Re-reading a sci-fi classic....

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:28 am

My parents decided I was too difficult to shop for, and for my birthday gave me $50 and a box of Count Chocula....
Last night I put that (the money, not the cereal; that came later) to good use and bought all six novels in Frank Herbert's Dune series.
I'd read the first two as a lad, but never went any further, but I was thinking how much I really enjoyed them, especially the first.
So... last night I went to my local book seller, Sam Weller's, and picked up all six.
I've already burned through the first eighty pages of Dune this morning

Man, it's even better than I remember it being!

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 8:39 am

Frank Herbert is my favorite sci-fi author. I lost track of how many times I read the original Dune trilogy during high school. (And I do mean during school.) His other novels and short stories are also quite interesting.

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:05 am

Dune is probably the best Sci-Fi novel written. I've never been able to get through any of the others.

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:16 am

I enjoyed the first one.

the rest. . . .meh. But that's just me. I enjoyed the Silmarillion immensely, even though most consider it a total snoozefest.

beowulf573 · Post by **beowulf573** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:30 am

"Dune" is a classic and the next two are good but the quality tends to drop off in the later ones. I've been told to avoid the ones written by his son.

For the past few years I've been buying up past Hugo winners, I've read some great books that way. There are so many published each year it's hard to filter out the crappy ones, specially when you have ecletic taste.

Here's a list of hugo winners by year

http://worldcon.org/hy.html

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:03 am

Odd...I've always felt the same.

"Dune" is a classic, as good as they come. I've never made it completely through any of the others.

BTW, Wormdiet, I also enjoyed the Silmarillion, and have re-read it many times.

But for Sci-Fi, one of my altime favorites has to be the "Giants" novels of James Hogan. Good good stuff, old-school "hard" sci-fi at its best.

--James

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:14 am

(Lone Dissenting voice)
The first one was pretty good. The second one not so good. The third one not quite so good.
By the time it got to the sixth it was p*ss-poor. In the opinion of this person.

If you read them on the trot you'll be in a Dune-Frenzy, and you won't even notice. Just keep it that way.

We recently had the DVD of the film free with our Saturday paper.
I had seen it in the Kinematographic Theatre - now fitted with sound!
It was every bit as bad as I remembered. Too many voice-overs. Things explained in full three times that could have been hinted at. Special effects ("the VOICE") which should have been left to the actors.
Such a pity. I like Francesca Anis too. And boy, does Sting look young.

Tyler · Post by **Tyler** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:23 am

I.B., did you ever get a chance to see the Sci-Fi Channel's Miniseries?
They've also gone and done a sequel that comprises the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:00 am

I really enjoyed "The Jesus Incident" by Herbert.

I love all those "reluctant messiah"-type stories, like Heinlen's "Stranger.." among others.

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:27 pm

I liked the first and third, but not the second. I did read the fourth, but didn't enjoy it enough to pursue the following ones.

There are a few Herbert books that I like better than any of the Dune books. The Eyes of Heisenberg, Hellstrom's Hive, the Dosadi Experiment, the Santaroga Barrier, probably some that I can't recall.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:28 pm

Dune is one of my favorite novels in any genre. I love the way he created an entire society with language, customs, mythology, etc.

I got as far as #3 and then my interest petered out.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:55 pm

I only got through the first three. For some reason I just lost interest. Until then I was engrossed.

And I like Count Chocula.

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:48 pm

Tyler Morris wrote:I.B., did you ever get a chance to see the Sci-Fi Channel's Miniseries?
They've also gone and done a sequel that comprises the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

Alas, I am earthbound. Otherwise I'd never get out of the armchair, and the uxorial consequences are unimaginable. Even by Frank Herbert.

I do believe I have seen boxed sets of the same in the shops. You can't watch the film without thinking that it would be better done as a TV series. There is just too much happening. One day I might have a look at it, when I stop watching the Alien series end-to-end continuously.

I think Frank Herbert is pretty good, but it seems to me that he just had a good look at the Bedouin and redrew their culture in the future.

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:27 pm

Flyingcursor wrote:And I like Count Chocula.

Frankenberry is totally the best of the three. Count Chocula and Boo Berry can't even compete.

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:20 pm

Flyingcursor wrote: And I like Count Chocula.

And here I thought you guys were a fairly wholesome bunch:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29263

(I was looking for the one in which the Pope had excommunicated Count Chocula and suffered the consequences, but it's not in the archives.)