Book Review – Timeweb
Author: Brian Herbert
Publisher: Five Star Books
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: May 2006
Brian Herbert, the son of Dune mastermind Frank Herbert, has co-authored with Kevin J. Anderson numerous novels (The Road to Dune, House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, among others) in the world his father so magically created. With the Timeweb Chronicles, Herbert begins a new science-fiction series that he can call his own even though some aspects resemble his previous work almost to the word.
Noah Watanabe, a galactic ecologist, lives in a world where mankind has colonized dozens of cities on a slew of planets while also maintaining contacts with robotic and sentient beings. He is leading a group of eco-Guardians whose sole purpose is to save the environment of abused orbs. Unfortunately, Noah’s twin sister, Francella, has a plan in the works to come to power which involves killing both her brother and father. And during all this, the alien race known as the Mutati are scheming to destroy all humankind with a sort of mysterious yet deadly weapon.
Some of the problems seen in the Dune novels by Herbert can be found in Timeweb. A fairly straightforward plot rich with its counts of prophecies and evildoers, Herbert seems to have too much going on which then causes for a lack of good characterization. Noah, Timeweb’s main hero, is the strongest character, but his sister is so unlikable that I found her actions to be strictly typical and almost inane. The bad people are portrayed as bad people, with little room to allow for any thoughts other than world domination. The Mutati race is interesting, but far from unique. But the action scenes are done well, and are probably enough for readers to enjoy the book as whole. Whether it involves humans versus humans or aliens versus aliens, Herbert is able to do a good job of creating movie-like scenes that are powerfully engaging.
While it’s important to see Herbert branching off into his own world with his own characters, a little more care and attention to originality should have been in order. As this is the first book in the series, there’s hope that the next two will be a bit more complex. I won’t hold my breath, but I don’t mind waiting to find out.
About 
Recent Comments