I didn't hate it, like everyone else seemed to have.It is possible that there are a lot of people out there who don't understand one of the primary roles of SciFi: to tell a story about the future that teaches a lesson. In this case, the lesson was about the dangers of isolationism to the point of denying reality, which is exactly what Earth's inhabitants in "Direct Descent" did. Well, most of them. Part of the fun of this story was discovering the other group on the planet, forgotten by the deluded, over-educated, "superior" types. The "barbarians," though isolated, were well connected with reality.The story, while not Herbert's best as far as character development, still taught some important lessons.I recommend it.
...This novel is without a doubt the worst think I've read by Herbert. It's a very weak attempt at expanding a short story that barely had enough body to make it work in the short format. Some people feel that Herbert's skill as a writer usually cannot keep up with his insights and ideas, a few even go so far as to declare anything beyond Dune unreadable. Personally I am a bit more tolerant of what are usually considered flaws in his writing. In this novel however, I have failed to find anything that usually appeals to me in Herbert's work. I guess the completist will want to read it anyway, but if you are not, don't feel bad about skipping it. Full Random Comments review
