't add a whole lot and isn't very good. It does give a little more background then is provided in The Jesus Incident but I don't want you to hate it and then not read this one. I first read [b:Destination: Void|761449|Destination Void (Destination Void, #1)|Frank Herbert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1194121358s/761449.jpg|3634673] many years after I'd already decided this was my favorite book and didn't even think about it.)

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Book one of the Pandora Trilogy and sequel to Destination Void. The plot (concerning a space ship with an apparently omnipotent artificial intelligence that's been manipulating (and "replaying") mankind for eons) is interesting and strange enough to keep me reading and wanting to know what would happen next (or where the hell this book could be going), but nowhere near as good as Destination Void or anything in Herbert's other series. I expect I'll read the rest of the trilogy just because of that where-the-hell-could-this-be-going factor. ( )

It's a bit confusing for the first 50 pages or so and I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Turns out, this is because it's the second book in a series of four, which I only found out just now from Wikipedia. But what a fun book it turned out to be! I dare you to show me another hard sci-fi novel where Jesus makes a cameo.

A lot of of Frank Herbert's signature themes are present here. Artificial intelligence vs. humanity, religion, enlightenment/evolution and the future of the human race in the great void of space. There's also cloning, genetic experimentation, xenophobia, ecology and more. A good mix, really. Herbert is the master, of course (I'm a huge fan of the Dune series).

I can't say this is best sci-fi I've ever read. In fact, compared with other genre pieces, including those by Herbert himself, it's pretty average. Still though, a good read. I would recommend it to sci-fi fans, but not necessarily to the general public. ( )

...The Jesus Incident is a curious book. It is clearly a little rough around the edges, not quite as good as it might have been. On the other hand, it is a book that contains a lot of ideas that are key to Herbert's writing. Apart from the works in the Dune universe this book is probably the most ambitious project in his oeuvre. It is clearly recognizable as a novel by Herbert but the collaboration with Ransom does steer a number of familiar themes in a different direction. This new angle makes it a very interesting read. It's a shame the two didn't get the opportunity to do the rewriting in less of a hurry. I think it could have been a marvellous book then. As it is, it's a very interesting piece in Herbert's bibliography and certainly hints at much more. It'll be interesting to see if The Lazarus Effect is a bit more polished.

Full Random Comments review ( )