Lazarus Effect — Frank Herbert; Bill Ransom

Based on a New York Times bestseller, inhabitants of a planet colony confront totalitarianism in this “intelligent” sci-fi fantasy “with solid characters” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
In The Jesus Incident, Hugo and Nebula Award�"winning author George Herbert and poet Bill Ransom introduced Ship, an artificial intelligence that believed it was God, abandoning its unworthy human cargo on the all-sea world of Pandora. Now centuries have passed. The descendants of humanity, split into Mermen and Islanders, must reunite . . . because Pandora's original owner is returning to life!