Dune

[YankeyMCC]

Well I've said before that "Dune" was among the few books I've never been able to get into and finish. Actually I've picked it up 2 or three times in high school and college and never seemed to be able to get past the first couple of chapters. But I picked it up again a couple of days ago and so far I'm enjoying it. I can't explain what the problem was on my previous attempts. Although, as much as I'm enjoying Dune now I've done some more reading up on what the other novels are like and I'm not sure if I'll feel motivated or not to read any of the other novels in the series. That's unusual for me, usually if I've gotten this far into a novel that is part of a series and am still enjoying it I'm already planning on getting through the other books in the series.

[phantom power]

1. I've been thinking for a while -- Frank Herbert is like the M. Night Shyamalon of SF.

His books can be entertaining, and atmospheric, but then you start thinking about them and get left with a sensation that there's no 'there' there.

Or maybe it's just me.

[YankeyMCC]

2. Ha! You know I think you're onto something there with that

comparison. ;)

[Fumesucker]

3. Herbert has a good deal of science in his fiction..

But the science tends to be more sociology and psychology than it does what we normally consider the "hard" sciences.

I was sixteen when I first read Dune (about a year after it was published) and in some ways it changed my life.. Herbert's lessons were about making choices and how those choices could effect your life.

Herbert's take on politics and human motivations seems to be pretty accurate to me.. Here are some Herbert quotes I think are quite sage:

The failure of civilization can be detected by the gap between public and private morality. The wider the gap, the nearer the civilization to final dissolution. - Jost Hupp, "The White Plague"

"The mistakes (of leaders) are amplified by the numbers who follow them without question. Charismatic leaders tend to build up followings, power structures and these power structures tend to be taken over by people who are corruptible. I don't think that the old saw about 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is accurate: I think power attracts the corruptible." - Frank Herbert, BBC interview promoting the Dune Movie

"The surest way to keep a secret is to make people believe they already know the answer,"

Quite naturally, holders of power wish to suppress wild research. Unrestricted questing after knowledge has a long history of producing unwanted competition. The powerful want a "safe line of investigations," which will develop only those products and ideas that can be controlled and, most important, that will allow the larger part of the benefits to be captured by inside investors. Unfortunately, a random universe full of relative variables does not insure such a "safe line of investigations."

"We should grant power over our affairs only to those who are reluctant to hold it and then only under conditions that increase the reluctance."

"Juries are not popular with legalists. Juries oppose the law. They can ignore judges."

"This wise man observed that wealth is a tool of freedom. But the pursuit of wealth is the way to slavery."

"Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions."

[NewHampshireDem]

4. I guess that's why they say there's no arguing taste

Dune is one of those books that I read about once every year or two. The others, well, they aren't so good, IMHO, but Dune I really, really enjoy. :shrug:

[Dr. Strange]

5. I recently finished the last two books in the series (by B. Herbert and K. Anderson).

I didn't care a whole lot for their prequel stuff. It was okay, but that's about it.
But Hunter's of Dune and Sandworms of Dune were considerably better. Still not Frank Herbert good, but not too shabby. I wish I knew which plot ideas were theirs and which were Frank's.