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The Godmakers
AuthorFrank Herbert
Cover artistVincent DiFate
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherPutnam
Publication date
1972
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
ISBN0-399-11006-2
OCLC534343
813/.5/4
LC ClassPZ4.H5356 Go PS3558.E63
"The Priests of Psi" was the cover story for the February 1960 issue of Fantastic

The Godmakers (1972) is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. The title of early editions was sometimes styled The God Makers.[not verified in body]

Publication history

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This section needs expansion with: content based on published writing by others, presenting this origin information, and presenting other information related to the production of the later novel, and its place in the Herbert corpus. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The novel The Godmakers expands upon a storyline appearing in four short stories over a decade earlier:

The title of early editions was sometimes styled The God Makers.[citation needed]

Plot summary

The story focuses on Lewis Orne, an agent for a government agency which develops 'lost planets.' After correctly identifying a warlike civilization on the planet Hamal, he is drafted into Investigative Adjustment (I-A), which manages dangerous planets. Under the auspices of I-A, he travels to various planets in order to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. At the same time, the priests of the planet Amel, who practice 'religious engineering', set about creating a god, something they have done numerous times before:

We do not know from what creature or thing the god will be born', the Abbod said. 'It could be one of you.[This quote needs a citation]

After resolving a number of dangerous situations, Lewis is injured and has a near-death experience. Following this, his psychic powers develop, and after passing a series of tests he becomes a god.

Reception

This section needs expansion with: content based on a number of sources, to arrive at either a preponderant or balanced persepctive. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024)

Colin Greenland reviewed The Godmakers for Imagine magazine, and stated that "For all his ever-expanding cosmic perspective, Herbert still writes characters who look and sound as if they'd been cut off the backs of cornflake packets."[1]

References

  1. ^ Greenland, Colin (January 1985). "Fantasy Media". Imagine (review) (22). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 45.