High-Opp
Ratings2
Average rating3
From the New York Times–bestselling author of Dune, a dystopian novel in which a corrupted democracy leads to war between the privileged and labor classes. EMASI! Each Man A Separate Individual! That is the rallying cry of the Seps engaged in a class war against the upper tiers of a society driven entirely by opinion polls. Those who score high, the High-Opps, are given plush apartments, comfortable jobs, every possible convenience. But those who happen to be low-opped, live crowded in Warrens, facing harsh lives and brutal conditions. Daniel Movius, Ex-Senior Liaitor, rides high in the opinion polls until he loses everything, brushed aside by a very powerful man. Low-opped and abandoned, Movius finds himself fighting for survival in the city’s underworld. There, the opinion of the masses is clear: It is time for a revolution against the corrupt super-privileged. And every revolution needs a leader. From Hugo and Nebula award winning author Frank Herbert, this posthumously published novel was written between his two classic books, The Dragon in the Sea and Dune.
Tags
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
In a society ruled by surveys of public opinion, Daniel Movius is High Opp - entitled to special privileges. Until one day he's suddenly low-opped, forced to return to the slum-like Warrens he fought so hard to escape.
Review
An unpublished Frank Herbert novel! It's a concept that filled me with both hope and concern. I'm a big fan of Herbert – a new book would be a treat. On the other hand, he was recognized and lauded well within his lifetime; if had had a book that went unpublished, is it because it was a stinker? Happily, neither is quite true, but it's closer to the former.
High Opp (for high level of public opinion) reads more as a mix of Asimov and Heinlein than Herbert. There's pyschosocial prediction and overbearing, manipulative tyranny rejected by a highly talented, intuitive genius. Overall, it works reasonably well for – let's say – an adventure story of the 1970s (the women are fairly shallow appendages to the men), though there's also some odd sequencing that make this feel distinctly draft-like.
This is the first of the recently released unpublished Herbert books I've read, and I came away not thrilled, but certainly not disappointed. It won't go down as classic Herbert, but it's a decent story that reads quickly.
