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It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found
by JonnieCache 12y ago
It probably doesn't need to be said here, but if you haven't read Dune, stop what you're doing and read Dune. If like me you enjoyed the idea of LoTR but found the writing irritating, you're going to bloody love Dune.
Don't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine.
- tspiteri 12y agoDon't worry too much about the many sequels, they can get a bit too weird. The first book stands alone just fine. True, but if you decide to read the sequels, only read the Frank Herbert sequels. The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson novels are more like poor fanfiction than sequels.
- ekianjo 12y agoEven the Herbert sequels are not really that good. I'd recommend new readers to stop at Dune to avoid destroying their image of the Universe.
- mpdehaan2 12y agoI liked the later books a lot, the plots and story are sometimes very very weird, but the quotes and philosophy are really pretty darn amazing. All the Frank Herbert sequels are worth reading for those alone, but it took me some effort to get through books 2 and 3. It gets better (but weirder) later in terms of quotes/philosophy/randomness. Plot not so much on occasion, quotes? Very very interesting.
- Amezarak 12y agoI actually find that God Emperor of Dune was my favorite, not Dune itself. I don't recall whether it was Chapterhouse or Heretics, but the scene with the Bene Gesserit in the cave has stood out in my mind for years. Really, the writing style is the same, and there's a lot of "idea" content in the sequels, especially God Emperor. I really don't feel the Dune universe is any different - but the events of Dune did change the (known) universe, and thousands of years have passed by the time of Chapterhouse. I would agree that nobody should touch the Brian Herbert books, though.
- LanceH 12y agoI've read the first six. Rereading, I stopped at God Emperor. I tell people who are thinking about reading it that if they found Dune to be slow and difficult that they should just stop at the first one. It's a lot of world building and politics as it goes on.
- Radim 12y agoThis is much better advice than the grandparent. Indeed, if you found Dune too difficult and political and expansive, don't go for God Emperor of Dune. But if you do like that sort of stuff, someone telling you to stop at Dune would be criminal. God Emperor is easily the best in the series, IMO.
- jinfiesto 12y agoI agree. The best part of the series in my opinion, is the political machination. God Emperor probably has the most of that. Messiah is probably the weakest novel in the set in my opinion.
- babuskov 12y agoI found that I like the politics more than the sci-fi part of it. I believe the politics made the series that good. Just like in Game of Thrones, where politics is more important than the fantastic creatures or magic.
- alphadevx 12y ago_God Emperor of Dune_ has the best opening sequence of any book I have read (the wolves chasing the raiders in the forbidden forest), love it! You really have to read that far to get a sense of how important the Duncan Idaho character is in the Dune universe: in the first book he is just a bit player, but later he becomes central.
- DanTheManPR 12y agoI really liked God Emperor of Dune, and consider it to be the logical ending point of the series. Heretics and Chapterhouse are a very interesting continuation, but feel more like the beginning of a new series based in the same universe (and an incomplete one, at that).
- jerf 12y agoMy stock recommendation is: The first book is a classic for a reason. However, if you don't like it, stop here. The subsequent books will not change your opinion. In fact Herbert may really not be your thing. (He has a certain unique feel to his writing, I think.) The rest of the first trilogy is definitely more hurried and rather than "justifiably classic" are merely pretty OK if you like that sort of thing. A lot of people jam up here. God Emperor of Dune is one of those books that is more fun to read the second time than the first, because the first time you really want the primary plot line to finish up and it feels like it is dragging. It really isn't, the rest of the content is quite worthy and the book would be made worse for removing it, but the first time through it doesn't feel that way. I like it better on re-reads, but this is a lot to ask of a reader. (Another one I feel this way is A Deepness in the Sky by Vinge. It's packed with goodness and I love it, but in the first read the middle half of the book can really drag since the goodness isn't in the "A plot".) Finally, if you make it this far, Chapterhouse and Heretics are once again quite fun reads and re-reads. But it can be hard to get this far in the first place. My suspicion is that a lot of people who blanket bemoan all the sequels never made it as far as Chapterhouse Dune. But then, it's perfectly understandable. Oh, and I'll edit this to include my video recommendations: The classic Dune movie should be considered only loosely related, IMHO. The Sci-Fi (before it was "SyFy") miniseries of the book is good if you've already read the book and you view it as a filmed theatrical production rather than a "movie". Which, IMHO, actually works, as theatrical tropes are a better medium for Dune than conventional movie tropes in a lot of ways, but if you don't know what you're getting in to can be a shock. The miniseries of the second two books is better produced, but IIRC still requires you to have read the story first to really understand it. I definitely don't recommend them as your intro to the series.
- shabda 12y agoLike the comment below, I prefer God Emperor of Dune to Dune. In the first book, the universe is not specced out, the characters don't have enough backstory. By the later books, you start feeling the expanse of the universe, the incredible loneliness the universes most powerful entity must endure until the golden path is secure.
- jerf 12y agoOh, yeah, one more thing: If you're a big fan, you may want to consider the Dune Encyclopedia: http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Encyclopedia-Authorized-Masterpiece-Imagination/dp/0425068137/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408639449&sr=1-1&keywords=dune+encyclopedia http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Encyclopedia-Authorized-Masterpie... It was rendered non-canonical by either God Emperor or Chapterhouse, but it's full of interesting stuff if you're the sort that can get stuck on a Wiki-walk. This is probably the most monetarily valuable book in my meager collection, picked up without knowledge of its rarity from a library book sale.
- shabda 12y ago> The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson novels are more like poor fanfiction than sequels. Thank you. I read one book by Brian H. and every chapter filled me with rage, for destroying the magic of one of my most loved books. One of the most enjoyable things about Dune is that all factions/entities have shades of grey and plans within their plan. The way Brian H. books change them to a linear story and put entities in a black/white divide is infuriating.
- Nursie 12y agoI read a lot of them because I'm a sucker. Very few authors can break my concentration, snap me out of the story and make me think "oh, that was cheap..." like the the Herbert/Anderson collaboration.
- shabda 12y ago[Eg.] In the original books even Tleilaxu are not evil. Loathsome and power hungry, yes. But not evil. They are chaotic-neutral. There are no real antagonists, except the past and the future. Yet in Legends of Dune Herbert/Anderson books they turn into slave/traders and organ harvesters. I just put down sometime after that. I was worried someone will start singing the litany against fear with pop music.
- n0body 12y agothe legends of dune trilogy were the only good dune books. the reset were drivel in my opinion. that said, i did read them all, so they can't have been that bad, but i did spend most of the time waiting for the robots to come back. which they don't do :(
- consultutah 12y agoYou didn't read far enough...
- n0body 12y agoi read all of them, and true they did come back in the end, but it wasn't worth reading all the others for
- Shivetya 12y agoI do not mind their books too much, the stories were interesting and some of the explanation given for various technologies was fine. The Tleilaxu background was good, however the fault I give the son's work is far too often he would try to out do dad, as in one up the ability of the foes faced. Still I liked the Titans and found the idea of how Mentats originated was valid; whom else but a computer could train them?
- alphabetam 12y agoI haven't read their _sequels_, but I have read their _prequels_ before reading the original dune and I found them decent. Not exceptional, but not bad at all. Slightly different from the original, though, which might be why they are off-putting to many people who have read Dune first. (I am reading them in the order suggested here: http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Saga-Chronological-Order/lm/1COADLEGRZEOC http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Saga-Chronological-Order/lm/1COAD...)
- dccoolgai 12y agoI just got around to it a couple months ago after 15 years of meaning to read it. It is still an awesome book. Like Game of Thrones in space with a little bit less incest.
- Tloewald 12y agoIt's been a long time since I read the initial trilogy, and i agree the sequels (including Messiah and Children) were not really worth reading (not so much for weirdness as just not being interesting). It seems, however, that the themes Herbert claims drove the book really only come into play in the sequels. The first book is a standard story of revenge and a good, handsome, plucky underdog overcoming the fat, deformed, seethingly evil bad guy against all odds. Where's the heroes are fallible stuff? In the far less compelling sequels.
- trevelyan 12y agoHerbert wrote the first book as multiple novellas, serialized for publication by Analog. His later novels are much looser, and clearly didn't benefit from the attention he put into making sure the originals would be accepted by the leading science fiction publisher of the time.
- bane 12y agoThe best part about Dune is that it's really one of those books that reveals different things every time you read it. It should be part of every serious literature course.
- nbush 12y agoI'm sorry, but I have to challenge such a broad statement. The classification of literature is an awful game but Dune is hardly a default candidate for serious study, and I feel a view of literature with it near the top is unfortunately stunted. Just speaking as someone who has taken many of the courses you mention, although not an expert.
- bane 12y agoIf nonsense like Pride and Prejudice makes it into a literature course, Dune at get above that low bar.
- awjr 12y agoHave to agree, Dune is an amazing book and stands well on it's own. One of my favourite ever. Even the film/TV interpretations are pretty good :)
- lhl 12y agoThe original is an absolute classic, but the first sequel, Dune Messiah is probably also worth reading - without it, you don't really get a good picture of what Herbert has to say about the hero's journey.
- Nursie 12y agoNoooo! Messiah and children are amazing, and the rest are weird but great (and 5000 years distinct in time). It's well worth reading all 6. And yes, that's all 6. There never were any more than 6.
- chernevik 12y agoThis dialogue with my son made me proud of my parenting: Me: "Godfather I?" He: "One of the greatest movies of all time." Me: "Godfather II?" He: "Transcendental. The rare sequel better than the original." Me: "Godfather III?" He: "Never happened. An elaborate hoax."
- chiph 12y agoHighlander: "There can be only one"
- karcass 12y ago"There should have been only one"
- drdeadringer 12y agoStill Required: 1) Swords that spark on anything. 2) The ability to hide a sword on your person no matter what clothing you are wearing.
- the_af 12y agoA shame there were no Highlander sequels in any shape or form. Imagine if they had decided to be inconsistent and that there were, after all, more immortals after MacLeod won the prize. Or something cheesy like immortals actually being aliens, I dunno. Thankfully this didn't happen in Earth-1, where I live.
- bronson 12y agoAlso the Matrix. A sequel to either of these movies would be phenomenal.
- hackcasual 12y agoMy advice to people on the sequels is to keep going until they don't like them anymore. They definitely don't get better.
- IgorPartola 12y agoSo I finished reading Dune recently. I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. My main problem with it was how predictable it was: gifted kid succeeds in everything he does. A question I have is whether I should read the two immediate sequels. Do they actually explore the whole "superheroes are bad" theme more? Would I get a better sense of the context for what Dune really was about? My first exposure to the Dune universe was actually the DOS game Dune II, which is funny since it had nothing to do with the storyline. Honestly, I found the game more enjoyable than the book.
- Amezarak 12y ago> Do they actually explore the whole "superheroes are bad" theme more? Would I get a better sense of the context for what Dune really was about? Yes. I'd say the "superheroes are bad" theme doesn't even come to its real fruition until God Emperor of Dune, especially as realized through the eyes of Duncan. But even in the context of Dune alone, I think you're missing the implications of Paul's ascension. In order to revenge himself on the Harkonnens and the Emperor, Paul had to ally himself with the Fremen. And to render the Freman united, effective allies, he had to make himself a religious figure. As a consequence, revealed in his prescient visions in Dune, Paul has unleashed a murderous Fremen-led jihad on the galaxy that will kill tens of billions. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune certainly go more in depth into what is discussed in the article though. This quote from the article particularly brings them to mind: This grows from my theory that superheroes are disastrous for humankind. Even if we find a real hero (whatever-or whoever-that may be), eventually fallible mortals take over the power structure that always comes into being around such a leader. But if you did not enjoy Dune, I am doubtful you will enjoy the sequels.
- aikah 12y ago> gifted kid succeeds in everything he does. That's not really what the story is about, it's more about politics and how religions are fabricated,for the sake of politics.Paul is neither the muadib nor the kwisatz haderach. I think the 2 immediate sequels are interesting,the books after them are unnecessary.
- S4M 12y agoOT, but what do you find irritating in LOTR's writing? too many descriptions? Personally I appreciate Tolkien's style of writing (I read LOTR several times in English which is not my mother tongue).