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The Garbage Chronicles
In the super-consumer society of the future, when recycling is outlawed, Earth's garbage is catapulted into deep space, but an angry planet decides to hurl the mess back at Earth
298 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
100 people want to read
About the author
Brian Herbert
240 books2,146 followersBrian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Patrick Herbert.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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June 23, 2016I never read another of his books after reading this one.
December 29, 2014
Fun and interesting at first, it trailed away into just plain boredom by the end. Nice wrap up though, tied up all the loose ends.
November 2, 2025
What did I just read?
Found out after I finished it that this book is labeled as sci-fi 'comedy'. I did not laugh at all while reading this book. I kind of feel like the comedy part was an afterthought to try and make it all make sense. Like, oh it was just a bit of fun.
I did raise to two stars instead of one because there is some enjoyable dialogue.
But also-- Trigger Warning: Started pretty early with some transphobic comments. I was hoping the main character might have some lessons and turn it around, but it only got worse. Outdated language and ideas.
Found out after I finished it that this book is labeled as sci-fi 'comedy'. I did not laugh at all while reading this book. I kind of feel like the comedy part was an afterthought to try and make it all make sense. Like, oh it was just a bit of fun.
I did raise to two stars instead of one because there is some enjoyable dialogue.
But also-- Trigger Warning: Started pretty early with some transphobic comments. I was hoping the main character might have some lessons and turn it around, but it only got worse. Outdated language and ideas.
November 25, 2014
A story set in a consumerist society
13 November 2010
It took me a while to get around to reading this book, but when I did I actually found that I quite enjoyed it. It is funny that when a friend hands one a book and says, 'hey, this is a good book, you should read it,' it generally sits on your bookshelf for a very long time before you actually pick it up and read it (well, okay, that is probably just me). Now, I believe the author of this book is one of the sons of the legendary Frank Herbert (not that I have read many of his books), and he himself has carried on the legacy of Herbert's Dune universe. This story, though, has nothing to do with Frank Herbert's Dune.
I'll be honest and say that it has been a while since I read this book, and I really can't find a synopsis on the internet to jog my memory (except for a review that says this is a really bad book and one should stay well away from it). Every other comment is ' this is a good book, quite funny'. Personally, I really want to stay away from that type, but despite the trashing that the only other decent sized review I read gave this book, I gave the rating I did because I did find the book quite interesting.
Anyway, two of the main themes are recycling and consumerism. Earth has become a consumer culture and recycling is banned. It is not explained why, but I guess one can work that out; probably because if things are recycled then people are not inclineded to go out and purchase new goods. It is sort of like the theory about an object's inbuilt obsolescence. When I got my first video recorder, the salesman insinuated that I would be buying a new one in a couple of years. However I didn't, and that video lasted until I replaced it with a DVD player, which I got in 2004, and while it still works, it now sits in my father's shed because I upgraded to a new DVD recorder with a harddrive (which makes recording shows from TV so much easier).
Anyway, that is beside the point, because a culture whose economy is based entirely on consumerism must encourage its population to continue to spend and buy new goods otherwise the economy collapses. While we are not seeing this in China, we note that when the world economy collapsed in late 2008, one of the reasons was because people had stopped spending. Even though the governments pumped money into the economy to kickstart it, it appears to have spluttered and stalled because, once again, people are not spending, and if they are, they are only spending in certain areas. Secondly, an economy that grows through debt is an economy that is doomed to failure, because people need to keep on taking out debt to fund their purchases, and when the time comes to pay back that debt, and they don't have any money, then the economy collapses. I guess that is why banks don't like me because I don't like debt, and while at times I am tempted to take out debt, I generally talk myself out of it.
This really has little to do with the book, but then I guess I simply used the theme of the book to launch a tirade about the failures of a consumer based society.
13 November 2010
It took me a while to get around to reading this book, but when I did I actually found that I quite enjoyed it. It is funny that when a friend hands one a book and says, 'hey, this is a good book, you should read it,' it generally sits on your bookshelf for a very long time before you actually pick it up and read it (well, okay, that is probably just me). Now, I believe the author of this book is one of the sons of the legendary Frank Herbert (not that I have read many of his books), and he himself has carried on the legacy of Herbert's Dune universe. This story, though, has nothing to do with Frank Herbert's Dune.
I'll be honest and say that it has been a while since I read this book, and I really can't find a synopsis on the internet to jog my memory (except for a review that says this is a really bad book and one should stay well away from it). Every other comment is ' this is a good book, quite funny'. Personally, I really want to stay away from that type, but despite the trashing that the only other decent sized review I read gave this book, I gave the rating I did because I did find the book quite interesting.
Anyway, two of the main themes are recycling and consumerism. Earth has become a consumer culture and recycling is banned. It is not explained why, but I guess one can work that out; probably because if things are recycled then people are not inclineded to go out and purchase new goods. It is sort of like the theory about an object's inbuilt obsolescence. When I got my first video recorder, the salesman insinuated that I would be buying a new one in a couple of years. However I didn't, and that video lasted until I replaced it with a DVD player, which I got in 2004, and while it still works, it now sits in my father's shed because I upgraded to a new DVD recorder with a harddrive (which makes recording shows from TV so much easier).
Anyway, that is beside the point, because a culture whose economy is based entirely on consumerism must encourage its population to continue to spend and buy new goods otherwise the economy collapses. While we are not seeing this in China, we note that when the world economy collapsed in late 2008, one of the reasons was because people had stopped spending. Even though the governments pumped money into the economy to kickstart it, it appears to have spluttered and stalled because, once again, people are not spending, and if they are, they are only spending in certain areas. Secondly, an economy that grows through debt is an economy that is doomed to failure, because people need to keep on taking out debt to fund their purchases, and when the time comes to pay back that debt, and they don't have any money, then the economy collapses. I guess that is why banks don't like me because I don't like debt, and while at times I am tempted to take out debt, I generally talk myself out of it.
This really has little to do with the book, but then I guess I simply used the theme of the book to launch a tirade about the failures of a consumer based society.
June 14, 2013
I thought this would be more like his father stylistically. I was pleasantly surprised to find it uniquely his own. Who would ever have thought of a story about the results of humans sending our garbage in to space. The resulting society is filled with richness and drama. Great work.
May 12, 2009
Quite and amusing tale. I've lost my copy of this book, but I would love to find another and re-read it!
January 17, 2010
A quite amusing little tale!
January 13, 2013
Started reading this book because of the name Herbert. The man is an artist when it comes to telling a story. Now the son has continued the legacy. Great Story!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews