Review: "Operation Haystack" by Frank Herbert (1959)

Posted on March 6th, 2008

This novelette is an odd one because it is the third part of a four part serialization that became the novel The Godmakers in 1972. It begins with the main character, Lewis Orne, completely mangled following a mission sniffing out revolutionaries on a matriarchal planet.

Orne miraculously lives and heals, against all medical expectation, and as soon as he regains his feet he is sent to investigate a family, known to his own estranged family, for potential revolutionary activities. He uses his convalescence as a cover and insinuates his way into the family while falling for the daughter.

Of course, the family is involved in a grand scheme of universal domination and Orne is forced to deal with their ambitions, his duties, and his own personal issues all in the space of this short novelette.

The story is fine, and much more involved than I’ve described here, but even though this story has its own complete arc, I would recommend giving Project Gutenberg a little time and seeing if they release the other parts of the serialization first.

However, if you don’t want to wait, you can read it online here or find it at Project Gutenberg in a couple formats or at Manybooks.net in more.

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