The Heaven Makers

By: Frank Herbert

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Immortal aliens have observed Earth forcenturies, making full sensory movies of wars, natural disasters, and horrifichuman activities - all to relieve their endless boredom. When they finally becomejaded by ordinary, run-of-the-mill tragedies, they find ways to create theirown disasters, just to amuse themselves.

But interfering with human activities isforbidden, and the authorities have been known to check on these matters fromtime to time. However, by the time Investigator Kelexel arrives to investigate,the trouble has been going on for a long, long time - and things are reallygetting out of hand.

©2011 Frank Hebert (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Subtle handling of the many big questions

Free will. Religion. The gods, and God. The perplexing events of life. Consciousness. A bit hidden but magnificent. Was impressed by how many provocations of related works came to mind.

I dig it!

Good hard science fiction, couldn't believe how well this book aged. It's been well over a decade since I took a psychology class, but I really felt like everything was spot on. The plot twist was simple, not over done, and practically forced me to love this book to the very end.

I like Herbert again

I read Dune and it was meh for me so I was hesitant to grab another book of his, but this one was actually good and intriguing and I loved the concept of it all. i am going to read more now.

Dated

Theme was fun. Good for a Twilight Zone episode, but dated with the psycho-babble in vogue in 1968. Also, the use of the N-word, used by one of the characters was a shock, but indicative of the times.

one complaint of older SciFi is how male-centric it is.

Read this a long time ago and just came across it.

Would you listen to The Heaven Makers again? Why?

Yes, I love Herbert's older, non-Dune work, and it gets short shrift among the Dune fans.

What other book might you compare The Heaven Makers to and why?

Godmakers, Dosadi Experiment, any of Herbert's older work.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a bit ponderous, but easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not a particular one, just all-around.

Any additional comments?

Any Dune fans should check out this and Herbert's other old books. He has many universes that are worth a read or listen.

A solid Scifi story

This story won't change your outlook on life but I enjoyed listening and would recommend this book to others that enjoy science fiction

I’ve had the same thought!

A few weeks ago the thought popped into my mind that this entire earth was a spectacle created for the entertainment of powerful non-human beings. So coming across this title when I did was serendipitous. I loved it, I love Scott Brick’s narration as always. I’m so happy when I see he’s the one narrating. I agree with another reviewer than Frank Herbert’s non-Dune works are amazing. Every one so far has been spectacular. Of course, Dune is nearly Gospel for me - but I’d live to see Herbert’s other works turned into film or limited-run series. Come on Apple TV, Amazon or Netflix - get on this !!

Fantastic Narration- okay story.

It was an okay story but certainly not one of the authors best. It lacked any Woman characters of significance. Scott Brick, narrator makes the story worth listening too.

Not the normal perspective

Interesting point of view. The people were obviously a product of the era when the book was written, and their humanity was a bit eccagerated to contrast the protagonist.

You Really Aren't in Control of Your Life

This is a book for everyone who feels like we are not really in control of our lives. In it, Herbert posits that a group of immortal aliens, struggling against the ever-present weight of boredom, have been secretly manipulating events on earth for thousands of years in order to provide entertainment dramas for their race. These aliens are responsible for humans becoming civilized, developing religion, fighting with each other on both a grand and personal scale, and basically everything else that has ever happened on our planet. One of the major storylines of the story involves an investigator coming from the alien government to learn why the owner of this planet (and the creator of these most famous entertainment spectacles) is still interested in this planet after thousands of years. The answer to that is the great mystery of the novel.

The second plot is more personal. It focuses on a psychologist (Herbert loves to have psychologists as main characters) whose ex-girlfriend’s father has just murdered her mother with a saber. This psychologist has just suffered an accident involving radiation which damaged his eyes. The unique eyeglasses that correct his damaged vision also permit him to see through the cloaking devices of the aliens and notice them. The psychologist attempts to find out how and why the aliens are playing with people’s emotions and causing so much damage.

It's a very enjoyable story, but the first storyline involving the alien investigator really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. The aliens have been watching stories about humans for many thousands of years and can’t wait for the next ones to come out. Why then is it surprising that the creator of these stories is also still interested thousands of years later? Yet, without that investigation, the whole novel falls apart, so you have to look past that and just enjoy the ride.