You forgot "I read Dune and was advised by friends I trust to stop at the end of the first book."
This, so much this.You forgot "I read Dune and was advised by friends I trust to stop at the end of the first book."
Ha! This is hilarious. I did not get such a warning, and so I kept reading. Dune is the only series I know of where each sequel is worse than the one before it. I don't remember how many I read, but it was too many.
Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
There are no other books.
Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
There are no other books.
I don’t understand what you mean by this.
Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
There are no other books.
I don’t understand what you mean by this.
It's like how they didn't make any Matrix movies. Just one, and done . . . rather than create lots of shitty sequels that simply detract from the original. :P
Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
There are no other books.
I don’t understand what you mean by this.
Or, perhaps the ultimate example:Not only have I read the entire original series, but also most of the prequels written by Herbert's son. They are actually more enjoyable than the originals! Whoever the publisher is, though, had bad judgment in book sizing - the more recent paperbacks have such a small margin on the spine side that it's impossible to properly open the book. They're actually narrower than usual. Those are the ones I haven't read yet.
There are no other books.
I don’t understand what you mean by this.
It's like how they didn't make any Matrix movies. Just one, and done . . . rather than create lots of shitty sequels that simply detract from the original. :P
Or how there are only three Star Wars movies.
You guys have saved me a lot of trouble. I've read the first one and now won't read any others. Thanks!
You guys have saved me a lot of trouble. I've read the first one and now won't read any others. Thanks!
The Dune series covers a timespan of about 5,000 years and doesn't suffer the flaw of trying to maintain the same cast of characters throughout that or attempt to maintain any status quo. It tells a story with a greatly evolving cast and setting (like the real world) even though its core plot and central themes persist. I think that's one of the main things that causes people consternation.
The only book I found to be difficult was God Emperor of Dune, which is most people's stumbling block.
Sadly the series ends on a cliffhanger that foreshadows major and interesting changes. RIP Frank Herbert.
You guys have saved me a lot of trouble. I've read the first one and now won't read any others. Thanks!
The Dune series covers a timespan of about 5,000 years and doesn't suffer the flaw of trying to maintain the same cast of characters throughout that or attempt to maintain any status quo. It tells a story with a greatly evolving cast and setting (like the real world) even though its core plot and central themes persist. I think that's one of the main things that causes people consternation.
The only book I found to be difficult was God Emperor of Dune, which is most people's stumbling block.
Sadly the series ends on a cliffhanger that foreshadows major and interesting changes. RIP Frank Herbert.
Do you mean the series with his writing or his son's writing that ends in the cliffhanger?
I've read and enjoyed the main trilogy, seen the movies, and am looking forward to the new film.
I don't want to prioritize reading all the other Dune books out there, but for those who have, how was Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, specifically? It would be interesting to learn more about the "no thinking machines!" background of the Dune universe. I've read the wikipedia article for the highlights.
I've read and enjoyed the main trilogy, seen the movies, and am looking forward to the new film.
I don't want to prioritize reading all the other Dune books out there, but for those who have, how was Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, specifically? It would be interesting to learn more about the "no thinking machines!" background of the Dune universe. I've read the wikipedia article for the highlights.
The most succinct and non-spoilerly way to put this is: The novel "The Butlerian Jihad" has absolutely nothing to do with the Butlerian Jihad as described in Frank Herbert's work. Your desire to better understand that bit of backstory is not served by reading that novel.
This, so much this.You forgot "I read Dune and was advised by friends I trust to stop at the end of the first book."
Ha! This is hilarious. I did not get such a warning, and so I kept reading. Dune is the only series I know of where each sequel is worse than the one before it. I don't remember how many I read, but it was too many.
Slight tangent; how do folks feel about the various Dune adaptations? I have a perhaps unique perspective on the Lynch film, as I saw it long before reading the book(s). As a result, I actually like the movie, though I certainly recognize it as a totally separate creature from the books. I do find it interesting that Lynch, Mr. Unconventional, fell into a very conventional trope regarding the Messianic protagonist:Spoiler: show
You forgot "I read Dune and was advised by friends I trust to stop at the end of the first book."
Ha! This is hilarious. I did not get such a warning, and so I kept reading. Dune is the only series I know of where each sequel is worse than the one before it. I don't remember how many I read, but it was too many.
Or, perhaps the ultimate example:
Highlander movies --there can be only one!
Dune Messiah is the most misunderstood of Frank Herbert’s novels. The reasons for this are as fascinating and complex as the renowned author himself...The detractors did not understand that Dune Messiah was a bridging work, connecting Dune with an as-yet-uncompleted third book in the trilogy. To get there, the second novel in the series flipped over the carefully crafted hero myth of Paul Muad’Dib and revealed the dark side of the messiah phenomenon that had appeared to be so glorious in Dune. Many readers didn’t want that dose of reality; they couldn’t stand the demotion of their beloved, charismatic champion, especially after the author had already killed off two of their favorite characters in Dune, the loyal Atreides swordmaster Duncan Idaho1 and the idealistic planetologist Liet-Kynes.
Is there a way to change my response to the poll? I voted a while ago, but I have since read Dune. I enjoyed it very much. It's one of my dad's favorite books but I had never got around to it till now. Before I started I was worried about the additional vocab*, but that was not a problem. I took a few weeks off before starting Dune Messiah, which I did not like nearly as much. Is it just me, or does nothing happen (other than plotting) until the last quarter of the book? I do plan to read Children of Dune and then reassess whether the series is worth continuing.
I have to agree with @Ockhamist on Herbert's unsuccessful messaging. In my copy of Messiah, there's a foreword by Brian Herbert, which starts off:QuoteDune Messiah is the most misunderstood of Frank Herbert’s novels. The reasons for this are as fascinating and complex as the renowned author himself...The detractors did not understand that Dune Messiah was a bridging work, connecting Dune with an as-yet-uncompleted third book in the trilogy. To get there, the second novel in the series flipped over the carefully crafted hero myth of Paul Muad’Dib and revealed the dark side of the messiah phenomenon that had appeared to be so glorious in Dune. Many readers didn’t want that dose of reality; they couldn’t stand the demotion of their beloved, charismatic champion, especially after the author had already killed off two of their favorite characters in Dune, the loyal Atreides swordmaster Duncan Idaho1 and the idealistic planetologist Liet-Kynes.
And I'm sitting here thinking, maybe the problem with Dune Messiah is that it's just a worse book?
* Relevant XKCD:Spoiler: show
You forgot "I read Dune and was advised by friends I trust to stop at the end of the first book."