Herbert, Frank: Dune

[calico_reaction]

Comments

[morgan_dhu]

I read Dune not long after it originally came out, when I was in my early teens, and I've reread it several times since. I do find there's a lot to appreciate in the novel: the world-building and creation of cultures, the focus on ecology (this was a major theme in a lot of SF of the period), the mysticism, the politics, and definitely, the strong women characters (that was pretty rare back in those days).

Neither filmed version does the whole tapestry justice, I fear, and the sequels written by Frank Herbert fall short of the intricate yet balanced tapesty of actions, characters and ideas that is Dune - although they continue to be interesting on several levels - some are quite decent action stories, they all continue the vast contemplation of "laws" of politics and history, and they continue to develop the range of interesting new human cultures

[calico_reaction]

This is all wonderful food for thought. Thank you so much for responding. :)

[quiet_rebel]

Watch the Sci-Fi channel versions of Dune and Children of Dune. So pretty and amazing.

[calico_reaction]

Thanks for the recs. :)

[wellum]

I concure. The scifi channel mini-series versions are really beautiful, and truer to the heart of the novels than the Dune movie was. The movie was pretty much just an action story, whereas spirituality was central in the novel, from my perspective.

Dune the movie is available on Comcast On Demand for free right now, at least in Northern California.

The only thing I found weak in the miniseries was one or two of the tertiary cast. Fine acting, but just not right for the part.

[calico_reaction]

Thanks for the head's up. :) Sadly, I am on DIRECTV, so I'll just have to keep my eye out. :)

[jenjinn]

I'm glad you went back and finished the book. There's no denying that I have a lot of affection for the series, although Herbert's work has its flaws. Dune is a difficult read in its way. The whole series is, and not necessarily for intellectual reasons so much as just getting into the story and sticking with it, as you've noted. Both Dune and God Emperor took me two tries to get through, God Emperor particularly because I had difficulty immersing myself in the tale.

If you can, I'd recommend watching the extended version of David Lynch's Dune as well as the theatrical release. I personally prever Lynch's take to the Sci-Fi Channel's. While the miniseries were pretty (and I vastly prefer the Children of Dune miniseries to the other one), I felt they failed to do the saga justice. What little I remember of the first miniseries is thinking, "Well I certainly don't remember that being in the book." It bothered me that Messiah and Children were smushed into a single entity for television, but the series seemed to me to get a

[calico_reaction]

It would be nice if they just published Herbert's notes, maybe kind of like Christopher Tolkien has done with his father's legacy, maybe?

So, just who were your favorite characters from the first book? :)

And thanks for commenting. :) I wouldn't have pointed you to this entry, but I realized you didn't read this journal, so I wanted to make sure you saw I read it. I remember you having a fondness for this series. And I REALLY remember you and Sharon screaming, "SANDWORM!!!" while watching the Children of Dune mini. And yes, I even remember the "sandworm" you were referring to. :)

[jenjinn]

I think fans and people with an academic or professional interest in the series would appreciate an opportunity like that. I've hoped Brian Herbert might publish the notes since I finished the original series, since the ending left me wanting so many answers.

Duncan is my favorite character in the entire series. It's really quite irrational how obsessed I am with him. Other than that, I'm quite fond of Stilgar, Gurney, Leto and Paul, but I tend to gravitate towards male characters. That's one of the reasons I don't concern myself much with strong female characters in science fiction or fantasy. I like to see them, but in terms of personal preference, I have more fun exploring relationships between men. It's a wonder I'm not into slash and yaoi, but I'm primarily fascinated with father-to-son or brother-to-brother interaction. Alia almost snared me in Dune, but not quite

[calico_reaction]

You like male relationships? Go pick up Karin Lowachee's Warchild. I'm not kidding. It's the best book I've read in a very, very long time, and it's got male bonding and angst all over it, AND it's well done. :) Trust me. Get through it and you'll be a puddle of goo by the end. :)

[anonymous]

Um, there's a reason people prefer black-on-white to white-on-black. The latter is pretty much impossible to read for some of us.

I'd be curious to read you, if you made it possible, and didn't deliberately make it so hard.

[calico_reaction]

All right, listen up: the settings to this journal are such that if you click the LJ-cut and/or directly link to this entry, you WILL be reading in black on white. If you are trying to read this from the journal itself, but you're not clicking the cut? You're not reading the whole entry, and therefore, making it harder on yourself.

However, if you ARE linking to my specific entry and not the journal, and you're still getting white on black? There's something screwy in your settings, not mine, and trust me, LJ does this.

So if you happen to come back by this journal and read this comment, you should be reading black on white. And if you happen to read this journal from your friends page (I'm not saying you should, but if you are), then you should be reading whatever your colors are set up as.

Does this help at all? It's very rare that I post an entry that isn't without an LJ-cut, but also, if you really want to read something, just click on the comment link and you'll be taken to the colors that are easier on your eyes.

[lady_ayana]

I have to admit I have yet to read Dune. Next time at the book store I may pick it up. :)