Herbert has created a fascinating universe with the ConSentiency, a diverse alliance of an eclectic group of aliens, of which humans are just a small part. This is a very good story, essentially a conspiracy within this alliance that threatens it from the inside. However, it gets weighed down in what feels like never ending levels of political machinations, legal maneuvering, psychoanalysis and internal dialogue. In the end, it was a bit too introspective to keep me fully engaged.

“We have a disturbed relationship with our past which religion cannot explain. We are primitive in unexplainable ways, our lives woven of the familiar and the strange, the reasonable and the insane.”

The Dosadi Experiment asks the bold question, what would to be like to read a book about an advanced frog species that is running a planetary sized unit 731 experiment? Well it would be interesting, confusing, and a tad bit boring at times. This book is one part legal courtroom antics, one part tyrannical governments running extreme experiments, and one part bat shit insane interspecies relationships. Frankly, for the first hundred pages, you will not know what’s going on. You will not know what any of these terms mean, you will not have a singular clue as to the general plot of this book and by God if you aren’t happy with that then why are you even reading a Frank Herbert book.

After those first hundred pages however things do start to click, you see some traces of his other books and the philosophy and ideas he has played with there. You know the normal stuff like genetic manipulation, social engineering and space politics. If you like exploring weird ideas and are okay with reading about characters who are just there to push certain thought experiments forward, then the Dosadi experiment may be for you! 7/10

(This book broke my brain)

This novel was my introduction to Frank Herbert. It is quite a strange novel full of weird twists. The narration is incredibly dry, and the novel feels far more antiquated than it really is. Concept is interesting, but the language of the text makes it difficult to enjoy.

I found the Dosadi Experiment to be mostly confusing.

We are uncovering the motivation behind the titular experiment at the same time as our Protagonist McKie, but he keeps some of his revelations to himself. The build up is fairly slow, but while we are on Dosadi what's going is pretty interesting (though still confusing). The book is then wrapped up in a the Gowachin courtarena, which is built around pretty confusing legal system. So lots of confusion going around!

There is some good worldbuilding here, and Herbert crafts an intrigue that is hard to not want to unravel, but the road to that unraveling is a bit rocky and the pay off not as great as I'd hoped.

Frank Herbert’s Dune was a masterpiece, not just of the genre but of literature, it was and remains an amazing achievement. The second Dune book was good, the third pretty good, and the fourth OK, and so on. Fans of all the Dune books (and I am one) worshipped the original (correctly and justly) and simply enjoy reveling in the world building.

And so I come to Frank Herbert’s 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment. I read a review I liked and recalled the quality of his writing that I had enjoyed so much and thought it time to give him another try, this time away from Arrakis. The idea, that of a social and biological experiment conducted on an epic, planetary scale, is similar in tone, if not style, to Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made. But where PKD’s novel is thematically surreal and emblazoned with his signature otherworldliness, Herbert’s novel is darker, more brooding.

Herbert sets the stage for a fascinating legal drama , albeit a weird, baffling, alien but nonetheless hypnotic drama. Herbert’s use of mysterious alien legal and cultural frameworks would make Alfred Bester scratch his head, but he somehow pulls it off. Dosadi is much akin to Arrakis, a small world where a spartan, violently simplistic society breeds a possible change agent that may affect everything else.

Finally, this makes me think that, along with the Dune novels, that Herbert belongs in the ranks of Dick, LeGuin, and Bradbury and the “soft science fiction” side of the house because unlike hard science fiction Heinlein, Asimov, and Clark, Herbert’s story lines revolve around legal, political. economic and cultural elements and often involve a future so far forward that the plot is purely fantastic.

For the longest time, DuneDune was my "favorite book of all time". It's probably been over 30 years since I've read it, but when I see Frank Herbert books on my dad's shelves I grab them. I've had this sitting on my shelf for a long time because it sounded like the 2nd book in a series. Reading the reviews made me realize that the "prequels" were more like background material. (Although truth be told, I kind of wish I had read the background material.)

Frank Herbert can create a unique universe that reminds me of why I was so drawn to science fiction and realms/universes that do not fit with our reality. Frank also weaves sociology into his books as he explores what an idea/concept or even a possibility would do to our existence. I don't want to elaborate on the possibility because it is a discovery on which this whole book and the Dosadi experiment really hinges on. This book made me want to go back and read Dune again... like visiting an old friend from high school whom I haven't really connected with in 30 years.

It's hard for me to give this a rating and I was hoping that writing this review would help me decide between 3 and 4 stars. It's not an action packed book... in fact, several of the major incidents in the book seem to be revealed in a sentence or two. I had to stop and go back and ask myself... "did I just read that? Is that what happened?!?"

This book has been a breath of fresh air... so unique from what I've been reading lately. I think I just talked myself into a 4 rating.

Shortly after starting The Dosadi Experiment, I said to my boyfriend, “This book reminds me a lot of Dune. I have no idea what's going on, and I feel like a total simpleton in this world.”

His response: “Welcome to Frank Herbert.”

Know going in that Frank Herbert wrote challenging books. His stories describe social and legal structures so byzantine they require page upon page of explanation, and political maneuverings so subtle that empires can seemingly fall on the arch of an eyebrow. Clues about what's really going on are doled out in miserly tidbits. But if you can treat the story like a puzzle that you slowly assemble, accepting that you won't understand it until you're finished (and you may not fully understand it even then), then it can be a rewarding project. And I describe it as a “project” quite intentionally, as Herbert is not all that easy to read. The not understanding and the feeling like a simpleton can get frustrating, and if your attention wanders for a moment, you can easily miss critical information. I agree with some other reviewers that The Dosadi Experiment can easily be viewed as a proving ground for ideas and story dynamics that appear later on in the Dune series.

The story starts slowly, has an action-packed middle section where the main character travels to the mystery planet of Dosadi to see for himself what's going on there, and then returns to a less physical and more legal/political struggle in the final third.

What's the deal with this planet Dosadi anyway? We find out early on that the planet itself is incredibly hostile, a place where even the soil and water are toxic, and all 90 million inhabitants (both human and gawachin, races who do not naturally cohabit) live in one intensely crowded refuge, with extremely limited resources, and no contact with anyone or anything on the outside. Okay, so life is hard. But that's not all. As the story unfolds, we discover  that Dosadi is essentially an experimental prison colony, and 20 generations of life under these conditions have bred a race of people so hard, so ruthless, so resourceful, so fearless, so inured to suffering, violence and death, so terrifyingly capable and efficient in the arts of intrigue, treachery, and violence, and so unhindered by any traditional notions of morality, loyalty, or compassion, that if you combined the warriors of ancient Sparta with the hordes of Genghis Khan, they would still be innocent babes in arms compared to a Dosadi child. Forged in the crucible of appalling hardship and deprivation, those qualities necessary to survival have been tempered to diamond hardness, while all others have withered and died. On Dosadi, there is no such thing as friendship, family, love, or childhood. There is only survival and death, enemy and ally-- and all alliances are temporary. Their technology may be primitive, but their subtlety and sophistication in the arts of observation, deception, intrigue, treachery, and warfare are unparalleled anywhere in the galaxy. And they know they've been intentionally isolated and trapped there. They are beginning to realize that outside their imprisoning wall, there is a soft, decadent, wealthy society responsible for trapping them there. And they have a plan to get out. If they could get out, such people could seize power in the outer world with the ease of taking candy from a baby.

But there is a nobility about them as well. They are not necessarily evil people, just ultimate pragmatists. No Dosadi would waste energy on useless self-indulgent frivolities like self-pity, jealousy, or vengeance. And when self-sacrifice is necessary to ensure a larger goal, a Dosadi will never shrink from it.

But all this begs the question of why isolate generations of people on a hostile planet, if not for punitive purposes? The answer is  that the experiment has created a race of super-beings with incredible survival instincts, superior to all others in battle, both physical and political. Graduates of the ultimate school of hard knocks, and bred for generations to survive, the Dosadi are able to take in every detail of a given situation in a glance and evaluate its risks and opportunities in a heartbeat. They are so adept at instantly reading and cataloging subtle emotional cues in others they can seem telepathic. And they are masters at controlling their own emotions and expressions. There are no Dosadi who are stupid, slow, weak, or impulsive-- those don't survive. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of such abilities, if they could do so without having to personally survive the horrors of Dosadi? The second piece of the puzzle is alien technology that allows a consciousness/personality to be transferred to a new body, usually resulting in the death of the new body's owner, but not the destruction of that owner's memories. In essence, Dosadi is a farm for creating new host bodies, with superior reflexes, skills, and memories pre-installed to allow the new owner to take full advantage of them.

Finally, does it pass the Bechdel test? Yes, but just barely. There are several significant female characters in the story, including Keila Jedrick, who is presented as the single most competent, ruthless and intimidating person anywhere in the story, and the almost equally intimidating Trea. There is one brief scene where Keila captures and interrogates Trea, so there's a technical pass. But I think that is the only meaningful scene in the story in which two women have any significant interaction. For the most part the three major female characters are still surrounded by men. But not bad for 1977, and I wouldn't hesitate to add Keila Jedrick to any list of "Badass Female Characters in SF" list you care to name.  Of course, she sleeps with the male lead, and they end up in luuuuuuv. Which sort of ruins everything else Herbert spent time and effort building up about the Dosadi. So there's that.

A complicated story that makes several leaps that I'm still shaking my head over, but an enjoyable story that leaves me wishing Frank Herbert had explored this universe.

Jorj X. McKie, an agent of the Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab) of the multi-species ConSentiency, is sent by his PanSpechi (a race that has one ego sequentially inhabit several bodies) superior to Tandaloor, the homeworld of the Gowachin (frog-like, with a bizarre legal system) to investigate reports of an illegal psychological experiment on the planet Dosadi.

On Tandaloor, McKie meets Aritch, a High Magister of Gowachin Law, and Ceylang, a Wreave (insectoid-humanoids, whose interlocking system of familial honour makes them dangerous enemies) training as a Legum (lawyer). McKie (the only human to become a Gowachin Legum) forces Aritch to form a Legum-client relationship to question him about Dosadi.

He learns that twenty generations ago, Human and Gowachin subjects were mind-wiped and sent to Dosadi, a poisonous planet with a single city (Chu) surrounded by an impenetrable energy barrier (the God Wall) projected by a Caleban (living stars who provide teleportation services to the ConSentiency). The population of Chu is 90 million people in 800 square kilometres, and three times that population live on the "Rim" outside the city. The Dosadi exist in constant competition for food supplies and have an extremely unstable society. The illegal experiment is embarrassing to the Gowachin, and they believe the Dosadi themselves have become too dangerous, and plan to destroy everything inside the God Wall to solve both problems. McKie is trained and sent to Dosadi.

At the same time, Leila Jedrik, a mid-level bureaucrat and secret warlord on Dosadi, introduces a clerical error into Dosadi's computer system which will eventually precipitate a race war between Human and Gowachin, and prepares for the arrival of McKie, hoping she can use him to escape Dosadi. McKie arrives, and is transported to Jedrik, who takes him captive. She teaches McKie of Dosadi and uses him to learn about the ConSentiency. McKie realizes the Dosadi are mentally and physically superior to the people of the ConSentiency, act solely for themselves, possessing no friendships or loves, have high levels of self-control, and can predict actions of others with high accuracy. Despite his training and experience, he is like a child compared to the Dosadi. McKie adapts, becoming Dosadi-like, and Jedrik admits him as a lieutenant. McKie realizes there are layers of conspiracy to Dosadi, that Aritch had intended him to die, that the PanSpechi have agents on Dosadi, and there are non-Dosadi living there to act as observers. He extracts the name Mrreg from a non-Dosadi Gowachin agent, and learns that Dosadi will be destroyed in 60 hours.

Jedrik reveals to McKie that her captive Gowachin, Pcharky, is a facilitator of body exchange, and that this was the purpose of Dosadi, a farm of strong bodies to give immortality to its creators. McKie and Jedrik swap bodies, but after are able to freely switch back and forth, and access all of each other's memories, giving them a far deeper understanding of each other. The God Wall turns black, prompting Broey, the most powerful Dosadi warlord, to meet with Jedrik and McKie. Realizing that the non-Dosadi Gowachin are moving against them, Broey and Jedrik agree to a ceasefire, and she and McKie use a loophole in the Dosadi Caleban contract to teleport to Tandaloor.

McKie sends messages to BuSab agents containing all his knowledge of Dosadi, and uses the Legum-Client relationship to force Aritch to cancel the Dosadi contract, allowing them to freely teleport offplanet, and prepares for the coming trial. McKie deduces that Bildoon is part of the Dosadi conspiracy, and is able to get in contact with Mrreg, leader of the conspiracy's "High Command", and one of the creators of Dosadi, as he is technically McKie true client. However, Mrreg commits ritual suicide for his failure. McKie is forced to represent Aritch.

Broey, Bildoon, and a Human conspirator, Parando, are named the judges of Aritch's trial, with McKie acting as defence and Ceylang as prosecution. Jedrik is called as a witness, a ploy to find her location and kill her. Broey does not prevent this, using it as a final opportunity to defeat his long rival. After the court is recessed, Jedrik tells McKie that she loves him, and teleports away to what she knows is her death. McKie is shocked, and attempts to force a mind swap, acquiring the experience of her death, and holds her unconscious mind within himself. Eight conspirators accost McKie in his room, believing him to be Jedrik, and Broey's underlings capture them.

The next day, McKie argues Aritch's total innocence (a death sentence) and implies that the eight captured conspirators are at fault. Ceylang makes the mistake of implying that she is prosecuting them instead of Aritch, meaning her prosecution against Aritch was lost, and her life is forfeit, but McKie does not kill her. Aritch attempts to implicate himself, but cannot say too much, lest he let slip the secret of Dosadi superiority, which could lead to pogroms against Human and Gowachin. McKie asks another question implying Aritch's innocence, and he submits to the judgment of the court.

Aritch's case over, McKie suggest passing the conspirators over to a ConSentient court, which Broey consents to, but Parando will not allow. McKie takes a torture spear and accuses Parando of being not only a professional legalist (forbidden of Gowachin judges), but a non-Legum who advised on Gowachin law, and hurls the spear through his chest, killing him, and setting a new precedent. Bildoon had committed suicide in the meantime, and with Broey the sole living judge, the trials are judged in McKie's favour.

Ceylang's cases lost, she is required to die. McKie instead uses his knife to add a scar to those which mark her Wreave mate exchanges, declaring them wed and parted, and secretly invites her to join BuSab. The Wreave and Gowachin spectators accept this, and Aritch leaves the court to be torn to shreds for his innocence. The Dosadi will destroy and transforms the ConSentiency, but will themselves be changed as Jedrik and McKie were. Body exchange remains a secret, and with Bildoon dead, McKie will become head of BuSab. McKie realizes Broey is planning to use the coming chaos to take over the conspiracy, and Jedrik's consciousness awakens within him. With Broey unaware of Jedrik's mental survival, Jedrik/McKie begin plotting against him.

He knew that once they returned to the other room, the fondness would be locked under a mask of perfect concealment. It was there, though. It was there. And he dared not betray her trust by counting on that fondness, else it would be locked away forever.

After reading about twenty pages of Heretics of Dune, I felt if I forced myself to continue, I might be stuck slogging for months. Maybe I hate Herbert's writing. I decided to wing it and see if I could finish this for my Barlowe's Guide list, and put Herbert away forever. And I loved it. So maybe I just don't like sand?

This book is like and unlike his Dune books. It's weirder, shorter, faster-paced than any but Dune Messiah, has a bit of a comic thread (I don't see how anyone could write darwinistic frog-people executing judges and witnesses during trials with a completely straight face), and isn't as strongly pretentious. But the same themes of dystopic conditions producing supermen, the superintelligent communicating with minimal signals, and a distrust of bureaucracy and technology appear. Even specific lines like "The forms must be obeyed" recur, as do minor elements like Galach, chairdogs, revolts against machines, etc. One could imagine it as a far future to the Dune books, but that's clearly not the intention.

In fact, this is actually the end of a different short series, composed of "A Matter of Traces", "The Tactful Saboteur", and Whipping Star. I had no idea this was part of a series, as I missed the page before chapter 1 which mentioned it. It's very self contained, but I'll go back and read the rest eventually.

The opening is a little slow, until McKie arrives at the dystopic Dosadi. Despite the supposed theme of extremely dense population, there aren't any scenes that really get it across, as most of McKie's time is spent in the company of the rich and powerful Jedrik. As a dystopia, it leaves a lot to be desired, but as a story it kept my interest up, mostly with that "where the hell is he going with this" feeling. The body swapping plot point came out of nowhere, but the story implies there were clues in dialogue earlier, so maybe that's on me. Plus, it's such a zany addition, I can't complain. The characterization of the Dosadi is better than that of the Fremen, meaning they seemed much more like the type of supermen who would be necessary to carry out a galactic jihad. Then again, they are rational egoists, so they probably couldn't be persuaded to do such a thing. I think the book is implying their transformation of the ConSentiency will be more of a "restructuring" than a destroying and rebuilding.

The trial climax was the best part, but I dearly wish it was much longer. There's so much one can do with the looney tunes Gowachin legal system, and the prosecutor, Ceylang, has too little page space to be a worthy adversary for McKie. She doesn't get a single win during the case, I would've loved some more back and forth. Give the book an extra 100 pages, all in the trial and the McKie/Jedrik romance, and this would be a truly great time.



I've got this feeling Barlowe chose the Gowachin for his Guide to Extraterrestrials solely because of the oft-described chest breathing ventricles, as it's really their only distinctive feature. Hope he had fun drawing those wrinkles. Otherwise they're humanoid frogs. After reading the book I can't help but see the expression as a slightly hostile "what're you lookin' at ?"

I just couldn't get into this...in other words I found it uninteresting. May be me, I find that I'm harder and harder to please where novels are concerned. I have started several in the last few weeks and none of them has really drawn me in. I have unfinished novels of a couploe of different types and different genres laying around waiting.

Oh well, I won't rate this as frankly I didn't care enough to finish it.

Maybe you'll like it more. Good luck.

This may be my favorite of Herbert's books outside of the Dune series and the Jesus Incident trilogy. I almost wish that this universe he created, it could be expanded to a series. Much is left to the imagination and the insinuation of the reader, in a way Herbert does early on with Dune.

Many similar aspects between Dune and this universe are seen... chairdogs, Galach language, etc, except that this one includes multiple sentient, and 1 supersentient, species. The overall theme is typical Herbert: the scope of the human condition in fantastic situations. Instead of the geriatric drug of Dune, this takes into account the forced-confinement and resulting advancement of a human/alien binary populous.

Very well written, similar in style to the Jesus Incident trilogy in how things are presented: enough to explain, but never enough to really understand without thinking for oneself.

One of Herbert’s best non-Dune books. Incredibly unique and visionary continuation of the universe constructed in Whippimg Star. Only critique is that the narrative was a bit choppy in that I felt there were a few places where something was left out.