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    The White Plague
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    The White Plague
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    The White Plague
    Ebook715 pages11 hours

    The White Plague

    By Frank Herbert

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    From Science fiction grandmaster Frank Herbert, creator of the Dune universe, comes this novel of bioterrorism and gendercide.

    What if women were an endangered species?

    It begins in Ireland, but soon spreads throughout the entire world: a virulent new disease expressly designed to target only women. As fully half of the human race dies off at a frightening pace and life on Earth faces extinction, panicked people and governments struggle to cope with the global crisis. Infected areas are quarantined or burned to the ground. The few surviving women are locked away in hidden reserves, while frantic doctors and scientists race to find a cure. Anarchy and violence consume the planet.

    The plague is the work of a solitary individual who calls himself the Madman. As government security forces feverishly hunt for the renegade scientist, he wanders incognito through a world that will never be the same. Society, religion, and morality are all irrevocably transformed by the White Plague.

    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateOct 2, 2007
    ISBN9781429989640
    Author

    Frank Herbert

    Frank Herbert (1920-1986) created the most beloved novel in the annals of science fiction, Dune.  He was a man of many facets, of countless passageways that ran through an intricate mind.  His magnum opus is a reflection of this, a classic work that stands as one of the most complex, multi-layered novels ever written in any genre.  Today the novel is more popular than ever, with new readers continually discovering it and telling their friends to pick up a copy.  It has been translated into dozens of languages and has sold almost 20 million copies. As a child growing up in Washington State, Frank Herbert was curious about everything. He carried around a Boy Scout pack with books in it, and he was always reading.  He loved Rover Boys adventures, as well as the stories of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and the science fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  On his eighth birthday, Frank stood on top of the breakfast table at his family home and announced, "I wanna be a author."  His maternal grandfather, John McCarthy, said of the boy, "It's frightening. A kid that small shouldn't be so smart." Young Frank was not unlike Alia in Dune, a person having adult comprehension in a child's body.  In grade school he was the acknowledged authority on everything.  If his classmates wanted to know the answer to something, such as about sexual functions or how to make a carbide cannon, they would invariably say, "Let's ask Herbert. He'll know." His curiosity and independent spirit got him into trouble more than once when he was growing up, and caused him difficulties as an adult as well.  He did not graduate from college because he refused to take the required courses for a major; he only wanted to study what interested him.  For years he had a hard time making a living, bouncing from job to job and from town to town. He was so independent that he refused to write for a particular market; he wrote what he felt like writing.  It took him six years of research and writing to complete Dune, and after all that struggle and sacrifice, 23 publishers rejected it in book form before it was finally accepted. He received an advance of only $7,500. His loving wife of 37 years, Beverly, was the breadwinner much of the time, as an underpaid advertising writer for department stores.  Having been divorced from his first wife, Flora Parkinson, Frank Herbert met Beverly Stuart at a University of Washington creative writing class in 1946.  At the time, they were the only students in the class who had sold their work for publication.  Frank had sold two pulp adventure stories to magazines, one to Esquire and the other to Doc Savage.  Beverly had sold a story to Modern Romance magazine.  These genres reflected the interests of the two young lovers; he the adventurer, the strong, machismo man, and she the romantic, exceedingly feminine and soft-spoken. Their marriage would produce two sons, Brian, born in 1947, and Bruce, born in 1951. Frank also had a daughter, Penny, born in 1942 from his first marriage.  For more than two decades Frank and Beverly would struggle to make ends meet, and there were many hard times.  In order to pay the bills and to allow her husband the freedom he needed in order to create, Beverly gave up her own creative writing career in order to support his.  They were in fact a writing team, as he discussed every aspect of his stories with her, and she edited his work.  Theirs was a remarkable, though tragic, love story-which Brian would poignantly describe one day in Dreamer of Dune (Tor Books; April 2003).  After Beverly passed away, Frank married Theresa Shackelford. In all, Frank Herbert wrote nearly 30 popular books and collections of short stories, including six novels set in the Dune universe: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.  All were international bestsellers, as were a number of his other science fiction novels, which include The White Plague and The Dosadi Experiment.  His major novels included The Dragon in the Sea, Soul Catcher (his only non-science fiction novel), Destination: Void, The Santaroga Barrier, The Green Brain, Hellstorm's Hive, Whipping Star, The Eyes of Heisenberg, The Godmakers, Direct Descent, and The Heaven Makers. He also collaborated with Bill Ransom to write The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor.  Frank Herbert's last published novel, Man of Two Worlds, was a collaboration with his son, Brian.

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    Reviews for The White Plague

    3.5/5

    14 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This standalone SF story depicts a scientist's reaction to an act of terrorism. The breathtaking scope of this scientist's response amps up terror to extreme levels.
    • 4/5
      The White plague is not particularly pleasant, but tells the gripping story of John O'Niell, who is a molecular biologist studying the genetic patterns of native Irish in an approximation of the modern day when it was published, that being 1982. You can tell by the level of computer technology. Anyway, he is looking out a bank window waiting to complete some business and sees a car bomb go off below him as he is watching his wife and twin children walk away on a shopping errand. They are obviously killed and he is so distraught by the incident that he fractures in to a few separate personalities. One of these goes in to hiding and ingeniously creates a plague virus that is highly contagious and targeted to specifically kill women. He sends the virus to Ireland, England and Libya in payment for the death of his family in a terrorist bombing. (The IRA received materiel and training from Libya). The plague escalates and endangers the continuity of humanity, cities and regions are isolated by burned borders or are simply nuked out of existence to stop the spread of the death. There are obvious disruptions of systems, both religious and political. Yada yada yada, the hunt for a cure leads to revolutions in genetic engineering and the reduced population of women has a huge impact on future society as well.For something so morbid and destructive, it is actually an entertaining read. Frank Herbert is a man of great ideas and intellect as well as a brilliant writer. Many of the characters are Irish and he perfectly captures the nuances of the Irish accent. Very well done story.
    • 3/5
      When American scientist John O'Reilly and his family are in Ireland for a few months, a bomb goes off and his wife and two kids are killed. Something switches in his head and he wants revenge. He is able to create a plague that only kills women. He unleashes it in three countries, but it quickly spreads throughout the world. It was ok. I thought the beginning and end were much better (for keeping me interested), but most of the middle part of the story dragged for me. The book was told from many different points of view, and there were a lot of characters to figure out. There were political and religious musings that weren't as interesting to me.
    • 5/5
      A well crafted science fiction, revenge thriller by the author better known for the Dune books. Molecular biologist Dr. John O'Neill's wife and children are blown to bits before his eyes by a terrorist carbomb. In the madness of his grief he is determined that those responsible be made to pay.He uses his skills to create a plague of global magnitude. Invariably fatal, the plague is also selective, targeting only women. The world is left in chaos, scientists are baffled, governments refuse to work together and closet themselves, each trying to be the first to come up with a cure. Firebombing affected areas becomes the order of the day.Not satisfied with merely creating disaster, Dr. O'Neill goes on a pilgrimage to Ireland to view his handiwork firsthand. He embarks on an overland trek thru the devestation, billing himself as a biochemist "who only wants to help", joined by a pathetic, almost faithless Catholic priest, a mute boy and (unbeknown to him) the IRA terrorist directly responsible for the death of his family.The book grows slightly tedious at this point, with much philosophical musing and many lengthy arguments as Dr. O'Neill is probed by his trek mates to determine who is he really. The ending is also a bit disappointing, building and building but failing to quite hit its expected peak.Overall, though a frightening and altogether too possible scenario leaves the reader breathless and turning page after page to find out if the world is truly ended or if the scientists will pull together and save the day.
    • 1/5
      I got about half way through this senseless pile before tossing it in the trash.Basically, the story is about all the women in the world being killed by some hackneyed bioengineered plague, which is carried by men and passed around on money. The story makes little sense as it follows various irritating people, including one of the few women who ended up being quarantined by pure luck.That's about all I can remember. It was awful.
    • 4/5
      Another hit on the Frank Herbert "other than Dune" list of works. It's a visceral study of revenge and politics, and I recommend it.
    • 2/5
      I dug this one out for a change of pace. I'd looked it over before, but hadn't read it. But I'm usually desperate for new reading material, so I decided to give it a try.

      The basic plot is that a crazed scientist develops a plague designed to infect and kill women. It gets worldwide distribution, and so all of womankind faces the possibility of extinction - soon to be followed by all men, of course.

      It's set in the modern day, or possibly in the near future - but so near that there's nothing to distinguish it from the present. Well, the present as of 1982, since a key plot point is the Irish Republican Army.

      The book was surprisingly riveting - it was almost impossible to put down until I was about three-fours of the way through. And it's a LONG book. But towards the end the whole thing began to pall. With most women dead, and the major character in an incredibly bleak situation, the book became awfully hard to read towards the end. And I found the ending itself quite unpleasant. Herbert was an incredibly gifted and intelligent writer, and I cannot make any criticism of his technique in this book; I just don't like what he had to say. Not everyone would feel the same way, obviously.
    • 1/5

      Five out of ten.

      John O'Neill is a molecular biologist who was witness to the death of his wife and twin sons. Consumed by an all-engulfing hatred for a world that could produce such horror, he creates and unleashes a plague and then goes on a journey to see the evidence of his own handiwork.

      Great idea but could and should have been so much better.

    • 3/5
      This is basically Frank Herbert's version of The Stand, without the mystical, archetypical characters. It wasn't bad, but The Stand is about 10 times better. Basically, think The Andromeda Strain, except the virus actually gets out this time.
    • 3/5
      I've always enjoyed Frank Herbert - until now. I hadn't heard of this title so when it came across my hands at work, I was excited to try it out and the story sounds good! Women are virtually extinct, wiped out by a plague that affects only them - societies crumble and fragment into smaller ones, governments topple, whole countries get "cleansed" by fire (the only sure way to obliterate the carriers - who are males) - it sounds like an interesting apocalytpic tale. But it didn't live up to that - it's often plodding, too slow for all that happens. The creator or this plague does so out of grief and revenge and Herbert tries to make him into some villain, but I just thought he was whiny and petty, frankly. Lots of people suffer grief - they don't destroy the world! Anyway, it was ok but it took some serious work to get through. 2.5 stars
    • 4/5
      Reading about this man-made plague right now wasn't too bad as the plague in this book kills all the women, which is worse than what we are currently dealing with. John O'Neill is in Dublin with his wife and twins when they are killed in an IRA terrorist bombing. He goes back home and comes up with the worst revenge he can think of - a plague targeted at Ireland, England and Libya (who he sees as all part of the bombing) that kills only women. Of course, a plague like this can spread beyond a country's borders, and soon the world is in a race to cure the plague and prevent the end of the world. I liked it, but it wasn't quite a 4* read for me; there are only three female characters of note and there was a lot of arguing about Catholicism in Ireland which dragged a bit. I think it would be really neat to have a post-apocalyptic book describing how things continued in a world where the man to woman ratio is ~10,000 to 1.
    • 1/5
      This book was really disappointing. It started out as a really interesting idea and then it didn't live up to its potential. My main complaints are that there were too many characters and there was too much going on. The character you spend the most time getting to know is the sick terrorist who comes up with the plague "virus". There was one female character in the whole book and barely any time was spent with her. In addition, I was offended at the way that Herbert discussed the resulting changes to human mating systems and social structures. Finally, I have to say that the "science" in this book was wildly inaccurate, when I could make any sense out of it at all. I'm a geneticist and I could barely figure out half of what he was trying to describe. He seems to have several serious misunderstandings about how DNA and RNA work. When I could understand the molecular mechanisms he was describing, I found them to be farfetched, if not biologically impossible. Even if it were possible, the technology available in the 90's wasn't sufficient for O'Neill's task. I'm honestly surprised that I finished this book, but I'm happy to have it over with.