Missing Link Paperback – May 23, 2023

I am a real fan of Sci-Fi and of Frank Herbert. His book Dune is one of the great classics of Sci-Fi. This story is not up to his standards. Frankly it was like he was being paid to write a story of so many words for a magazine and he suddenly realized that he needed to finish so the story quickly and abruptly ends.The story starts off well like one of Andre Norton's space interplanetary exploration teams making first contact with a new race. The man assigned the task of making first contact knows the new race cannot be trusted and he knows that they have captured a space ship. Suddenly within a few questions he solves the puzzle of where the ship is and turns the tables on his captor. The story ends so quickly it makes you wonder why you wasted your time reading it. It is only about 30 minutes of reading time so if you have an interest in the book then go ahead and enjoy it. I am just glad that I didn't pay for the book.

While this story is no Dune, it still holds Herbert's masterful tone and command of the genre. "The Missing Link" presents a traditional scifi setup, reminiscent of Star Trek but with a contemporary military feel. The characters, far from generic, use their brief appearances to note distinct relationships with each other. The conflict is simple but not under-stated.This story remains separate but tied to Herbert's famed saga through his expert use of language to tie deeper themes into a seemingly simple narrative.Excellent read.

I love Frank Herbert's books, so this was an interesting peek into the writer as an "embryo." This reads like classic pulp Sci-Fi, but you can see the writer-to-come in some of the passages. It's too short, it's the kind of stuff you read in "Analog", it needs more fleshing out, but the themes of later Herbert books are twinkling in the darkness. It was free, it was interesting. It wasn't great.

Short read of under an hour. Not a story that keeps you up on the edge of your seat with excitement. Light on the classic controversial topics that have become synonymous with great science fiction. The main character's encounter with alien life is more Gilligan's Island than Isaac Asimov. Sufficient to fill an hour, if you have one to spare.Free Kindle edition seemed free of error and functioned without flawlessly.

I don't think I would classify Missing Link as a short story, but it was good and held my interest throughout. Even though I thought it ended rather abruptly, the story left me intensely curious about what was going on outside the confines of the text. Die hard Frank Herbert fans will certainly appreciate it.

There were good environmental descriptions, easy to follow characters with pretty darn interesting personalities. I enjoyed the quick thinking of the rookie, this made the story become more than just a bunch of dumb grunts blowing stuff up. Now it needs to become a full novel.

One of Herbert's earliest works (1959 I believe), and is just a short story. Would be okay in an anthology of short stories, but not worth paying for by itself. Definitely reads like a 1950s short story, which isn't bad. I like short sci fi stories.

Short, nice pace, good writing. Interesting deduction skills. Interesting approach. Nice, casual read on a lazy afternoon when you're in need of some sci-fi.