Pretty much the same as the first but not bad.

DNF @ 50%

This is the first Frank Herbert book that I couldn't finish. It started off kinda bland, and wasn't going anywhere. The constant sexualizing of every woman character finally pushed me far enough to abandon this. I don't know why I need to know how firm someone's breasts are when they're getting dressed for the day, but here we are again.

Follows similar format of Dune: Each chapter opens with some quote of philosophy or history of this alien culture (which is primarily human and mutated human culture on another planet). (However, there is also sentient kelp possibilities.)

Religion is a major factor in this book. For example, one of the top jobs is the C/P (chaplain/psychiatrist).

This story delves into politics, personalities/charisma, diversity, stereotypes, cultural differences, prejudism and racism.

Fascinating part of the trilogy by this pair of authors. Such a broad scope to this book--ecology, genetics, space, poetry, culture. . .

I read this many years ago and hated it.

I feel I should try reading it again now.

Book #1 of the Pandora sequence began promising a cool reboot of the 'franchise'.
Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse here, with the writing style getting more and more confusing, the characters flat as pancakes and hard to keep track of. The action is simply boring and skippable.
Oh well, maybe book #3 will redeem the series.

Picked this book, and The Jesus Incident up in a used bookstore off Baystreet in Port Orchard, WA. I used to spend hours there on the floor with a stack of books surrounding me. I loved this book and the Jesus Incident so much. The rich world created and the interesting characters. I tried reading Destination:Void years later... that didn't work out so well. Might give it another shot on Audiobook. Even if you didn't like Destination:Void, there's a good chance you will still like these ones.

Not bad. A little long in the tooth at times. Left a few loose ends, all told a good read! Recommend!

Dire. Read many years ago as the trilogy. Didn't really like them then although it's a great concept. Now re-reading this one , picked at random, I realise that it's all too contrived.

For people who love the way Herbert writes, this book is part of a trilogy: The Lazarus Effect, The Jesus Incendent, Asscension Rising. While not like the DUNE series that he is known for, this is another series about man's attenept to colonize other worlds and the problems that we create as well as bring along. at the same time as DUNE and many of the elements in DUNE can be seen in their developmental stages here. It makes good reading for series lovers of Herbert.

4/10

If you loved God Emperor of Dune, you might enjoy parts of this. If not, give it a wide berth.

So my main takeaway is that George Lucas read this and liked the term "Clone Wars" as he co-opted it into his slightly more famous "Star Wars" prequel of the same title. Set years after the Jesus Incident, the human colony has been abandoned by Ship because of their failure to life at peace with each other or the planet they live on. Mutated humans live on floating islands and pure humans live underwater. They have a hard time getting along. It's a weird premise and a weirder book, missing most of the ideological panache of the previous book. Maybe I just miss Ship. The biggest issue is that none of the characters had anything going on under the skin. Or if they did I just couldn't be convinced to care.

Reminds me a lot of Dune's political culture. Well developed cultural groups vying for power, control, and lots of intrigue in the back waters.