I re-read Frank's Dune books every decade and they still speak across a half century of time. In the 1960s pollution and over population were the environmental issues. But now others like global warming predominate. Plus there is a lot of Arabism in Dune and mid-East wars have been growing in the past 20 years.
Dune Genesis (1980)
51–60 of 73 posts
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#52It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found the writing irritating, you're going to bloody love Dune. Don't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine.
Noooo! Messiah and children are amazing, and the rest are weird but great (and 5000 years distinct in time). It's well worth reading all 6. And yes, that's all 6. There never were any more than 6.
The 5th & 6th make a nice read. They move to new topics such the varieties of biological immortality. Franks long time wife had died and I think he was feeling his end too.
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#53It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found the writing irritating, you're going to bloody love Dune. Don't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine.
OT, but what do you find irritating in LOTR's writing? too many descriptions? Personally I appreciate Tolkien's style of writing (I read LOTR several times in English which is not my mother tongue).
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#54I just finished re-reading the series last week, including the last 2 books by his son. Those last 2 weren't completely awful, but they certainly didn't live up to the standards set by the original author. The only point that I was truly disappointed with the writing was when I read the following words: "male bene gesserit". There were plenty of other inconsistencies as well, but as when watching any good movie, you…
You'll find this a fascinating read: http://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ Tim O'Reilly made an interview with Frank Herbert on how he created his universe, and describes the huge effort that went into it. Worth to read. Unfortunately they don't print it anymore, but hey, at least it is available online.
Thank you!
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even the Herbert sequels are not really that good. I'd recommend new readers to stop at Dune to avoid destroying their image of the Universe.
I actually find that God Emperor of Dune was my favorite, not Dune itself. I don't recall whether it was Chapterhouse or Heretics , but the scene with the Bene Gesserit in the cave has stood out in my mind for years. Really, the writing style is the same, and there's a lot of "idea" content in the sequels, especially God Emperor . I really don't feel the Dune universe is any different - but the events of Dune did cha…
I really liked God Emperor of Dune, and consider it to be the logical ending point of the series. Heretics and Chapterhouse are a very interesting continuation, but feel more like the beginning of a new series based in the same universe (and an incomplete one, at that).
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#56It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found the writing irritating, you're going to bloody love Dune. Don't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine.
Noooo! Messiah and children are amazing, and the rest are weird but great (and 5000 years distinct in time). It's well worth reading all 6. And yes, that's all 6. There never were any more than 6.
When I first read the Dune series in High School, Messiah seemed dreadfully boring - almost enough to quit reading it. After re-reading the series about 15 years later, I was very surprised by how much my opinion of Messiah improved - to the point that it's almost my favorite of the series. It really provides a stark (but satisfying) 3rd act and ending to Paul's story. I almost feel like it's Dune Part 2, rather than a separate novel.
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#57It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found the writing irritating, you're going to bloody love Dune. Don't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine.
The best part about Dune is that it's really one of those books that reveals different things every time you read it. It should be part of every serious literature course.
I'm sorry, but I have to challenge such a broad statement. The classification of literature is an awful game but Dune is hardly a default candidate for serious study, and I feel a view of literature with it near the top is unfortunately stunted. Just speaking as someone who has taken many of the courses you mention, although not an expert.
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
This dialogue with my son made me proud of my parenting: Me: "Godfather I?" He: "One of the greatest movies of all time." Me: "Godfather II?" He: "Transcendental. The rare sequel better than the original." Me: "Godfather III?" He: "Never happened. An elaborate hoax."
Highlander: "There can be only one"
A shame there were no Highlander sequels in any shape or form.
Imagine if they had decided to be inconsistent and that there were, after all, more immortals after MacLeod won the prize. Or something cheesy like immortals actually being aliens, I dunno. Thankfully this didn't happen in Earth-1, where I live.
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#59Wow. I remember the first time I read it, I made a list of Herbert's gems from Dune books:
http://abrick.sourceforge.net/dune.points.html
Warning, ugly 1999's HTML and design :)
It's amazing that this page is now in top-10 when you search for "Dune Quotes" on Google.
Re: Dune Genesis (1980)
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
My advice to people on the sequels is to keep going until they don't like them anymore. They definitely don't get better.
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 D…
Like others have said, Dune somewhat subverts the typical "hero's journey". Where in the template for this kind of story the reluctant kid grows up to be the Chosen One almost by chance, in Paul's case it's mostly engineered to be this way.
The Bene Gesserit were growing and expecting this kind of Chosen One, it just didn't happen exactly how they wanted it. The Fremen accepted Paul as their Chosen One precisely because the Bene Gesserit had a program of artificial religions previously implanted in Arrakis and other difficult planets.
Chance still played a role in Paul's story, though a smaller one than the usual. I think the careful engineering of the Prophecy that allows the protagonist to succeed is an important part of what makes Dune unique.
Also, the emphasis on politics, and the crossover between feudal and SF tropes.