In my opinion, one of the best Sci-Fi books ever written, on a par with "Dune" and "Stranger in a Strange Land". One of the reasons I like this book is that it continues Frank Herbert's recurrent theme, that superior intellect and creativity can be a powerful combination, and can control and master any situation. Of course, this book kind of turns that on it's head at the end. And the fact that the protagonist is a young child is also very interesting and unusual.