THE JESUS INCIDENT

by Frank & Bill Ransom Herbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 1979

Untold eons ago, a series of ""voidships"" was sent forth from our solar system, carrying human clones. And one of these, the Voidship Earthling, at some point became ""Ship"" the all-powerful--a God-like consciousness who now wonders whether humanity is worth keeping in business. So Ship chooses a testing-ground for humanity: Pandora, a planet about to be colonized by the Shipmen--who, led by three rapacious cynics, are straying from the doctrine of Ship's omnipotence and from the duty of WorShip. While Chaplain/Psychiatrist Morgan Oakes and his henchmen develop a Pandoran slave-labor force of deformed clones, Ship reawakens a survivor of the first Earthling voyage and sends him--a Jesus-like figure named Thomas--to Pandora to see whether humanity can redeem itself. The stories of Pandora, of Thomas the doubting Ship's emissary, and of the machinations of Oakes--all these are overlaid with countless biblical references and parallels that at first seem merely pretentious but eventually take on a certain fascination. All in all, this collaborative effort is shapelier and swifter-paced than Herbert's Dune books, but also less intricate and painstaking in imaginative detail.

Pub Date: May 9, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION