The Godmakers (novel)

The Godmakers
Author	Frank Herbert
Cover artist	Vincent DiFate
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	Putnam
Publication date	1972
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
ISBN	0-399-11006-2
OCLC	534343
Dewey Decimal	813/.5/4
LC Class	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[edit]

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 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.

Reception[edit]

Colin Greenland reviewed The Godmakers for Imagine magazine, and stated that "For all his ever-expanding cosmic perspective, Herbert still writes characters who look and sound as if they'd been cut off the backs of cornflake packets."^[1]

References[edit]

^ Greenland, Colin (January 1985). "Fantasy Media". Imagine (review) (22). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 45.

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[Imagine22-1] Greenland, Colin (January 1985). "Fantasy Media". Imagine (review) (22). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 45.

[1]

v t e Frank Herbert
Bibliography
Dune	Dune (1965) Dune Messiah (1969) Children of Dune (1976) God Emperor of Dune (1981) Heretics of Dune (1984) Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) "The Road to Dune" (1985) Songs of Muad'Dib (1992) The Road to Dune (2005)
ConSentiency	"A Matter of Traces" (1958) "The Tactful Saboteur" (1964) Whipping Star (1970) The Dosadi Experiment (1977)
The Pandora Sequence	Destination: Void (1966) The Jesus Incident (1979) The Lazarus Effect (1983) The Ascension Factor (1988)
Standalone novels	The Dragon in the Sea (1956) The Green Brain (1966) The Eyes of Heisenberg (1966) The Heaven Makers (1968) The Santaroga Barrier (1968) Soul Catcher (1972) The Godmakers (1972) Hellstrom's Hive (1973) Direct Descent (1980) The White Plague (1982) Man of Two Worlds (1986) High-Opp (2012) Angels' Fall (2013) A Game of Authors (2013) A Thorn in the Bush (2014)
Short story collections	The Worlds of Frank Herbert (1970) The Book of Frank Herbert (1973) The Best of Frank Herbert (1975) The Priests of Psi (1980) Eye (1985) The Collected Stories of Frank Herbert (2014)