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| Author | Frank Herbert |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Psychological thriller |
| Publisher | Street & Smith Publications, Inc.; Doubleday & Company, Inc. |
| Publication date | 1955 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 pp (1956; S&S edition) |
| ISBN | OCLC: 10816217 (no ISBN for S&S edition); ISBN 0-450-05461-6 (Hodder & Stoughton General Division March 1, 1989 edition) |
The Dragon in the Sea (also known as Under Pressure from its serialization) is a novel by Frank Herbert. It was first serialized in Astounding magazine from 1955 to 1956, then reworked[1] and published as a book in 1956. It is usually classified as a psychological novel.[1]
Contents |
Plot introduction
Set in a near-future earth, the west and the east have been at war for more than a decade, and resources are running thin. The west is stealing oil from the east with specialized nuclear submarines ("subtugs") that sneak into the underwater oil fields of the east to secretly pump out the oil and bring it back. With a crew of four, these submarines undertake the most hazardous, stressful mission conceivable, and of late, the missions have been failing, with the last twenty submarines simply disappearing.
Plot summary
The east has been very successful in planting sleepers in the west's military and command structures, and the suspicion is that sleepers are sabotaging the subs or revealing their positions once at sea. John Ramsey, a young psychologist from the Bureau of Psychology (BuPsych), is trained as an electronics operator and sent on the next mission, replacing the previous officer who went insane. His secret mission is to find the sleeper, or figure out why the crews are going crazy. Typically for Herbert, psychology and religion (the title comes from a quote from the Book of Revelation) play a large role in the narrative, as Johnny comes to understand the nature of the subtug crews and how they carry out their missions. The technology described in the books, of the submarines towing large bags filled with the surreptitiously pumped oil presaged, and may even have been an inspiration for, the invention - whose development started in the year following Herbert's serial - which is now known as Dracones[2] (note that dracone means "dragon").
References
- ^ "The book showcased his interest in human psychology, especially as applied to power and leadership, and it also predicted, by two decades, the political ramifications of oil dependency and production." "Frank Herbert"
Further reading
- The stability of a towed flexible tube (with W.R. Hawthorne and P. Swinnerton-Dyer, Dracone Development Limited, Report No. 7, 1957.
External links
- Dracones
- The "Under Pressure" chapter from Timothy O'Reilly's critical study of Frank Herbert, Frank Herbert
- Review
