Dune series

[Listener]

Dune:  I've read this one a bunch of times.  It's quite good.  Better than the David Lynch movie was.

Dune Messiah:  Hard to follow the political maneuverings.  The shortest of the Dune books.  Still, the ending is good.

Children of Dune:  WAY more dark and depressing than the Sci Fi Channel's miniseries of it.  Ends very darkly, but somewhat satisfying.

God Emperor of Dune:  Mostly talking, not much action.  Feels longer than it is.  Lots of good stuff on the nature of governments and societies.  The ending all happens at once, and some of the romantic elements feel forced.  I just finished this one.

Now taking a break to read a couple of new Star Trek novels, and then I'll finish the last two Dune books.

[dazie]

If you liked these books at all, I highly recommend avoiding the "prequel" books, cuz they suck.

However, the SciFi Dune is pretty damn good.

[Listener]

If you liked these books at all, I highly recommend avoiding the "prequel" books, cuz they suck.

However, the SciFi Dune is pretty damn good.

Yes, very.  I have that and Children of Dune on DVD... CoD is actually decent, but it's a little happier toward the end than the CoD book was.

Are all the newer ones that came out (the ones by Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson) prequels?  Or are some sequels as well?  I know The Butlerian Jihad is a prequel, obviously, but what of the others?

[dazie]

House Harkkonen, House Atreides and House Corrino (sp?) are prequels, I think they take place prior to the Butlerian Jihad.  Swolt would know for sure, he's read them all.  I couldn't stomach it. 

[swolt]

House Harkkonen, House Atreides and House Corrino (sp?) are prequels, I think they take place prior to the Butlerian Jihad.  Swolt would know for sure, he's read them all.  I couldn't stomach it. 

Butlerian Jihad takes place first in the series, it takes place about 1000 years before Dune. I got about halfway through and it made me sick so I quit reading.

House Harkkonen, House Atreides, and House Corrino all take place about 40 years before Dune. House Atreides is about Leto Atreides as a boy. It's decent, but I didn't read the other two.

The last two books are the best. "Chapterhouse Dune" left me speechless. In Heritics you will see why Duncan Idaho is THE MAN. He is my fav sci-fi character of all time.

[Listener]

House Harkkonen, House Atreides and House Corrino (sp?) are prequels, I think they take place prior to the Butlerian Jihad.  Swolt would know for sure, he's read them all.  I couldn't stomach it. 

Butlerian Jihad takes place first in the series, it takes place about 1000 years before Dune. I got about halfway through and it made me sick so I quit reading.

House Harkkonen, House Atreides, and House Corrino all take place about 40 years before Dune. House Atreides is about Leto Atreides as a boy. It's decent, but I didn't read the other two.

The last two books are the best. "Chapterhouse Dune" left me speechless. In Heritics you will see why Duncan Idaho is THE MAN. He is my fav sci-fi character of all time.

Well, it's probably going to be about a week before I get to Heretics, but my guess is that Duncan returns the Fremen to what they were before Leto turned them into Museum Fremen.

If I'm wrong, don't tell me.

[Listener]

Just finished Heretics of Dune.  Is it just me, or did that one wrap up WAY too quickly?

Starting Chapterhouse when I get to Florida.

[swolt]

Just finished Heretics of Dune.  Is it just me, or did that one wrap up WAY too quickly?

Starting Chapterhouse when I get to Florida.

Chapterhouse picks up right where Heretics left off.

At the end of Heretics, where Duncan turns the sexual addiction around on the sister, that is by far my favorite part. And why I love Duncan so much.

[Beefy]

I thought the SciFi Dune was merely okay, which is why I sold my DVD of it.  It got more of the nuance and story in than the Lynch film, but it forgot to be either compelling or exciting in how it presented any of it.  They also lacked a charismatic cast, for the most part.

[swolt]

I thought the SciFi Dune was merely okay, which is why I sold my DVD of it.  It got more of the nuance and story in than the Lynch film, but it forgot to be either compelling or exciting in how it presented any of it.  They also lacked a charismatic cast, for the most part.

My dream is that one day Terry Gilliam will direct a Dune movie.

[Beefy]

I thought the SciFi Dune was merely okay, which is why I sold my DVD of it.  It got more of the nuance and story in than the Lynch film, but it forgot to be either compelling or exciting in how it presented any of it.  They also lacked a charismatic cast, for the most part.

My dream is that one day Terry Gilliam will direct a Dune movie.

We are currently witnessing the end days of Terry Gilliam's career.  You may want to plant your dream seeds elsewhere.

[swolt]

I thought the SciFi Dune was merely okay, which is why I sold my DVD of it.  It got more of the nuance and story in than the Lynch film, but it forgot to be either compelling or exciting in how it presented any of it.  They also lacked a charismatic cast, for the most part.

My dream is that one day Terry Gilliam will direct a Dune movie.

We are currently witnessing the end days of Terry Gilliam's career.  You may want to plant your dream seeds elsewhere.

hold me

[dazie]

I just finished reading Children of Dune.

Meh.

I thought it was farfetched even for that series.  Plus I didn't like the abrupt change in some of the characters.

[Listener]

I just finished reading Children of Dune.

Meh.

I thought it was farfetched even for that series.  Plus I didn't like the abrupt change in some of the characters.

I'm in the last 100 pages of Chapterhouse Dune.  It's okay.  The first one is still by far the best.

[Listener]

Finished Chapterhouse: Dune.  The ending didn't go quite in the way I expected, but it was not unsatisfying.

However, I still didn't understand the very last bit, the "Daniel" and "Marty" chapter... it made no sense, since I'd never heard of them before.  And there wasn't enough on the Duncan/Sheeana backstory to justify them leaving at the end.  And they just sort of forgot that Scytale ever existed.  I think Herbert was saving him for what would've been the 7th Dune book, had he not died.

[swolt]

Finished Chapterhouse: Dune.  The ending didn't go quite in the way I expected, but it was not unsatisfying.

However, I still didn't understand the very last bit, the "Daniel" and "Marty" chapter... it made no sense, since I'd never heard of them before.  And there wasn't enough on the Duncan/Sheeana backstory to justify them leaving at the end.  And they just sort of forgot that Scytale ever existed.  I think Herbert was saving him for what would've been the 7th Dune book, had he not died.

SPOILERS!

I agree about Scytale and the Ducan/Sheeana thing. I think Duncan reached a new level so to speak, I think he sensed the net and that is why he rushed to get away. I think Duncan went someone no one else had. Like how Paul was the first male to survive the spice, Ducan was the first person to survive the sex addiction. Several times it mentions if he did not get his "fix" he would die, yet at the end he is confident he can make it.

I think Dune 7 would have been a killer book. What is it that drove the sisters out? Did the Face Dancers become gods? By escaping the net, did Duncan become immortal?
These are things I stay up at night thinking about.

[Bishamonten]

Finished Chapterhouse: Dune.  The ending didn't go quite in the way I expected, but it was not unsatisfying.

However, I still didn't understand the very last bit, the "Daniel" and "Marty" chapter... it made no sense, since I'd never heard of them before.  And there wasn't enough on the Duncan/Sheeana backstory to justify them leaving at the end.  And they just sort of forgot that Scytale ever existed.  I think Herbert was saving him for what would've been the 7th Dune book, had he not died.

SPOILERS!

I agree about Scytale and the Ducan/Sheeana thing. I think Duncan reached a new level so to speak, I think he sensed the net and that is why he rushed to get away. I think Duncan went someone no one else had. Like how Paul was the first male to survive the spice, Ducan was the first person to survive the sex addiction. Several times it mentions if he did not get his "fix" he would die, yet at the end he is confident he can make it.

I think Dune 7 would have been a killer book. What is it that drove the sisters out? Did the Face Dancers become gods? By escaping the net, did Duncan become immortal?
These are things I stay up at night thinking about.

It it suggested that no book 7 was ever to be written. 
    Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife—chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now, it's complete because it's ended here."

        —from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

[dazie]

It it suggested that no book 7 was ever to be written. 
    Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife—chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now, it's complete because it's ended here."

        —from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

I love you for saying that.