Sidney's Comet

by Brian Herbert

For centuries the slobs that inhabit the Earth have been rocketing their refuse into the galaxy, carelessly littering the cosmos with wrappers and peelings and bottles and cans. But now the universe is about to get even. An immense comet of garbage has been sighted on a collision course for Earth! Only one man can stop a human discard, a lowly government worker who dreams of becoming a Space Patrol Captain but could never pass the physical, the unheroic, the imperfect, the one and only ... Sidney Malloy.

Genres: Science Fiction

266 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Patrick Herbert.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

...The novel contains so man impossibilities and absurdities that the only way for it to work is for the satire to grab the reader. For me it didn't. I got the impression that Herbert was aiming at something of a cross between Kafka and the kind of humour his father employed in his short story the Tactful Saboteur. Maybe with a little Douglas Adams thrown in for good measure. Fact is, that most of the book isn't funny enough to pull this off. For most of the novel the exaggeration and ridicule is there alright but the comical element that would have turned it into a good satire failed. Maybe Herbert was shooting at too many targets. Religion, capitalism, consumerism, government, democracy... he takes on quite a lot. Sidney's Comet is an ambitious debut, I have to give him that, but in the end I didn't think it was a very good read.

Full Random Comments review

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wacky futuristic story where a race of aliens hurls Earth's spaceborne trash back at our planet. A humorous polite society on Earth that reminds me of the movie Demolition Man and elements that remind me of Gathering the Weeds. This story is imaginative and original.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this an extra star because the story premise was interesting and you can tell it was trying to be funny, but the writing had a very clunky, 'tell don't show' vibe that left nothing to the imagination despite the futuristic setting and zany plot. You're told in such up-front detail what everyone is wearing, thinking and doing at any given moment that it takes away from the actual events in any given scene and makes things feel boring. A few of the scenes also seemed relatively pointless in terms of progressing plot or character.

If there was any level to the satire beyond "consumerism bad!" I certainly didn't see it. Maybe there were some references in it that would have been clearer back in the 80s when it was written.

None of the characters had any clear arcs / character progression and I didn't find them compelling or even relatable in any way really.

There were some aspects in the book that now feel very dated and stale - some books age well and this isn't one of them.

The ending is also left on a cliffhanger for the story to continue later so don't expect any sort of actual resolution to things in this book.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know,people knock Brian because he's not his father but to be honest I tried but failed to read Dune. But this book I enjoyed. It had that all important and oft forgotten element in reading-fun!

[William Rotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a struggle, especially in the first half - The writer seemed to be trying to show, not tell, everything in every possible way - Moto this, mechie that, mento the other. Part of me finished it in the hope that the writing would improve, and it did, in a way. The second half of the book was much easier to read, although a large number of major plot holes exist in the story, and there were still issues; certain ideas or concepts aren't explained, some major contradictory elements exist, and the writer's use of derogatory words to describe people with disabilities (based on the world they live in) hit me the wrong way. The ending (again) left a lot of plot holes and convenient resolutions without actually explaining anything as to what happened, and seemed rushed. All-in-all, I probably only read this because of it being by Frank Herbert's son, but I wouldn't recommend it to too many people.

[Dimitris Zisis · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was a fun read and interesting story it made me confused of the events and i felt like the author expects to know the lore of this world in the book, how things work etc because he didn't actually explained everything properly so i was lost in some pages.

A fun read for the weekend but i wouldn't recommend it if you want something that you'll remember and stay with you.

[Stephen Feltner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good first novel from the son of Dune author. Sometimes a bit derivative of his fathers work, complete with chapter heading paragraphs, an emphasis on ecological disaster stemming from human error, and the "in the character's head" points of view. Not bad by a long-stretch, but Brian definitly got better as time went on. My only criticism of the actual story is that a few plot lines don't get wrapped up, and certain characters seem to get forgotten by the end of the book. However, this book has a sequel titled "Garbage Planet" that most likely picks up the threads.

[Christopher Litsinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I ever happened to recommend this book to you, and you read it, I owe you a really deep apology. I haven't read it since I was in high school.
I forgot what an idiot I was in high school.
As I've read the Dune sequels and prequels I've somehow remembered this as a good book - clever and funny and meaningful - that happened before Brian Herbert went and ruined his Dad's books. I'm reasonably sure I've said this aloud.
I am ashamed.

[David Given · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another in the long list of satires of consumerist culture, this one more cumbersome and unfunny than most. The world is reasonably well put together and the characters are moderately well developed, but there are plot holes you could drive a bus through and the prose is uninspired. I'm sorry to say that the best word to describe this book is 'dull'.