Direct Descent
1980
First Published
3.30
Average Rating
118
Number of Pages
Earth has become a library planet for thousands of years, a bastion of both useful and useless knowledge—esoterica of all types, history, science, politics—gathered by teams of “pack rats†who scour the galaxy for any scrap of information. Knowledge is power, knowledge is wealth, and knowledge can be a weapon. As powerful dictators come and go over the course of history, the cadre of dedicated librarians is sworn to obey the lawful government . . . and use their wits to protect the treasure trove of knowledge they have collected over the millennia. Short Novel
Avg Rating
3.30
Number of Ratings
904
5 STARS
13%
4 STARS
27%
3 STARS
40%
2 STARS
16%
1 STARS
4%
goodreads
Author
Frank Herbert
Author · 64 books
Frank Herbert (1920–1986) was an American novelist best known for the landmark science‑fiction epic Dune, a visionary saga that fused ecology, politics, religion, and power into a new literary architecture for the genre. Dune won the Hugo and Nebula Awards and spawned a cycle of sequels—Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune—that deepened its philosophical reach while shaping modern world‑building and serialized storytelling. Beyond Dune, Herbert’s craft ranged from social SF like The Dosadi Experiment to ecological thrillers such as The Green Brain, each marked by rigorous systems thinking, layered prose, and moral ambiguity. His influence endures in the canon of speculative fiction: a writer who proved science fiction could be intellectually audacious, commercially vital, and artistically consequential.
