Destination: Void by Frank Herbert

If you are a Frank Herbert fan with a liking of philosophy, consciousness and religion, you will like this book. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. There is some good suspense and action in this book. The philosophical musings on conscious, religion and the plot are also excellent. I found myself needing to skim over the parts of the book that go into way too much technical detail on building the artificial brain. If you are an "idea oriented" science fiction reader there is ample food for thought here. You can skim much of the techno babble without losing much. Also some parts seemed poorly written and difficult to understand.

Is this book necessary to understand the second book in the series "The Jesus Incident" (which is a much better book). The answer is NO. It is not necessary but it will deepen you understanding of it somewhat.

Destination: Void has a few problems. First: it was adapted from a short story, and Mr. Herbert neglected to divide this 200+ page book into chapters. This doesn't make it a tight, suspenseful read - it just makes you tired. Second: I'm not a big fan of hard science fiction and have no training in engineering or science of any sort, but I don't buy Herbert's techno-babble. This book is based on imaginary technological concepts and (even worse) pummels you with endless pseudo-scientific harangues about the nature of consciousness.
Haven't read any of the Dune books. Assume that D:V was an early effort. I just finished reading it for the second time (in as many years) and threw it away when I finished.
Don't waste the time.

DUNE!! We know it we love it. But, as an author Frank Herbert has done so much more. This book contains elements from some well know books and entertainment, such as, 2001, but make no mistake this one was the originator. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is out of print now so get ye to a used book store and buy it. It is a meager 250 pages or so, but don't let that fool you. By the time you are finished you will be amazed and hooked. You will be begging and pleading for more. At that point go and buy his collaborative effort "the jesus incedent" which this is the prelude to, and you will have your fix and be satiated.