Jesus Incident by Frank Herbert

Although Dune is the best known Frank Herbert novel, I think this series is as intriguing and has received less hype so therefore is better. Too much advertising can kill interest for me.
We are invited to see a new, possibly future, world through the eyes of some likable/hateable characters. I like the idea of a world wide conscience being that is slowly revealed in the book. We cheer for the heroes, but grieve for the lost. I feel this book is a deliberate commentary on how Herbert sees our human condition and its possible outplay. As often is the case, science fiction is ahead of its time and proves valuable years from when it was written. With all the ethics debate going on about human cloning, I wonder if this/these books will see a new market.

Herbert had me hooked with the Dune series, and now I'm hooked to another of his series. The Jesus Incident is the first in a trilogy that recounts a discovery of humanity and inner struggle. The setting is a planet called Pandora, where the ship has for humans to re-colonize. Ship, a man created artificial consciousness, and possibly God, asks humanity only one question; "how will you worShip?? Humanity has the option to succeed or to be ended.

Ship has proven itself, by somehow replaying earth's history and rescuing survivors prior to the sun going super nova. Somehow Ship has had a hand in the evolution of humankind, and has constantly rewritten and replayed earth's history and evolution.

I've been asked what does the title refer to. Essentially, the title is in reference to the scene of Golgotha and the actual crucifixion of Christ. In this book, it is not meant as an assertion of religion, but rather an example of the workings of people; it is an example of cruelty and helplessness; it is an accusation against humans and a challenge to humans.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoyed the Dune series.

As a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy, I have, as I am willing to bet most of you have, heard of Frank Herbert. But all I seem to hear about from him is Dune. To my surprise, I found this gem under his name--A story revolving around a Deus ex Machina ("God out of the Machine" or a mechanical God) like Dune, this one deals with a rebellion against a higher power, that of the Chaplaine/Psychiatrist Morgan Oakes, a despot who is killing off the dominant local organism--"The Electrokelp." The leader of this rebellion is no messiah--he isn't a Paul Muad'dib, he is another Chaplaine/Psychiatrist who was placed in suspended animation years ago. The Jesus Incident, is, in my opinion, Herbert's true Magnum Opus, a piece of all-to-rare Religiously-based, character-driven science fiction that isn't dominated by thousands of alien species and interstellar wars--but man's search for God.