A spaceship on its way to a new colony develops a mind of it's own...what happens when a spaceship believes that it is God and teaches the future colonists to worship it? Read and find out.

Much better than the Jesus incident. Flows better. Conversation is better. Less disgusting.

Not as tight as Destination Void but definitely my favorite book in this trilogy. Just a really well developed and explored world, the mermen and islander societies are a great take on humans living in a flooded world. I had a few issues, the taboo romance felt a bit trite, and the idea that the mutants are worthy of life because "look sometimes the mutations are useful" felt a bit ablest.

DUQUE SIMŢI MIROS de carne arsă şi păr pârlit. Adul­mecă aerul o dată, de două ori, apoi începu să bocească. Singu­rul său ochi sănătos lăcrima abundent. Încercă să-şi ridice pleoapa cu ajutorul degetului, însă durerea îl chinuia insuporta­bil. Mămica plecase undeva, afară. Afară era unul dintre cuvin­tele pe care le putea pronunţa, cum ar fi fierbinte, sau mami. Nu-şi dădea foarte bine seama unde se afla afară, şi ce formă avea. Nu ieşise niciodată din cubicul. Locuia pe un Clon-plută, ancorat de vârful unei stânci negre. Din fostele întinderi de uscat ale Pandorei, era singura care mai răsărea deasupra apei.
Frica puse stăpânire pe el. Mirosul de ars devenea din ce în ce mai puternic. Poate ar fi mai bine să spună ceva. De obicei nu vorbea; cuvintele se loveau de nasul imens care-i cădea peste gură. Se obişnuise să fluiere cu nasul. Mămica îl înţelegea, şi îi răspundea fluierând la rândul său. Stabiliseră între ei un limbaj format din peste o sută de cuvinte-fluierate. Încreţi fruntea; pie­lea se întinse, trăgând de nasul cărnos şi îndreptându-l. Fluieră, încercând mai întâi să afle dacă mămica se afla prin apropiere.
― Mami? Unde eşti, mami?
Ciuli urechile, încercând să distingă inconfundabilul scaff-slap... scaff-slap făcut de picioarele ei goale pe puntea pufoasă şi netedă a plutei.
Mirosul de ars îi umplu nările, făcându-l să strănute. De afară, dinspre coridor, se auzeau foarte mulţi paşi, mai mulţi decât auzise el vreodată; însă paşii lui mami nu erau printre ei. Se strigau cuvinte pe care nu le înţelegea. Trase aer pe gură, îşi adună puterile, apoi fluieră din rărunchi. Efortul făcut îi strecură durere în coastele fragile, iar vibraţia zgomotului îl lăsă năuc preţ de câteva clipe.

Continues the "Destination:Void" universe saga that I entered in the previous book "The Jesus Incident." Just as good as the Jesus Incident.

*minor spoilers within* Was this book really necessary? I suppose I'll only know once I've finished the trilogy in which this sits in the middle. The Jesus Incident revisits Herbert's well-known themes from Dune, throwing in a bit of speculative machine-intelligence philosophy, and wraps up happily enough that things could have been left right there... yet here we have The Lazarus Effect picking up, like the titles in the ongoing Dune saga, centuries after the previous volume, with problems that plagued the planet Pandora recurring like the refrain of a song. In a way, it brought to mind the way Star Wars: The Force Awakens followed up Return of the Jedi with the same power struggle reemerging in a successive generation. I bring up Star Wars as a possible influence on this book in the same way Dune was a definite influence on Star Wars: we have a young male agricultural worker getting thrown into a larger world of conflict and adventure (although in this case, it's the princess figure who rescues him), letting the reader experience the complexities of this world through his eyes and mind - a rarity in Herbert's fiction. It also throws in some familiar SF tropes that haven't presented as strongly in Herbert's usually super-esoteric writing - there are long passages describing the workings of science-fiction-y vehicles that drag with "pull that lever and push that button" kinds of stuff - perhaps a result of his collaboration with Bill Ransom? In any case, the result is a kind of "Herbert-lite": writing that reflects and reinforces the ecological/religious themes he spent the bulk of his career working through, yet more diversionary than substantial.

If you're an ecology-minded individual who reads sci-fi with a passion, enjoys political intrigue/environmental battle, and remains open to sexual perversion in literature, The Lazarus Effect is really the second of a trilogy (i.e.: The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect & The Ascension Factor). Although it is categorized as Destination: Void, #3, The Lazarus Effect can be read without D.V. and thoroughly enjoyed without having read it, yet not The Jesus Incident. Anyway, while immensely different from Herbert's "Dune" series, these few novels are compelling in their own right and readers will be rewarded with just as much intrigue, conflict and partnering ... some of which is unprecedented. Also, if you read "Jesus" and "Lazarus", it's necessary that you read "Ascension"; this novel completes the tale and was completed by Bill Ransom post Frank Herbert's death.

This series is really weird but really cool

I loved the Dune books when I was a teenager, and I know that Frank Herbert is an amazing writer. When I learned that the video game Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri was inspired by The Jesus Incident, I thought I would like to read it. The library didn’t have it, but it did have the sequel, The Lazarus Effect.
The story is original. In the far future, human beings have been deposited on the ocean-world of Pandora, where they split into different factions over the years. I am not sure how The Lazarus Effect plays into the wider mythology, but it’s a good story.

4tCharacters
Very good
I loved these characters. Queets Twisp was my favorite, but Brett (who I keep imagining looking like Brent Sienna), Scudi Wang, Shadow Panille, Ward Keel, they were all excellent. They feel real in every possible way. I do think Scudi and Brett both have a problem of “first love” though, and I wonder if it could last. She was only sixteen.

2.5tPace
Satisfactory with positive exceptions
This story has a good pace, and I was interested even though it took me a while to read through it. It picks up toward the end, and Herbert/Ransom introduces exciting situations at the beginning of each chapter that is explained in a mini-flashback.

3.5tStory
Good with positive exceptions
I really enjoyed this story. Herbert/Ransom (I suspect Herbert did most of the actual writing) spins an amazing tale of an alien world. Without much in the way of description (it is never over-descriptive), the environments and the situations feel alive. I actually found comfort in the living islands.
I don’t understand Herbert’s fascination with sex though. I agree that it is a special power- a holy power, but it seems to form the crux of human relations in several of his stories, usually without acknowledgement of its true purpose (procreation).

3tDialogue
Good
The dialogue was good. It felt realistic, and I wasn’t confused. There were a few moments when it felt too heavy (mostly from Scudi, but Brett falls into the trap too).

5tStyle/Technical
Very good
Herbert is an amazing writer. Everything is clear. His technique of explaining a situation and then reversing gears to describe how it came about before returning to the actual story is a trick I wish I could learn.
The storytelling here isn’t poetic like Sabatini, but there all kinds of little tricks that help tell the story that an average reader probably doesn’t even notice.

3.6tOverall
Good with positive exceptions
The Lazarus Effect is a good book. I really enjoyed reading it. It transported me to Pandora, where I walked the living islands and explored the merman bases. I will definitely need to read the other books in the series.
Queets Twisp was easily the best part of the story for me, though I liked all the characters. The general setting was alien at first, as was the presence of the mutants, but once I was accustomed to the setting, it was an amazing ride.

An OK book. Don't let the kelp get you. Hard to follow up Dune.

The Lazarus Effect is an interesting mix. It is the third book in the "Ship" series (second in the "Pandora" series) and sequel the "The Jesus Incident". I feel like it deviates from the Sci-Fi spectrum a bit, in the sense that a big portion of what is happening in the book is relatable to the human environment. While it was but a small topic in the prequel, racism is now one of the main themes of the book, mainly depicted through the differences between the two races of the planet Pandora, the Islanders and the Mermen.
All in all, the book feels a lot more centred towards human related themes. Almost every action and consequence are a result of human action and decision. There is a visible lack of outside influence for the most part, which results in better depicted interactions between humans, as well as more emphasis on human problems, morals, politics and other such conflicts. There are considerably less monologues and narrator passages, and as a result, the philosophy of the book lies in the dialogue and the actions of the characters (which are well shaped and relatable for the most part).
I feel, however, that some of the plot decisions were a bit questionable, and I would have wished for a bit more explanation regarding the conclusion. And the ending passage, while calming and picturesque, still feels a bit anti climatic. That might just be me, though.
And this leaves me with one more book to read through. The Ascension Factor. I am quite curious to see how the series ends, especially for the fact that the last book was written mostly by Bill Ransom. Hopes up. Bring it!

I didn't like this 2nd book in the trilogy very much; I liked the first much more, but I'm still planning to read the last since I've already gotten it from the library. My problem with this installment is the imagery: I didn't get enough to help me build the world and characters, which are different from the first, so I felt disaffected and unattached.