4 ms·

I loved the first book, but I found the sequels to offer diminishing returns. The fourth one, God Emperor of Dune, was such a joyless slog that I gave up.

lapcat 4y ago
I thought the 4th was the best book of the series.
- moshun 4y ago
  Absolutely agree, it’s the book that makes so much of the story make sense and elevates the series beyond most other sci-fi / fantasy. Even now, 30 years after I first read it, I’m blown away by how much I refer back to the principles of leadership and human behavior discussed. Really well written work.
  - woleium 4y ago
    Have you read anything about Herbert's education and work? It may help you understand why he is so good.
    - lapcat 4y ago
      "The Maker of Dune" adds a lot of personal insight to his work. https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Dune-Insights-Science-Fiction/dp/0425097854 https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Dune-Insights-Science-Fiction/d... I used to have a copy but sold it at some point. Apparently it's hard to find now, given the very high price. Update: The entire book is in the Internet Archive! https://archive.org/details/the-maker-of-dune-insights-of-a-master-of-science-fiction-by-frank-herbert-tim-o-reilly/page/n1/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/the-maker-of-dune-insights-of-a-...
    - djkivi 4y ago
      Tim O'Reilly actually wrote a biography of Frank Herbert that people might find interesting: https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ Edit: I see Tim O'Reilly was the editor of the "Maker of Dune" book mentioned here also.
dbtc 4y ago
I can relate, but I really appreciated what Herbert did there for the 5th book, which had much more enjoyable characters for me, like the 1st book.
grogenaut 4y ago
you can sample god emperor of dune... it is bad... and hyper repetitive. I remember thinking (I barely remember reading) that he was trying to make you feel the immeasurable amount of time that leto (can't believe I remembered that immediately) had been repeating things. It's been like 800 years or maybe 1800 with him the only constant, only memory. But god is it repetitive. Then stuff happens near the end and it's good for a bit then it's over. I now emphasize with leto. I was a alumni advisor for a student group (fraternity). I had to start checking in every quarter with them because of this. It was amazing because every 3 years everyone would flip over and if I didn't ask they'd literally come up with the most obvious idea. They'd tell me and I'd be like "this (simple failure/hilarious failure/prison term) is why you shouldn't do that"... to which they'd go oh makes sense and go onto the next idea. Often this was cause they wondered why things were more complicated than you'd think. Wait now that I think of it that's similar to work now that I've been there for a while. Or with Jr Engineers. I guess I should stop thinking of it so negatively and look at it like teachers, another chance to watch someone learn. https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
selivanovp 4y ago
Imho it’s the best book in a series, not so much action, but really good at portraying a human being that had to abandon his humanity for the greater cause and serve as a shepherd for centuries.
Slow_Hand 4y ago
God Emperor of Dune is polarizing. People either hate it or they absolutely LOVE it. I'm with Selivanovp; it is my favorite book in the series, right after the original story. The structure is unusual in that it's essentially the journals of an omnipotent tyrant with a chokehold on the universe musing about the nature of man and the universe for 400 pages while being very light on plot; a big change from the other books in the series. I think it's a fertile concept to spend an entire book on and I find Frank's observations stimulating. He's crafted such a unique character; someone who can not only see into the future, but can access their entire genetic heritage and the memories of their ancestors. That makes for some very unique observations and I am here for it. It's my (admittedly slim) hope that we'll someday get the Worm on screen. I have no idea what that movie would be like or if it would be any good, but it would certainly be ambitious.
- qbrass 4y ago
  It's where you start to learn that the whole series is actually about Duncan Idaho.
david38 4y ago
God-Emperor is polarizing, but Heretics and Chapterhouse are action packed and have fascinating characters.

lapcat 4y ago

I thought the 4th was the best book of the series.

moshun 4y ago
Absolutely agree, it’s the book that makes so much of the story make sense and elevates the series beyond most other sci-fi / fantasy. Even now, 30 years after I first read it, I’m blown away by how much I refer back to the principles of leadership and human behavior discussed. Really well written work.
- woleium 4y ago
  Have you read anything about Herbert's education and work? It may help you understand why he is so good.
  - lapcat 4y ago
    "The Maker of Dune" adds a lot of personal insight to his work. https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Dune-Insights-Science-Fiction/dp/0425097854 https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Dune-Insights-Science-Fiction/d... I used to have a copy but sold it at some point. Apparently it's hard to find now, given the very high price. Update: The entire book is in the Internet Archive! https://archive.org/details/the-maker-of-dune-insights-of-a-master-of-science-fiction-by-frank-herbert-tim-o-reilly/page/n1/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/the-maker-of-dune-insights-of-a-...
  - djkivi 4y ago
    Tim O'Reilly actually wrote a biography of Frank Herbert that people might find interesting: https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ Edit: I see Tim O'Reilly was the editor of the "Maker of Dune" book mentioned here also.

dbtc 4y ago

I can relate, but I really appreciated what Herbert did there for the 5th book, which had much more enjoyable characters for me, like the 1st book.

grogenaut 4y ago

you can sample god emperor of dune... it is bad... and hyper repetitive. I remember thinking (I barely remember reading) that he was trying to make you feel the immeasurable amount of time that leto (can't believe I remembered that immediately) had been repeating things. It's been like 800 years or maybe 1800 with him the only constant, only memory. But god is it repetitive. Then stuff happens near the end and it's good for a bit then it's over. I now emphasize with leto. I was a alumni advisor for a student group (fraternity). I had to start checking in every quarter with them because of this. It was amazing because every 3 years everyone would flip over and if I didn't ask they'd literally come up with the most obvious idea. They'd tell me and I'd be like "this (simple failure/hilarious failure/prison term) is why you shouldn't do that"... to which they'd go oh makes sense and go onto the next idea. Often this was cause they wondered why things were more complicated than you'd think. Wait now that I think of it that's similar to work now that I've been there for a while. Or with Jr Engineers. I guess I should stop thinking of it so negatively and look at it like teachers, another chance to watch someone learn. https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/

selivanovp 4y ago

Imho it’s the best book in a series, not so much action, but really good at portraying a human being that had to abandon his humanity for the greater cause and serve as a shepherd for centuries.

Slow_Hand 4y ago

God Emperor of Dune is polarizing. People either hate it or they absolutely LOVE it. I'm with Selivanovp; it is my favorite book in the series, right after the original story. The structure is unusual in that it's essentially the journals of an omnipotent tyrant with a chokehold on the universe musing about the nature of man and the universe for 400 pages while being very light on plot; a big change from the other books in the series. I think it's a fertile concept to spend an entire book on and I find Frank's observations stimulating. He's crafted such a unique character; someone who can not only see into the future, but can access their entire genetic heritage and the memories of their ancestors. That makes for some very unique observations and I am here for it. It's my (admittedly slim) hope that we'll someday get the Worm on screen. I have no idea what that movie would be like or if it would be any good, but it would certainly be ambitious.

qbrass 4y ago
It's where you start to learn that the whole series is actually about Duncan Idaho.

david38 4y ago

God-Emperor is polarizing, but Heretics and Chapterhouse are action packed and have fascinating characters.