S. F. master's stories

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 24

S. F. master's stories

Eye. By Frank Herbert. New English Library, 1988. 323 pp. $14.99 (paperback). (Reviewed by Rod Dew) This is a first-class collection of short stores by one of the masters of science fiction, the late Frank Herbert. The stories bridge more than 30 years of Herbert’s writing career, and emphasise that his imagination ranged far wider than the sands and giant worms of the classic “Dune” series for which he will always be remembered. Some of the tales are clearly dated. “Cease Fire” tells of the discovery of a projector which can ignite all types of explosives from a distance. This eliminates explosives, including petrol, as weapons. The great discovery was made by a soldier on. duty in the Arctic battlefields of 1972. The wars of Herbert’s imaginary future were then fought with clubs, spears and arrows. “Cease Fire” was written in 1958, and even though it no longer has the ring of possible truth, it makes interesting reading. “The Tactful Saboteur,” first published in 1964, is another very clever piece of imaginative writing. The reader is left with the impression

that Herbert is vastly amused by this tale, although it is written in serious vein. The need for obstructive processes in Government have been established as one of the chief safeguards of human rights. The Department of Sabotage has the task of slowing the wheels of Government, and the way to the top in the department is to sabotage one’s immediate superior. There is also an illustrated, guided tour of Herbert’s most famous invented world, Arrlkis, in “The Road to Dune,” which will find favour with Dune fans. And there is a sample of Herbert’s dry humour in the brief 1985 story, “Frogs and Scientists.” Two frogs watch a human female strip and bath in a hydroponics trough. Having watched human males clasp their females in a crushing embrace, they reach the conclusion that the two bumps on her front are a protective cushion. The point that Herbert is probably making dn this, and throughout the collection, is that living beings of all kinds see things differently. Whatever the intention, this collection is an outstanding one and a fitting memorial to one of the great science fiction writers.