What do you think?
Rate this book
The Pandora Sequence #0.5
Destination: Void
The starship Earthling, filled with thousands of hybernating colonists en route to a new world at Tau Ceti, is stranded beyond the solar system when the ship's three Organic Mental Cores, disembodied human brains that control the vessel's functions, go insane. An emergency skeleton crew sees only one chance for survival: to create an artificial consciousness in the Earthling's primary computer, which could guide them to their destination . . . or could destroy the human race.
Frank Herbert's classic novel that begins the epic Pandora Sequence (written with Bill Ransom), which also includes The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor.
Frank Herbert's classic novel that begins the epic Pandora Sequence (written with Bill Ransom), which also includes The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor.
276 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
About the author
Frank Herbert
507 books15.4k followersFranklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.
The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.
The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
February 9, 2017
Relentless.
From the opening lines of desperate but intentional destruction and throughout the tight narrative, Frank Herbert has crafted in his 1966 novel Destination: Void a seamless thread of tension and psychological intrigue.
I cannot understand why this has never been made into a film, the design is readily adaptable to a script and the friction between the archetypal cast is evocative of Sartre’s No Exit. Existentialism is a central, though understated element of the novel. One character asks, “We have manipulated mathematical infinity; why can’t we manipulate God?”
The forced perspectuve narrative describes a microcosm of humanity that is at once itself manipulated and suspended without free will and at the same time questioning the very nature of consciousness and how a human is defined. This is also suggestive of Aldous Huxley with his dystopian ideas about “bottle babies” and Herbert takes it a step further by focusing more on the inter-personal conflicts within and among the adults rather than examining macroeconomic and socio-political ramifications of a dehumanizing event.
Destination: Void may also have inspired the producers of The Matrix films. Herbert has created a highly focused character study of humanity at the edge of itself, a staged drama in a single act with the human ego in the spotlight.
From the opening lines of desperate but intentional destruction and throughout the tight narrative, Frank Herbert has crafted in his 1966 novel Destination: Void a seamless thread of tension and psychological intrigue.
I cannot understand why this has never been made into a film, the design is readily adaptable to a script and the friction between the archetypal cast is evocative of Sartre’s No Exit. Existentialism is a central, though understated element of the novel. One character asks, “We have manipulated mathematical infinity; why can’t we manipulate God?”
The forced perspectuve narrative describes a microcosm of humanity that is at once itself manipulated and suspended without free will and at the same time questioning the very nature of consciousness and how a human is defined. This is also suggestive of Aldous Huxley with his dystopian ideas about “bottle babies” and Herbert takes it a step further by focusing more on the inter-personal conflicts within and among the adults rather than examining macroeconomic and socio-political ramifications of a dehumanizing event.
Destination: Void may also have inspired the producers of The Matrix films. Herbert has created a highly focused character study of humanity at the edge of itself, a staged drama in a single act with the human ego in the spotlight.
November 18, 2024
Frank Herbert's "Destination: Void" is thought-provoking science fiction at its best. The book reads more like a play written in prose form, as it takes place solely on board the bridge of a spaceship and it is almost 95% dialogue. But, oh wow, what dialogue!
The premise: a small crew of six is manning a spaceship carrying a cargo of thousands of humans in suspended animation in the hopes of reaching an Earth-like planet in the Tau Ceti galaxy to colonize.
The book opens en media res, after the ship's computers (a giant neural network controlled by three human brains) malfunction, a virtual impossibility. Three of the six crew members are already dead. The remaining three awaken Dr. Prudence Weygand, a surgeon-ecologist.
Each of the four have been assigned a new mission: create a new ship's computer that would have a human-like consciousness.
The problem: each of the four are hiding secret agendas of their own, which seem to be at odds with the new mission of creating the artificial intelligence as well as the original mission of reaching Tau Ceti.
For a book written almost entirely in dialogue, this is a fast-paced, suspenseful read. Herbert uses the book's plot as a forum for some very ethical discussions on creating artificial intelligence and on the nature of human consciousness itself. Very trippy, philosophical stuff.
The premise: a small crew of six is manning a spaceship carrying a cargo of thousands of humans in suspended animation in the hopes of reaching an Earth-like planet in the Tau Ceti galaxy to colonize.
The book opens en media res, after the ship's computers (a giant neural network controlled by three human brains) malfunction, a virtual impossibility. Three of the six crew members are already dead. The remaining three awaken Dr. Prudence Weygand, a surgeon-ecologist.
Each of the four have been assigned a new mission: create a new ship's computer that would have a human-like consciousness.
The problem: each of the four are hiding secret agendas of their own, which seem to be at odds with the new mission of creating the artificial intelligence as well as the original mission of reaching Tau Ceti.
For a book written almost entirely in dialogue, this is a fast-paced, suspenseful read. Herbert uses the book's plot as a forum for some very ethical discussions on creating artificial intelligence and on the nature of human consciousness itself. Very trippy, philosophical stuff.
June 27, 2009
It's strange that the sequel to this novel is my favorite book of all time and yet I only gave this one two stars. Part of the problem is that most of this book is really just a philosophical dialog about the nature of consciousness and an attempt to mathematically define it. There's a some unnecessary intrigue where every character knows some secret about the other characters that they themselves don't know. The point of view is changed many times on a page (which Herbert admits he did for clarity of all things) which makes things even more confusing. But mostly the book just made me feel stupid. Metaphysics in college was simplistic compared to parts of this book. There were many places I had to re-read several times to get what he was trying to say. At points I just didn't bother.
The redeeming factor is the final chapter where the whole point is made and which sets up the next book in the series, The Jesus Incident which is an examination of the nature and definition of God among other things. But where that book provides a full story to surround the discussion and lots of showing with action and character development, Destination: Void just fumbles. Which is too bad as the idea of what is consciousness is such a fascinating topic.
This book is only for die-hard Herbert fans and those who like convoluted discussions about the nature of consciousness.
The redeeming factor is the final chapter where the whole point is made and which sets up the next book in the series, The Jesus Incident which is an examination of the nature and definition of God among other things. But where that book provides a full story to surround the discussion and lots of showing with action and character development, Destination: Void just fumbles. Which is too bad as the idea of what is consciousness is such a fascinating topic.
This book is only for die-hard Herbert fans and those who like convoluted discussions about the nature of consciousness.
December 19, 2022
The crew of the spaceship ’Earthling’ is tasked with the design and implementation of an A.I. computer control system. But first, to avert certain disaster, they must figure out how to integrate consciousness and morality into their fledgling prototype, otherwise their 400 year interstellar mission is destined for disaster.
Here, Frank Herbert writes like both a biomechanical engineer and a Freudian philosopher. This is a technologically detailed sci-fi thriller that will either captivate you or frustrate you, depending on your proclivity for minutia. Consequently (and unlike Herbert’s Dune) this is not a book seething with mass appeal. Frank Herbert’s Destination Void is a study in the specifics and, more importantly, the ethics of artificial intelligence. I found it unsettling but unsettling for all the right reasons.
Here, Frank Herbert writes like both a biomechanical engineer and a Freudian philosopher. This is a technologically detailed sci-fi thriller that will either captivate you or frustrate you, depending on your proclivity for minutia. Consequently (and unlike Herbert’s Dune) this is not a book seething with mass appeal. Frank Herbert’s Destination Void is a study in the specifics and, more importantly, the ethics of artificial intelligence. I found it unsettling but unsettling for all the right reasons.
February 17, 2017
A bunch of tech cwap end to end. While you can glimpse Herbert's talent for high quality dialog, it's all about exchanging tech theories between four clones, 3 dudes and 1 dudette, oh, and handling cables.
August 25, 2023
I don't know if this is quite a 5-star read but I think it is much more than a 4-star. I loved this. I was pretty much drawn straight into the story and although I thought the ending didn't wow as much as I expected it to, I still had a grand old time throughout.
There's plenty of discussion around the nature of consciousness, which was at times rather presumptuous but also consistently fascinating. The meaning and relevance of personhood is also important in this story and both of those themes are explored using clones and intelligent machines to test the hypotheses presented.
I think that this is the only "other" Frank Herbert story that I've read, like 'Dune' the writing here is often quite nice and this story also features a very paranoiac cast of characters.
There's plenty of discussion around the nature of consciousness, which was at times rather presumptuous but also consistently fascinating. The meaning and relevance of personhood is also important in this story and both of those themes are explored using clones and intelligent machines to test the hypotheses presented.
I think that this is the only "other" Frank Herbert story that I've read, like 'Dune' the writing here is often quite nice and this story also features a very paranoiac cast of characters.
May 5, 2016
This is one of those "Whafuck?" books that can best be approached by way of an awkward pop-culture analogy. Ready? Imagine "Reservoir Dogs" but instead of bank robbers they're clones and instead of hiding out from the police, the guys are trying to build God inside a spaceship careening towards disaster. That is, a one-room setting populated by actions in which nothing is ever what it seems and the dialogue has one both at a loss and grinning and shaking one's head in bemusement.
That's pretty much it. A bunch of clones on the seventh attempt at a mission to colonize another world (the six previous ones ended in the ship's destruction) find out they're being tested to survive and need to get further than their previous versions did or thousands of colonists in hibernation die. problem is, the giant mutated brains on their spaceship all went insane and died, so they have to create a consciousness (I think) that will be able to take over the ship's functions and yay, everyone lives.
Most of the novel is thick, clotty technical dialogue that you drown in very quickly, but you don't care, because they're building God, the female pilot is experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs and trying to suppress her horniness, the religious character wants to kill everybody and the main guy ignores everyone and dares the cops to show up. Or maybe he's a cop. Mr Pink?
That's pretty much it. A bunch of clones on the seventh attempt at a mission to colonize another world (the six previous ones ended in the ship's destruction) find out they're being tested to survive and need to get further than their previous versions did or thousands of colonists in hibernation die. problem is, the giant mutated brains on their spaceship all went insane and died, so they have to create a consciousness (I think) that will be able to take over the ship's functions and yay, everyone lives.
Most of the novel is thick, clotty technical dialogue that you drown in very quickly, but you don't care, because they're building God, the female pilot is experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs and trying to suppress her horniness, the religious character wants to kill everybody and the main guy ignores everyone and dares the cops to show up. Or maybe he's a cop. Mr Pink?
November 2, 2021
This is one of Frank Herbert’s most thought-provoking novels—and that’s saying a lot. Four clones on an interstellar space flight designed to fail, attempt to create an artificial intelligence to steer their craft safely between the stars. Their entire lives, and this completely manufactured crisis, are part of an experiment being run by humans to try and achieve artificial intelligence. Herbert’s plot unfolds with a series of crises intended to force the clones to succeed in their task or die—exciting on its own level. But at the same time, Herbert consciously models his story on the big questions raised by Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein. He questions what life and consciousness truly are and brings the crew to what was to me a totally unexpected fate at the end of the story. I’ve read this book five or six times and always get something new out of it.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
September 26, 2016
Herbert should have stuck to space opera. This book certainly hasn't aged well. It's filled with technical terms that just don't seem to fit the context. Maybe my perspective is too modern, but as a computer scientist I found it painful to read these 'technical descriptions'. I've read technical descriptions of 1940s computers and I find them fascinating but this book is not. It's like Herbert didn't understand the terms or he was trying to sound 'futuristic' by making up new terms. The Dune books were great, but I winced at least once reading them when I read a passage describing the cryogenic treatment of a weapon that was cooled to -100 degrees Kelvin. Anyone with a high school understanding of physics should know that 0 Kelvin is the coldest temperature possible.
January 8, 2019
(...)
So if I have to believe others – and I do – there is a certain technical merit in these kind of passages. The fact that Herbert himself even updated his work to the standards of the new day, indicates he was serious to a certain extent. So it’s not just all random non-nonsensical gobbledygook, not at all.
The paradox is that it reads as gobbledygook nonetheless, and while the book may have (had) some technical merit, ultimately it fails spectacularly, as no one has ever tried to use this book as a manual to try and design conscious AI, because in the end, Herbert too relies on handwavium – technical posturing notwithstanding.
(...)
That Herbert didn’t take a stab at true brain science can’t be held against him: while the first human EEG was already recorded in 1924, the much more precise MEG signals were first measured in 1968, and rudimentary CAT, PET and MRI scanning techniques only originated in the early 70ies.
All this does not mean the book is a total failure.
(...)
Full analysis on Weighing A Pig
So if I have to believe others – and I do – there is a certain technical merit in these kind of passages. The fact that Herbert himself even updated his work to the standards of the new day, indicates he was serious to a certain extent. So it’s not just all random non-nonsensical gobbledygook, not at all.
The paradox is that it reads as gobbledygook nonetheless, and while the book may have (had) some technical merit, ultimately it fails spectacularly, as no one has ever tried to use this book as a manual to try and design conscious AI, because in the end, Herbert too relies on handwavium – technical posturing notwithstanding.
(...)
That Herbert didn’t take a stab at true brain science can’t be held against him: while the first human EEG was already recorded in 1924, the much more precise MEG signals were first measured in 1968, and rudimentary CAT, PET and MRI scanning techniques only originated in the early 70ies.
All this does not mean the book is a total failure.
(...)
Full analysis on Weighing A Pig
October 22, 2012
This book could've become a timeless novel exploring the ideas of consciousness and artificial intelligence but instead it was filled with long sequences of technobabble and shallow psychology all which felt very dated. When it was originally published in 1966, this probably worked well, however it didn't stand the test of time like some other science fiction novels have.
The overall pace of the book was slow, few times tension was built up only to fizzle out. The last few chapters where the pace and tension really picked up and things got interesting were no different, resulting in a lackluster ending.
The overall pace of the book was slow, few times tension was built up only to fizzle out. The last few chapters where the pace and tension really picked up and things got interesting were no different, resulting in a lackluster ending.
April 27, 2019
There is a very cool story here... somewhere. It's hiding in all the overly complicated dialogue about computers and consciousness. To quote a friend I somehow convinced to read this book with me- "this book is all science and no fiction!"
June 30, 2023
This book is incredible.
June 14, 2024
3.5 stars. I Listened to the audiobook intermittently during the reading.
Destination: Void by Frank Herbert is his not well known Artificial Intelligence Science fiction. Unlike Herbert’s well known Dune, this book is less in epic scale and without any political intrigues. There has some conspiracies in the story, but it’s not the focus of the story. The book reads like the prelude of the Pandora Sequence series, which is not telling a full story, but complete the details of consciousness to the story. Perhaps this is why not many readers read this book; besides the story’s structures, it explores the themes deeply in consciousness. If you are engrossed in Artificial Intelligence, this book is a good book to read. It reminded me of the several themes and theories of consciousness in Blindsight. Both the books mention consciousness is the developed progress of surviving system to environments. Consciousness weeds out the Insignificant, focus only on the significant. Blindsight explains consciousness of the negative effects on evolution developments; on the other hand, Destination: Void proffers both positive and negative POVs of consciousness, also has some questions about the existence of intelligence and is consciousness the central of universe.
The story is about Consciousness, mainly the characters we’re discussing of building consciousness to the ship, it’s all about the discussions of consciousness in the book. Everything has occurred must be happened on the ship, so that it’s not the typical Sci- Fi books that are actions-oriented or plots-oriented; and thus it may feel a bit monotonous to read without plot developments to propel the story.
The book has pinpointed many crucial themes and theories about consciousness in science. It may be one of the pioneer of science fictions are talking about consciousness in Sci-Fi genre. One things is quite unexpected which is the characters they build the Artificial Intelligence that are used of cerebral matters to build an organic form of artificial intelligence; it’s not a program in computer instead of a organic Brian which is interesting that make me want to know what Is the connection to the later sequent books of the series.
Destination: Void by Frank Herbert is his not well known Artificial Intelligence Science fiction. Unlike Herbert’s well known Dune, this book is less in epic scale and without any political intrigues. There has some conspiracies in the story, but it’s not the focus of the story. The book reads like the prelude of the Pandora Sequence series, which is not telling a full story, but complete the details of consciousness to the story. Perhaps this is why not many readers read this book; besides the story’s structures, it explores the themes deeply in consciousness. If you are engrossed in Artificial Intelligence, this book is a good book to read. It reminded me of the several themes and theories of consciousness in Blindsight. Both the books mention consciousness is the developed progress of surviving system to environments. Consciousness weeds out the Insignificant, focus only on the significant. Blindsight explains consciousness of the negative effects on evolution developments; on the other hand, Destination: Void proffers both positive and negative POVs of consciousness, also has some questions about the existence of intelligence and is consciousness the central of universe.
The story is about Consciousness, mainly the characters we’re discussing of building consciousness to the ship, it’s all about the discussions of consciousness in the book. Everything has occurred must be happened on the ship, so that it’s not the typical Sci- Fi books that are actions-oriented or plots-oriented; and thus it may feel a bit monotonous to read without plot developments to propel the story.
The book has pinpointed many crucial themes and theories about consciousness in science. It may be one of the pioneer of science fictions are talking about consciousness in Sci-Fi genre. One things is quite unexpected which is the characters they build the Artificial Intelligence that are used of cerebral matters to build an organic form of artificial intelligence; it’s not a program in computer instead of a organic Brian which is interesting that make me want to know what Is the connection to the later sequent books of the series.
October 7, 2009
"Is a man just a machine's way of making another machine?"
Destination: Void is the first of four books set in the eponymous universe of Herbert's making, also sometimes known as the Pandora series. The action in this book centers around an "umbilicus" crew of four and their ship, Earthling, that is carrying a massive cargo of hibernating colonists meant to colonize a planet in the distant Tau Ceti system. Before the ship even leaves our solar system, however, the ship's three Organic Mental Cores--mutant human-derived brains bred to interface with the ship and promote its homeostasis--go completely mad and die/are killed. This leaves the crew scrambling to develop an artificial consciousness to control the ship before they are destroyed, either by external forces or by one of their own.
This book is a difficult but rewarding read that actually doesn't center around the plot. Yes, this book does have a sensible plot and does set up somewhat the events of the next book, but these are secondary to the philosophical and technical discussions contained within. In their venture to create an artificial consciousness, the characters discuss (in great length) what actually defines consciousness and also technical details in creating it using electronic circuitry and mathematical constructs.
The discussions on consciousness gave me a rough idea of what the crew was after and did produce a few "ah ha" moments. The technical "consciousness building" concepts seemed a little more dubious, but that might be because I didn't scrutinize that aspect very closely on my first read through. That being said, it seems to me that this book will shine more on subsequent readings, which I plan on doing now that I know what to expect and have a "big picture" idea of what is going on. With greater comprehension I am sure my rating will increase by a star (or possibly two).
Destination: Void is the first of four books set in the eponymous universe of Herbert's making, also sometimes known as the Pandora series. The action in this book centers around an "umbilicus" crew of four and their ship, Earthling, that is carrying a massive cargo of hibernating colonists meant to colonize a planet in the distant Tau Ceti system. Before the ship even leaves our solar system, however, the ship's three Organic Mental Cores--mutant human-derived brains bred to interface with the ship and promote its homeostasis--go completely mad and die/are killed. This leaves the crew scrambling to develop an artificial consciousness to control the ship before they are destroyed, either by external forces or by one of their own.
This book is a difficult but rewarding read that actually doesn't center around the plot. Yes, this book does have a sensible plot and does set up somewhat the events of the next book, but these are secondary to the philosophical and technical discussions contained within. In their venture to create an artificial consciousness, the characters discuss (in great length) what actually defines consciousness and also technical details in creating it using electronic circuitry and mathematical constructs.
The discussions on consciousness gave me a rough idea of what the crew was after and did produce a few "ah ha" moments. The technical "consciousness building" concepts seemed a little more dubious, but that might be because I didn't scrutinize that aspect very closely on my first read through. That being said, it seems to me that this book will shine more on subsequent readings, which I plan on doing now that I know what to expect and have a "big picture" idea of what is going on. With greater comprehension I am sure my rating will increase by a star (or possibly two).
August 21, 2021
In this intense, close quaters SF thriller, a spaceship is set out for Tau Ceti, manned by replacable clones, and governed by disembodied human brains, all of which die at the beginning, setting the ship adrift. The crew must now work to find a way to create their own OMC - "organic mental core", to proceed ahead. If they return, they know they will be elliminated.
The book, written almost entirely as dialog, is 1/3 60s scifi computer lingo, 1/3 multiple attemps at defining what consciousness is, and 1/3 a chamber play full of tension, mystery, surprising secret agendas, and characters that play well up against each other.
Which of these three elements work for you is probably very individual. Herbert throws everything into the pile, every idea ever conjured up in human history (up until he wrote this) of what the conscious is, is mentioned. Everything and nothing is true. The tech lingo might be too clunky and nonsensical for some, however the dialog remains fast paced and the arguments passionate in a way that deminded me of the many debates in KSR's Mars trilogy.
But it's the story that really works. It's intriguing, once you understand their mission isn't quite what they thought it was. Only one crew member knows the real reason for their trip, and it was fascinating seeing the others speculate and come closer and closer to the truth.
The book, written almost entirely as dialog, is 1/3 60s scifi computer lingo, 1/3 multiple attemps at defining what consciousness is, and 1/3 a chamber play full of tension, mystery, surprising secret agendas, and characters that play well up against each other.
Which of these three elements work for you is probably very individual. Herbert throws everything into the pile, every idea ever conjured up in human history (up until he wrote this) of what the conscious is, is mentioned. Everything and nothing is true. The tech lingo might be too clunky and nonsensical for some, however the dialog remains fast paced and the arguments passionate in a way that deminded me of the many debates in KSR's Mars trilogy.
But it's the story that really works. It's intriguing, once you understand their mission isn't quite what they thought it was. Only one crew member knows the real reason for their trip, and it was fascinating seeing the others speculate and come closer and closer to the truth.
December 5, 2014
This is not a novel. It is a meditation on computers, AI, and Consciousness, as seen in 1978. Without all the speculation, it would have made a decent novella. But speculation is what it was all about with much discussion of early computers and whether or not they can be aware. It comes from the time, when computers were still considered dangerous (see HAL 9000 and many other rogue computer stories.), which is not a negative in itself. I don't fault it for being written before Apple and Microsoft. :-) It's the only novel I've tried to read in decades by skimming whole pages. If I wasn't interested in the sequels, ,I would have stopped after 50 pages, but I kept hoping for more. Considering that I like Herbert's other books, this was a real disappointment.
July 20, 2011
One of Herbert's more obscure works, my verdict could only be 'fantastic'. Absolutely fantastic - so much so, in fact, that I think it should be required reading for anyone interested in AI/AGI.
Of course, having been written in the late 60s/early 70s, the tech being talked of is somewhat dated, and some of the concepts went over my head somewhat (I am not a computer engineer) - however, the philosophy exploring our concepts of consciousness were extremely interesting and insightful.
Read it, and pass it on to your friends. I have :)
Of course, having been written in the late 60s/early 70s, the tech being talked of is somewhat dated, and some of the concepts went over my head somewhat (I am not a computer engineer) - however, the philosophy exploring our concepts of consciousness were extremely interesting and insightful.
Read it, and pass it on to your friends. I have :)
August 30, 2023
Science fiction at its best: One more novel by Frank Herbert which combines several view points. Each character knows some secret about the others while having a clear role for the plot that develops.
The book is an ongoing dialogue about what constitutes the consciousness and how can you confer it to an artificial construction.
The words I enjoyed the most in this book: "My understanding transcends all possibilities of this universe. I do not need to know this universe because I possess this universe as a direct experience."
The book is an ongoing dialogue about what constitutes the consciousness and how can you confer it to an artificial construction.
The words I enjoyed the most in this book: "My understanding transcends all possibilities of this universe. I do not need to know this universe because I possess this universe as a direct experience."
October 14, 2014
I can't help but feel this book is the beginning of the whole history of Dune and the Machine Wars. I know it's not but this book is outstanding. It asks just a simple question. Rather philosophical for sci-fi. Herbert always had a habit of researching every idea he had in order to make it as true as possible.
March 2, 2015
I don`t know why I never read this or the subsequent novels when I was devouring the Dune books. But I`m glad I didn`t. I don`t think I would have really grasped the concepts here if I had read it then. As it stands, having Awakened I recognized the states of mind leading up to Recognition AND the Awakened states described. This is a brilliant work!!
August 8, 2022
This could have been an interesting story about four humans who are abandoned on a spaceship and whose only hope of survival is to build an AI. Instead it's a ponderous novella stuffed with circular/dead-end conversations about "consciousness" and unintelligible techno-babble. Most of my enjoyment came by imagining what a contemporary (1960s) reader would make of it.
Read
October 16, 2020Præcis lige så ultrafortættet en bog, som jeg huskede den.
February 28, 2023
Boy, that's dry!
March 27, 2008
This books manages, despite significant flaws, to engagingly mix a golden age of sci-fi "engineers solving a technical problem" kind of plot with wild philosophizing and thriller elements.
It rests on a somewhat wonky premise (I'm not spoiling anything btw - the following is all revealed early on). Apparently, in the future, the most effective and cost-efficient way to research artificial consciousness is to build a huge colonization ship and launch it towards Tau Ceti with its self-monitoring mechanisms (disembodied human brains hooked up to the ship's computers) programmed to fail, so that the crew has to create a artificial consciousness to guide and monitor the ship, or perish if they fail to do so. The experiment, complete with re-building and re-launching the ship, is repeated until breakthrough trumps death. Rationales are given for this set-up: the crew is comprised of clones whose lives are valued less than 'normal' humans; an earlier Earth-bound experiment in artificial consciousness created a "rogue consciousness" that destroyed itself and its makers; it's believed that crisis situations inspire conceptual breakthroughs -- and the crew themselves try to puzzle out why they've been set-up this way. But it still felt a bit off.
Nevertheless, this set-up allows "let's solve an immense engineering problem" to drive the plot, while the nature of the problem brings up many complex philosophical and moral issues that Herbert loves diving into. Something else that separates it from typical "engineer hero" sci-fi is the signficant amount of (sometimes heavy-handed) psychology Herbert injects into the crew's often manipulative interactions. Through the characters' stressed psyches Herbet explores the limits of human awareness and states of enlightenment -- strong themes in the Dune series that are interesting to see him pursuing here.
Surprisingly, the archaic computer technology utilized doesn't ruin things, as the differences with modern components seem mostly a matter of scale, and the interrelations between the various abstract systems seem more important than the components they use. However, there are many times the technical explanations get so dense and hard-to-parse that you wonder whether Herbert is being incredibly smart or simply indulging in technobabble.
The end is also pretty cheesy, but sets up this book's sequels well. Overall, the book is rough - Herbert doesn't manage to merge its various elements as well as he does with the early Dune books. On just its quality of writing and structure, the book probably deserves only three stars, but the subject matter was fascinating enough that I give it an extra star for personal enjoyment.
It rests on a somewhat wonky premise (I'm not spoiling anything btw - the following is all revealed early on). Apparently, in the future, the most effective and cost-efficient way to research artificial consciousness is to build a huge colonization ship and launch it towards Tau Ceti with its self-monitoring mechanisms (disembodied human brains hooked up to the ship's computers) programmed to fail, so that the crew has to create a artificial consciousness to guide and monitor the ship, or perish if they fail to do so. The experiment, complete with re-building and re-launching the ship, is repeated until breakthrough trumps death. Rationales are given for this set-up: the crew is comprised of clones whose lives are valued less than 'normal' humans; an earlier Earth-bound experiment in artificial consciousness created a "rogue consciousness" that destroyed itself and its makers; it's believed that crisis situations inspire conceptual breakthroughs -- and the crew themselves try to puzzle out why they've been set-up this way. But it still felt a bit off.
Nevertheless, this set-up allows "let's solve an immense engineering problem" to drive the plot, while the nature of the problem brings up many complex philosophical and moral issues that Herbert loves diving into. Something else that separates it from typical "engineer hero" sci-fi is the signficant amount of (sometimes heavy-handed) psychology Herbert injects into the crew's often manipulative interactions. Through the characters' stressed psyches Herbet explores the limits of human awareness and states of enlightenment -- strong themes in the Dune series that are interesting to see him pursuing here.
Surprisingly, the archaic computer technology utilized doesn't ruin things, as the differences with modern components seem mostly a matter of scale, and the interrelations between the various abstract systems seem more important than the components they use. However, there are many times the technical explanations get so dense and hard-to-parse that you wonder whether Herbert is being incredibly smart or simply indulging in technobabble.
The end is also pretty cheesy, but sets up this book's sequels well. Overall, the book is rough - Herbert doesn't manage to merge its various elements as well as he does with the early Dune books. On just its quality of writing and structure, the book probably deserves only three stars, but the subject matter was fascinating enough that I give it an extra star for personal enjoyment.
May 7, 2009
Before Frank Herbert's Dune and the money machine it became, he wrote some very interesting science fiction. Destination Void isn't his best writing but it sets up another book, The Jesus Incident which is much better.
Although I read and enjoyed The Jesus Incident long ago, I'm looking forward to reading it again now that I understand the environment better.
For those of you who liked the sudden POV switches of Dune, often paragraph by paragraph, you'll find yourself on familiar turf with Destination Void. Herbert flips between the four primary characters readily.
Although I read and enjoyed The Jesus Incident long ago, I'm looking forward to reading it again now that I understand the environment better.
For those of you who liked the sudden POV switches of Dune, often paragraph by paragraph, you'll find yourself on familiar turf with Destination Void. Herbert flips between the four primary characters readily.
December 22, 2014
What is best about this book is the situation Herbert set up. The execution was poor, filled with ridiculous jargon and some truly implausible physics developments. Herbert did not understand AI or physics. He also did not really address many of the issues involved in his premise.
The basic ideas behind the story could be used to write a great book. This is not it, and barely worth a second star. Had this been my only introduction to Herbert, I would never have read another by him. I will follow up with the next book in this series, because I have it and he has written a lot of good stuff.
The basic ideas behind the story could be used to write a great book. This is not it, and barely worth a second star. Had this been my only introduction to Herbert, I would never have read another by him. I will follow up with the next book in this series, because I have it and he has written a lot of good stuff.
January 25, 2014
This book loses one star only for the characters who became walking dialogue for much of the book, but oh such dialogue!!! I started this book because my brain had been sluggish from fatigue, illness, and grief. I wanted something to sort of rehab my head and get me back to full editing strength. This book really jump-started the old noggin! I wish they still wrote more sci-fi like this, only maybe with better characters. I will totally be checking out the rest of the series. But for now, back to pushing commas, because this book healed my brain! :)
January 10, 2008
If you like to read about/listen to computer nerds talk about artificial intelligence and system hardware then this book is for you.
July 28, 2010
Excellent SF. Herbert was a giant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews