Dune Genesis (1980)

Reading Herbert's thoughts on Dune and the all-too-human nature of superheroes reminded me of "The Bureau of Sabotage" (1) from two of his other books, The Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star:

In Herbert's fiction, sometime in the far future, government becomes terrifyingly efficient. Red tape no longer exists: laws are conceived of, passed, funded, and executed within hours, rather than months. The bureaucratic machinery becomes a juggernaut, rolling over human concerns and welfare with terrible speed, jerking the universe of sentients one way, then another, threatening to destroy everything in a fit of spastic reactions. In short, the speed of government goes beyond sentient control ... Founded by the mysterious "Five Ears" of unknown species, BuSab began as a terrorist organization whose sole purpose was to frustrate the workings of government in order to give sentients a chance to reflect upon changes and deal with them. Having saved sentiency from its government, BuSab was officially recognized as a necessary check on the power of government. It provides a natural (and lucrative) outlet for society's regular crop of troublemakers, who must be countered by society's regular crop of "do-gooders".

FWIW, I find Dune and many other classics of sci-fi (extended to film, TV and videogames) so compelling because it's a solid story built on the foundation of a carefully imagined and visualized universe ... down to the political power structure. There are a few other universes worlds that also hold up, despite some poor sequels and side projects ... Urth, LOTR, Star Wars, Half-life, etc.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Sabotage

So I finished reading Dune recently. I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. My main problem with it was how predictable it was: gifted kid succeeds in everything he does. A question I have is whether I should read the two immediate sequels. Do they actually explore the whole "superheroes are bad" theme more? Would I get a better sense of the context for what Dune really was about?

My first exposure to the Dune universe was actually the DOS game Dune II, which is funny since it had nothing to do with the storyline. Honestly, I found the game more enjoyable than the book.

i read all of them, and true they did come back in the end, but it wasn't worth reading all the others for

> Do they actually explore the whole "superheroes are bad" theme more? Would I get a better sense of the context for what Dune really was about?

Yes. I'd say the "superheroes are bad" theme doesn't even come to its real fruition until God Emperor of Dune, especially as realized through the eyes of Duncan. But even in the context of Dune alone, I think you're missing the implications of Paul's ascension. In order to revenge himself on the Harkonnens and the Emperor, Paul had to ally himself with the Fremen. And to render the Freman united, effective allies, he had to make himself a religious figure. As a consequence, revealed in his prescient visions in Dune, Paul has unleashed a murderous Fremen-led jihad on the galaxy that will kill tens of billions.

Dune Messiah and Children of Dune certainly go more in depth into what is discussed in the article though. This quote from the article particularly brings them to mind:

This grows from my theory that superheroes are disastrous for humankind. Even if we find a real hero (whatever-or whoever-that may be), eventually fallible mortals take over the power structure that always comes into being around such a leader.

But if you did not enjoy Dune, I am doubtful you will enjoy the sequels.

I have read the entire original series 3-4 times.

I was also greatly disappointed by the sequels/prequels not written by Frank Herbert.

BUT ... the biography "Dreamer of Dune" is well worth reading - very interesting and revealing.