Hellstrom's Hive

1973

Hellstrom's Hive


First, some blog housekeeping. I know so many of you have been clamoring for me to return to blogging.

Okay, that didn't happen. But I was reminded last night that I haven't touched this blog since I started my new job last November. It was already difficult to recall the details of books I had read two years earlier, and now I've pushed that to a 30 month deficit. So just in case anyone is out there reading this blog with a critical eye towards my review skills, I apologize that no one is paying me to write this blog and do it well. I think I'm reasonably safe from the whole 'in case anyone is reading this blog' bit.

Now, on to a very very short review of a book by the author of one of my favorite books.

I really really really liked Hellstrom's Hive. I've always been a fan of Dune but have just recently started reading Herbert's other earlier stuff. You can tell Hive is where he really starts picking up the steam that made Dune possible. Intruiging characters, culteral clashes and a view of society and personal relationships that transcends norms and general comfort- this is the stuff that great sci-fi is made of. My only complaint is that it ends too soon and leaves you wanting much much more.

A very short re-cap would be to say this book starts out as a bit of a spy thriller, but quickly descends into a madhouse story of science fiction and mysterious cults. Herbert's ecological themes start to move to the forefront of his storytelling, toe to toe with his command of humanity's social fixations, nicely captured in insect-ology (as opposed to his stark desert settings that have become synonymous with his name).

Seeing as I have shelves of unread books to read, many of which were borrowed by good friends nearly a decade ago, I won't be re-reading any books soon, but like Dune, this is a book I would happily consume again, knowing that it strikes the perfect balance between fun pulp and thoughtful commentary.

The Heaven Makers

1968 The Heaven Makers is a science fiction story written by legendary Dune scribe, Frank Herbert. Like much of his writing, it was originally serialized in a sci-fi magazine and later sold as a novel. Although written around the same time as Dune, it lacks the depth and scope of his masterpiece saga, and comes across much more like a satirical send-up of Hollywood. I was thoroughly unimpressed by the book on almost every level, and was not surprised to find other online reviewers sharing my opinion. The story, while hardly worth going into, is about aliens hiding in our oceans and using their advanced technology to film humans while they subtly manipulate our lives to make for entertaining footage. These films are edited and used as mass media entertainment back on the home world. The story rotates both around a human who catches on to the alien presence, as well as an alien investigator sent to sniff out the abuse of power by the Earth-based crazed director and leader. The criticism that this is one of Herbert's worst books is accurate, but there are glimpses of talent and even genius in this otherwise silly and unfleshed short novel. The premise is a dead-on prediction of modern reality TV and commentary that only a deranged alien mind would use human beings as playthings for mindless entertainment. But it is interesting to contrast the broad and cartoonish perspective on the immortality of the Chem against the prolonged life and immortality of the God Emperor of Herbert's much more famous Dune, which took an entire series to develop. It was also a very interesting comparison to read this at the same time as previously reviewed Black Easter by James Blish. In both cases my previous view of the author was upended, but in dramatically opposite directions. I recommend this book to sci-fi fans who still watch cartoons and won't be insulted by the lack of effort Frank Herbert puts out in what has to be considered one of his worst pieces of literature.

Black Easter

1968 *

James Blish is a science-fiction author who should be idolized by true Trek fans. He wrote the original adaptations of the original television show, and published the first original Star Trek novel, Spock Must Die! Hundreds of published authors have followed in his footsteps and thousands of fans as well. It's a shame that Blish passed away before The Motion Picture came out and Star Trek actually hit it's prime.

The TOS adaptations are god-awful. They are basically drawn-out summaries of each episode's plots. They remain remarkable primarily because they've never been re-done to my knowledge, and because they were printed at a time when Star Trek had no commercial support and no organized fan-base. Spock Must Die! is a much better piece of literature in comparison to Blish's other Trek work, but is still a thin novellette on a par with an episode of the television show. I love them all nonetheless.

But because of their quality, it never occurred to me to read anything else James Blish wrote, until his name popped up when I was reading up on Aleister Crowley. Black Easter's focal point, the dark wizard Theron Ware, is apparently one of many fictional characters modeled after the real-world Crowley, although the name originates from a more literary reference. And although Ware is a vile villian who (SPOILER!) releases enough demons on mankind to actually kill God, he is still portrayed in a somewhat more sympathetic manner than what the historical Crowley generally warrents- A businessman with a lack of moral compass as opposed to someone relishing in evil for the sake of evil.

I read this at the same time as Frank Herbert's 'The Heavenmakers' and it was interesting to compare Herbert's (arguably) worst book against Blish's (arguably) best. Where Herbert was known for sweeping sagas of great depth in detail and philosophy, Blish had his most commercial success in those awful Star Trek adaptations. But in Black Easter Blish truly suprised me with a rich story full of great characters and a plot that truly kept you guessing, all steeped in a very authentic (and researched) world of historical magic in the 'modern' world.

The theme and commentary of good versus evil set in a nuclear age setting has been very thoughtfully commented on in a way that is very prevelent online for an out-of-print and hard-to-find book (Hugo winner though it may be). The sequel is even harder to track down, but I understand it elaborates much farther on the premise of how Satan handles stepping back into the void left by God. Both books, I imagine, handle superficial silliness like wizards, demons and the Devil with a seriousness and eloquence that leave you feeling as though you've been ingesting much headier subject matter.

Nonetheless, readers who find magic silly in any form will be turned off by the cartoonish presence of demons and wizards as advertised so clearly on the cover. Those who are drawn to arcane incantations and perhaps a marginally veiled reincarnation of Aleister Crowley should move this book to the top of their reading list.

* I am aware that the cover shown above mentions a futuristic setting, and I can see that an apocolyptic ending may warrant the dystopian future label, but I found nothing in the book to dissuade me from thinking that Blish intended the story to take place in his current timeframe of the late sixties.