The Dosadi Experiment

<b>From the flaps of the Berkley Putnam first edition:</b> "In his first new work of science fiction since the best-selling <i>Children of Dune</i>, Frank Herbert returns to his world of <i>Whipping Star</i>, and involves Jorj X. McKie, Saboteur Extraordinary, in a new intrigue. <p>In <i>Whipping Star</i>, McKie discovered that some of the stars in the universe are actually intelligent, super-powerful beings, and was able to befriend one of them, the star Alcyone - affectionately known as Fannie Mae. <p>As <i>The Dosadi Experiment</i> opens, McKie is assigned to investigate the planet Dosadi, which is isolated from the rest of the galaxy by a "god-wall," a barrier set up by one of the intelligent stars. Dosadi is rumored to be an experimental planet, and the experimenters are the froglike Gowachin, whose culture is founded upon a strange legal system in which McKie is the only human ever trained. He learns that humans and Gowachin have been placed on Dosadi, without their consent, for an experiment that could last centuries: an experiment in extreme overcrowding. But this monstrous plot is apparently out of control, and it seems the Gowachin may be prepared to destroy Dosadi rather than expose its secret, thus breaking the peace among the races, and starting the first interstellar war. <p>But this is just the beginning. When McKie finally reaches Dosadi he discovers that the Dosadis have taken control of their own evolution and produced a competitive, highly evolved elite, of both humans and Gowachin, who have been able to extrapolate the existence of a universe beyond the god-wall and hate whoever has imprisoned them like this. They plan to break out and avenge themselves on the galaxy."

Year	Award	Category	Status
1978	Locus Poll Award	Best SF Novel	Nominee/Finalist