Book 12: Hellstrom's Hive by Frank Herbert

Time for a bit of weird science fiction.  I know it's going to be weird because it's Frank Herbert and, while his Dune series is very well constructed, his other works of fiction tend to be decidedly odd.  From the back cover:

"A team of government operatives is sent to invade the site of Dr. Hellstrom's secret Project 40.  What they find are specially bred scientists with huge heads and stunted legs who develop weapons that hum with deadly insect venom... chemically neutered workers capable of poisoning the world ... hidden tunnels immune to atomic fission ... hormones for ecstatic sensual pleasures ... and the vats -- where everyone finally ends to nourish future generations of Hellstrom's horrifying hive."

Sounds like good stuff!  312 pages in this one which makes about 45 pages per day.

REVIEW: Lots of nudity, crazy cultists, selective breeding, experimental human societies and secret government agencies, in short, almost everything you could want from a good old classic sci-fi book. There are a number of themes that this book has in common with Herbert's masterpiece, Dune, particularly, the secret human colonies and selective breeding programs. After getting used to his writing style again, I found myself getting more and more into this book. Most of it reads like a government spy thriller. A secret government agency has discovered some evidence of strange goings-on at a remote farm in Oregon, they send agents to investigate who never return so they become more and more invested in trying to uncover their secrets until a major conflict is imminent. It was very tense and very interesting. Herbert has a way of making even his most unusual ideas seem, not only pausible, but realistic. I'm a big fan of this author and this was another great one from him. The ending was a little abrupt however and you wish it would go on for another 50 pages or so... even so, I'd give this one a 9/10.