The Godmakers (novel)

This article is about the science fiction novel. For the anti-Mormon film/book, see The God Makers.

The Godmakers
Author(s)	Frank Herbert
Cover artist	Vincent DiFate
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Putnam
Publication date	1972
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
ISBN	0-399-11006-2
OCLC Number	534343
Dewey Decimal	813/.5/4
LC Classification	PZ4.H5356 Go PS3558.E63

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:

• "You Take the High Road". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1958
• "Missing link". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction February 1959
• "Operation Haystack". Appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1959
• "The Priests of Psi". Appeared in Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, February 1960

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 the first human god in their history. 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.