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Fair enough. Haven't read any of the Sprawl trilogy in a while and don't recall the fax machine or Case and the rest of the crew relying on email to communicate

Fair enough. Haven't read any of the Sprawl trilogy in a while and don't recall the fax machine or Case and the rest of the crew relying on email to communicate. However, now that you've turned my attention to these obvious anachronisms they seem quite jarring. But to Gibson's credit, many of his inventions were ill defined and had a chance to mutate just like Herbert's terminology and tech. I won't get into the details because I am sure that you already know the obvious ones. Anyways, I am really interested in checking out Dune now. I heard the first book is fantastic, but almost unreadable because Frank's writing style was atrocious and it got better over the years ... is this true? By the way, why was this post down voted? Valid insight IMO.

icambron 11y ago
I reread Dune recently, for the first time since middle school. It is not as good as I remembered it. It's certainly readable, but it's awkward in places and there are whole sections that barely make sense. Also, much which was probably groundbreaking in the 1960s is now just standard trope. To a contemporary reader (or to me, at least) it seems like an amateur application of a formula, even though it's really the original formula itself in all its Alpha 1 glory, without any subsequent refinements. I think the best way to approach it is as an important cultural artifact, as opposed to a novel you really want to read.
johnchristopher 11y ago
> But to Gibson's credit, many of his inventions were ill defined and had a chance to mutate just like Herbert's terminology and tech. I won't get into the details because I am sure that you already know the obvious ones. Yes, I also note that - as he stated it himself - the tech and the world he describes in his novels come to look more and more like our own until the blue ant serie where both meet and are the same. > Anyways, I am really interested in checking out Dune now. I heard the first book is fantastic, but almost unreadable because Frank's writing style was atrocious and it got better over the years ... is this true? I only read the translation (and almost a decade ago) so I won't comment on the style but the plot line still stands on its own as well as the characters, the themes and the ambiance. I don't remember improvements regarding style over time I'd chalk it up to the translation. edit: From Herbert I only read Dune and that other book about the God school or factory. I only read Dune because of the Dune I game.

icambron 11y ago

I reread Dune recently, for the first time since middle school. It is not as good as I remembered it. It's certainly readable, but it's awkward in places and there are whole sections that barely make sense. Also, much which was probably groundbreaking in the 1960s is now just standard trope. To a contemporary reader (or to me, at least) it seems like an amateur application of a formula, even though it's really the original formula itself in all its Alpha 1 glory, without any subsequent refinements. I think the best way to approach it is as an important cultural artifact, as opposed to a novel you really want to read.

johnchristopher 11y ago

> But to Gibson's credit, many of his inventions were ill defined and had a chance to mutate just like Herbert's terminology and tech. I won't get into the details because I am sure that you already know the obvious ones. Yes, I also note that - as he stated it himself - the tech and the world he describes in his novels come to look more and more like our own until the blue ant serie where both meet and are the same. > Anyways, I am really interested in checking out Dune now. I heard the first book is fantastic, but almost unreadable because Frank's writing style was atrocious and it got better over the years ... is this true? I only read the translation (and almost a decade ago) so I won't comment on the style but the plot line still stands on its own as well as the characters, the themes and the ambiance. I don't remember improvements regarding style over time I'd chalk it up to the translation. edit: From Herbert I only read Dune and that other book about the God school or factory. I only read Dune because of the Dune I game.