Hellstrom’s Hive

I was given this in a gift exchange and I was pleasently surprised by it.

The structure is somewhat unconventional in that it doesn’t contain chapters. Instead, the narrative is occasionaly broken by a quote from an in-universe character or memo. Further, the narrative doesn’t follow a single character; instead the book follows characters within the Hive and the Agency (the two opposing forces in the book.) Through this, I felt that Herbert managed to allow for both sympathy and revolt for both sides — albeit the Hive is definitely the most alien to the reader.

The shifting focus also allowed for the two worlds to comment on eachother. The Hive is monstrous; yet in their own twisted sense, they have a higher regard for nature and living things than the Agency, which is seen to show little regard for the loss of field agents.

A good thrill.