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Title: The White Plague by Rene Dubos, Jean Dubos ISBN: 0-8135-1223-9 Publisher: Rutgers University Press Pub. Date: December, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $32.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (22 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: A good idea gone astray
Comment: More than twenty years ago, Frank Herbert foresaw some of the possibly disastrous consequences of genetic engineering. One expert scientist could create a fatal disease that would sweep the world, if he were sufficiently motivated. In this case, the scientist sees his wife and children killed by a car bomb in Ireland. He devises an awesome means of revenge, initially focused on the countries he holds responsible. The new plague gets out of control.

This should have been sufficient material for a focused novel. For reasons that seem murky, Herbert chose to limit his treatment of the basic issue to his first few chapters. Most of the book is taken up with the scientist's long journey on foot across Ireland in the company of an IRA terrorist, a Catholic priest, and a mysterious boy. Much of the dialogue is about Irish anger over the way they have been treated by the British. All this is moderately interesting, but largely irrelevant to the basic story. The scientist, by now shamed by the consequences of his actions, helps to devise a cure before going mad. Herbert offers some speculations about the social impact of the plague toward the end of the book, but they seem far too late.

Rating: 1
Summary: Dated, lousy science, no tension
Comment: This book suffers from dated (read wrong/inadequate) science, lousy plot-management, lack of proper tension-management. The Master author of the famous Dune series tries his hand at Greg Bear / Michael Crichton's genre (the scientific thriller) and fails miserably. For a work which aspires to world-spanning edge of seat teeth-gnashing plague-thriller this one comes no where near even Twelve Monkeys. Avoid it like the plague (pardon der pun). Ohhh, come to think about it, the protagonist could be a closet homosexual woman-hater (the genetically engineered kills off all women). Is Frank Herbert making an unintentional public confession about his misogyny and latent homosexuality? Tee hee hee....

Rating: 5
Summary: Prophetic
Comment: I am sure this book will turn out to be prophetic. With time, it only becomes more relevant. I wish this were not so.