Mild thematic, back cover of book-type spoilers ahead

The Jesus Incident is fucking amazing. (Humans dropped into a deadly, toxic world utterly different from Arrakis. A Godlike thinking machine. The ethics of cloning.) TJI is well worth a read; its prequel and sequel were interesting but not an amazing.

Another highly-regarded book (also part of a short series) is The Dosadi Experiment. What if too many millions of humans were squeezed together in a violent city shared with a hostile alien species that loves lawsuits, in a world with too few resources and many addictive substances?

Also, though it was adapted into a film, many have forgotten another great Herbert novel, Hellstrom's Hive. A tiny bit dated with 1970s language, this one takes place on present-day Earth. What if there was a secret society modelled on hive insects, utterly inhuman as we understand it, hidden underground in modern-day America? What would they do to survive if discovered?