Time for a Group Reread of the original Dune Series

www.tor.com/2016/11/15/the-sleeper-has-a...frank-herberts-dune/

I've re read the original series a few times, but had to skim vast sections of God Emperor of Dune, which is boring as hell for long stretches.

I actually couldn't make it again through the first one a few years back. It's probably me, but it just didn't do much for me anymore. God Emperor was a slog the first time; I can't imagine rereading it.

I'm reading new-to-me stuff for the forseeable future, but I will re-read at least the first book eventually if not the first three. Couldn't make it through God Emperor when I tried years ago and not interested to try again.

As bad as God Emperor was, the two books after it ( Heretics and Chapterhouse ) I thought were pretty good.

I have the first three. I heard God Emperor was a tough read, even compared to the previous Dune books, so I stopped after the third. I am willing to give the first three another read.

Awesome
1. Dune
2. Dune Messiah
3. Children of Dune

Avoid, but Great Concepts
4. God Emperor of Dune

Good to Mediocre
5. Heretics of Dune
6. Chapterhouse: Dune.

Novels 4, 5, & 6, however, introduce and expand upon some worthwhile concepts that, unfortunately, don't entirely carry their weight as novels: Golden Path, Fish Speakers, Face Dancers, Bene Tleilax, Ixian no-ships, Honored Matres, Bene Gesserit Imprinters, axlotl tanks, and "the scattering" (new Exodus).

The Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's prequel novels are all pulp, but, I enjoyed reading them--they're all entirely forgettable.

One of my friends nicknamed one of the later books "Duncan Idaho, Sex God of Dune."

Since this is F:AT, it would be horrible not to mention this important Dune sequel:



It replaces "spice" with "BEER."

Coincidentally, I finished listening to Dune on my audible only a couple weeks ago. I recommend anyone with interest in Dune giving it at shot. There are many different readers, and many chapters have different actors voicing each character. The actor reading Vladimir Harkonnen is particularly good. It is very high production value, and I think you can get it for free if it is your first time signing into audible (I got it for credits). I also found it more engrossing, because I have the habit of skipping through the denser part of the book when I read on paper.
It is a great book, only comparable to the Lord of the Rings, IMHO.

Now I am listening to the Heretics of Dune, and it is kind of... meh. I never got to read Heretics and the Chapterhouse (because I was burnt out by God Emperor), but listening to it right after the original Dune, I can confidently say they're not nearly on the same level. It is like after God Emperor some had told Herbert: "man, I know being dense is your style, but don't you think you went too far with your last? Isn't it like, basically, a 400-page lecture on world, universe and everything imparted by... a giant worm? How about you try to write a something with less philosophy and more intrigue and backstabbing, because that's what we actually like a about Dune?"

So I am about 80% into Heretics and it has more action and character than God Emperor, and the intention here is clearly to give a soft reboot to the series. But it is not nearly as grand as Dune. There's no clear sense of who are the antagonists, and I found it hard to distinguish between all the Bene Gesserit characters. And for all its double-crossings and political/cultural/religious and sexual musing, I find it kind of shallow for some reason. There was something very Shakespearean about Atreides - Harkonnen in the first book that the latter novels never achieved (although Dune Messiah works as a good epilogue to the original Dune)

Read all six and one of the god awful "new" ones.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first three. God Emperor was painfully obtuse. Let's through a bunch of concepts together in a blender and hit frappe.

The last two were, "What the Hell was Herbert snorting?" Child abuse. Sex slavery. Boring vignettes.

I consider the last three entries as the prequel entries of SW. Acknowledge their existence, and nothing more.

I reread the first last year. I'll start reading the other two shortly.

stoic wrote:

Awesome
1. Dune
2. Dune Messiah
3. Children of Dune

Avoid
4. God Emperor of Dune

I found Children to not be as good as God Emperor, despite God Emperor being very, very dry.

I love Dune, but always thought the first book was such a great self-contained read I've never read any of the sequels. Maybe now is the time.

Almalik wrote: I love Dune, but always thought the first book was such a great self-contained read I've never read any of the sequels. Maybe now is the time.

I was in the same boat Almalik until a couple years ago. Had read Dune multiple times, I'd still call it my favorite novel, but never a sequel. I finally picked up Messiah and blew through it in a couple nights. It was OK and enjoyed the Arrakis setting again, but nothing in it hooked me at all and I never moved to the third book. I found just seeing where the story went from there through wiki sites and the like was enough for me as I had heard the quality just decreases the further you go.

I reread the series while living in Qatar. At one point I was in a taxi in a sandstorm, reading about a sandstorm, so that was cool.