The Dragon in the Sea - Classic Sci-Fi Novel by Frank Herbert | Perfect for Book Lovers & Sci-Fi Fans | Great for Reading, Collecting & Gifting

Today, the Cold War is "over." Despite that and the United States's hegemonic status, the US's major threat, according to its own military, is Russia. With the growing threat of the EU, China, and our interests in maintaining our strength, this book, despite being written when the Cold War was still a readily apparent threat, is highly relevant today. First, at a much smaller level, it discusses the politics and conflict over a finite resource. Of course, this a theme that Herbert would expand upon in his phenomenal Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1) series. However, in this book, the resource is not spice, but oil and the backdrop is a nuclear submarine sent from "Western Waters" to "Eastern Waters" (i.e. the North America and its surrounding oceans to Russia and its surrounding Russia) and secretly pump out oil from underwater oil fields that belong to the Eastern Powers. The West and the East have been at war for a decade.Meanwhile, these submarines are manned by a small crew. Small screw, confined situation, claustrophobic environment... sounds another set of settings that Herbert would later explore in Destination: Void and good setting to analyze leadership. Herbert goes further than that and examines how Religion might be used both a source of social solidarity and social control, something especially important in such a confined environment with a small crew.Lastly, the psychological elements. The crews of these submarines are prone to insanity and suicide. The government sends in a psychologist to one of these submarines to figure out why. It also knows that Military Command and crew could have sleeper cells sent from Russia to sabotage the system. The Psychologist needs to figure out who...For a relatively short book, Frank Herbert manages to write a psychological-spy thriller with important themes that are incredibly relevant today. This is one amazingly good book and it is a shame that Frank Herbert is seen as the author of one good book. Was every book he wrote a home run? No. No author has nothing but home runs. But Herbert's other work should get more respect and critical reevaluation. I can only hope some others get in print. As for this one... buy it if you want a book that goes beyond the words on the page and gets you to think. No Herbert doesn't provide you all the answers, that's up to you decide. But at least he asks the questions and presents possible situations and settings. Which is all any good author should do.