The rites of the gods

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rites of the Gods (English original title The Godmakers ) is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert from 1972. Originally, the episodes summarized under The Godmakers appeared as four individual stories that were loosely brought together in the revision for the book edition.

action

The novel is set in a universe in which mankind can quickly traverse space and has colonized a multitude of planets. After a devastating war, these planets are in the process of rebuilding; the main concern is keeping the peace.

The origin of the novel from four stories is also visible in the edited version.

Lewis Orin, the hero of the novel, is an agent of the IA (Investigation-Adjustment) in the first two episodes, who examines newly discovered and rediscovered planets for their war potential and, if necessary, pacifies them with military means. Due to his clairvoyance, he succeeds in uncovering covert preparations for war and defusing a planet's supposed propensity for violence.

In the third part, Lewis Orin is set on a conspiracy that plans to take over power in the upcoming elections. The main suspects are Ornes family members. He succeeds in negotiating a compromise that prevents an open civil war.

The last episode represents the largest part of the novel. Lewis Orne is called to the planet Amel, which is ruled by a priesthood. Orne's parapsychological abilities are subjected to a test here, from which he emerges as a god.

The title of the novel is the common thread: Lewis Orne is not born a god, but made god.

Relation to the rest of Frank Herbert's work

“The Rites of the Gods” were written around the same time as the first three novels of the desert planet cycle, and show the literary development of some key ideas. There are also parallels to the Schiff cycle, in which a computer becomes a god.

Bene Gesserit

In the third section of the novel, the secret society of the Nethanians appears. In it, women over the centuries, by choosing the sex of their children at conception, have made a selection process that allows them to take control of the patriarchal government. Echoes of the Bene Gesserit of the desert planet cycle are evident.

In addition, Lewis Orne turns out to be a male descendant of the Nethanians who should actually serve the Nethanians loyally. There are parallels to Paul Atreides , a male descendant of a Bene Gesserit, who, as Kwisatz Haderach, was supposed to hold government power for the Bene Gesserit.

Bene Tleilax

After Lewis Orne is seriously injured on an assignment, he is artificially kept alive in a container. The "axolotl" process restores its largely destroyed body. The Bene Tleilax of the desert planet cycle have this kind of medical knowledge, but use it for other purposes.

religion

The fourth part of the novel, originally Priests of Psi , has many echoes of the third volume of the desert planet cycle, "The children of the desert planet". Lewis Orin is being tested here to ensure that he is fit to be a god. Similarly, Leto is brought into a state of crisis by the drug Melange, from which he emerges as a “ god emperor ” with outstanding physical and psychological abilities.

Religious conflicts should be avoided in both novels through an ecumenical balance between all religions. The Catholic Orange Bible in the desert planet corresponds to the religious truce in "The Rites of the Gods", where members of all religions work together.

politics

“The Rites of the Gods” take place in a post-war world that wants to prevent wars by all means. However, these means repeatedly turn out to be the trigger for violence, albeit on a smaller scale. At the end of the novel, Lewis Orwin, who has become god, prevents future wars, just as Leto heralds a peace that will last several millennia when he is crowned god emperor.

The stasis caused by Leto through the enforced peace, seen negatively in the following desert planet books, appears rather positive in “The Rites of the Gods”. Here the development of the ideas of Frank Herbert becomes clear, whose further work describes a human race whose search for existential and existential security in the stability of the world they have created is constantly frustrated by the dynamics of their environment.

Literature on "Rites of the Gods"

  • Timothy O'Reilly: Frank Herbert. Frederick Ungar Publishing, New York 1981, ISBN 0-8044-6617-3 , chap. 5.

Editions and translations

  • First appeared as separate narratives:
    • You Take the High Road , May 1958 in Astounding .
    • Missing Link , February 1959 in Astounding .
    • Operation Haystack , May 1959 in Astounding .
    • Priests of Psi , February 1960 in Fantastic .
  • The first book edition, an adaptation and expansion of the previous stories, appeared in 1972 under the title The Godmakers by GP Putnam's Sons, New York.
  • Translation into German by Birgit Reß-Bohusch as “The Rites of the Gods”; 1st edition published in 1975 by Heyne Verlag. ISBN 3-453-30336-9