Review of Slan Hunter by KJA


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Hunchback Jack
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Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by Hunchback Jack »

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HBJ
"The sky calls to us. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars."
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I'm still very proud of The Quarry but … let's face it; in the end the real best way to sign off would have been with a great big rollicking Culture novel.
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SandChigger
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by SandChigger »

That's familiar; might it have been posted here before? :?

Anyway...
I can't recall ever having to re-read a single sentence in any of his books in order to understand what was happening.
Yep, Anderson is NO CHINA MIÉVILLE: you never need a dictionary when reading The Hack!
I'm sorry to say, though, that aside from being easy and absorbing reading, he comes up rather short in other important respects. His plots, though intricate, are far from being actually complex, relying more on soap opera melodrama to push the action forward than on plausible characters and situations. Dune: House Corrino in particular suffered greatly from this. When reading it I was struck by the fact that over half of the characters were doing what were doing because they were quite simply out of their minds. Totally gone. Crackers, barmy, swinging-off-the-chandeliers nutso. (Compare that to the number of crazy people found in all six of the original Dune novels.) When your book is populated by such characters it's easy to keep the action coming. Indeed, you often find yourself in an excess in the plot department, hence you need three volumes to tell an otherwise straightforward story just to keep track of all the raving and backstabbing and whispered revelations. We get conflict for the sake of conflict, bad decisions for the sake of creating action, and endless arguing in places where arguing make no sense on any level.
What was that he was saying the other day about action scenes? ;)
Incidentally, to be be clear on this point, I've read and greatly enjoyed Brian Herbert's solo novels (as well as his collaboration with his father) but I've never been able to see any of Brian in the new Dune novels.
We are not alone! :lol:
The only good thing that can come from Slan Hunter as far as I am concerned is that it will serve to raise van Vogt's profile among those who would otherwise never hear of him.
And McDune may bring more readers to Frank Herbert's originals. :roll:

How damning is it that this same line is used to justify KJA's work in every franchise he ass-rapes? :evil:
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by Serkanner »

SandChigger wrote: How damning is it that this same line is used to justify KJA's work in every franchise he ass-rapes? :evil:
It pretty much solidifies the fact that KJA is a very bad writer. On his own he would never have come close to a "known" writer. It is the franchises from which he draws away attention. In other words ... also good writers need a shit every now-and-than ... the smell is that what remains which we know as KJA
"... the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve but a reality to experience."

“There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.”

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and wrote a Dune Novel."
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Apjak
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by Apjak »

Isn't it just as plausible that Slan Hunter & McDune would keep sensible people away from the original material?
I don't think the author should make the reader do that much work - Kevin J. Anderson
We think we've updated 'Dune' for a modern readership without dumbing it down.- Brian Herbert
There’s an unwritten compact between you and the reader. If someone enters a bookstore and sets down hard earned money(energy) for your book, you owe that person some entertainment and as much more as you can give. - Frank Herbert
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SandChigger
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by SandChigger »

I've always considered that a strong possibility, given that some people are in fact introduced to the series through the derivatives.

Say someone's in a bookstore looking for something to read and they see all the McDune books (always plenty on the shelves) and think, hey, I've heard of this Dune before, let's give it a try... but there are no copies of Dune itself so they pick up House Atrocious instead, hate it and decide never to read another book with DUNE on the cover again. And what's worse, they tell their friends to avoid it as well.

We end up hearing almost solely from the idiots who actually liked the McDune and eventually wound up posting about it on a forum or blog, etc. There's virtually no way to know how many are lost through a first encounter with McDune. Except virtually, if they blog or post about it, too. ;)
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by D Pope »

I dub thee, "Any press is good press!" The penultimate preeq arguement- just ahead of,"You shouldn't read it if you don't like it!"
Leto II is gone for good, except for OM. The "pearl" was just that; a miniscule portion of what Leto was, and not a compressed version of the whole. The pearl that the worms have do not make them Leto, or in any way similar to him.
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TheDukester
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by TheDukester »

... and filed somewhere near, "Gosh darn it all, Brian is Frank Herbert’s son. If he doesn’t know what Frank intended for the series, who does?!”

(I never, ever get tired of that one ... :lol: )
"Anything I write will be remembered and listed in bibliographies on Dune for several hundred years ..." — some delusional halfwit troll.
D Pope
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by D Pope »

D Pope wrote:I dub thee, "Any press is good press!" The penultimate preeq arguement- just ahead of,"You shouldn't read it if you don't like it!"
Submitted for approval; possible response to this arguement. "Doesn't the controversy the OH provides generate interest in the nuDune abomination?"
Leto II is gone for good, except for OM. The "pearl" was just that; a miniscule portion of what Leto was, and not a compressed version of the whole. The pearl that the worms have do not make them Leto, or in any way similar to him.
-Omphalos
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SandChigger
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by SandChigger »

Possibly. Probably. But I think unless I'm in complete rant mode I've been fairly consistent (more consistent than nu/McDune is to the originals at least!) about advising people to read the books for themselves, not to just take our word for how bad they are.

The important thing is to tell people to read ALL of the originals FIRST. And to NEVER BUY the McDune books if possible—borrowing copies from the library or friends instead—but to BUY USED when all else fails. (That's unfortunately one of those "Do as I say, not as I do" thingies, since I want to have a copy as soon as possible to begin the blood sacrifices. ;) )

While we really don't want people "interested" in the books, we do want attention drawn to them and the situation surrounding their creation and how they represent the rape of a classic science fiction legacy.

(Just my take on it. ;) )
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
aethereon
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Re: Review of Slan Hunter by KJA

Post by aethereon »

The best thing that happened to Dune happened before the inception of franchise.

The best thing that happened to the franchise is yet to be seen, because KJA is getting all the attention - good, bad, or otherwise. Someone has been extorted.

Herbert family? I'm on the fence. There are some scrubby fucks there, unfortunately.

Neo-dune readers / fans? NO.

Those who appreciate Frank Herbert's work? Frank Herbert put a near lifetime of effort into 6 polished Dune novels. Those who appreciate his work are in the least didactically attempting to match his effort as readers.

GOD DAMNED RIGHT WE'VE BEEN EXTORTED.
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