7.2 /10 1 Votes
Language English ISBN 0-399-11006-2 Dewey Decimal 813/.5/4 Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons Country United States of America | 3.6/5 Goodreads Publication date 1972 OCLC 534343 Originally published 1972 Genre Science Fiction Cover artist Vincent Di Fate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Similar Frank Herbert books, Science Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Godmakers (1972) is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. The title of early editions was sometimes styled The God Makers.
Summary
It explores the concepts of war and peace, good government and religious belief. It can be seen as a bridging novel between the all-human Dune universe and the ConSentiency universe series.
It is a novel expanded from four short stories:
The story focuses on Lewis Orne, an agent for a government agency which develops 'lost planets.' After correctly identifying a warlike civilization on the planet Hamal, he is drafted into Investigative Adjustment (I-A), which manages dangerous planets. Under the auspices of I-A, he travels to various planets in order to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. At the same time, the priests of the planet Amel, who practice 'religious engineering', set about creating a god, something they have done numerous times before: " 'We do not know from what creature or thing the god will be born', the Abbod said. 'It could be one of you.' " After resolving a number of dangerous situations, Lewis is injured and has a near-death experience. Following this, his psychic powers develop, and after passing a series of tests he becomes a god.