Frank Herbert and Brian Herbert - Man of Two Worlds


Moderators: Mr. Teg, Omphalos, Freakzilla, ᴶᵛᵀᴬ

Post Reply
User avatar
SimonH
Posts: 179
Joined: 10 Feb 2008 18:28

Frank Herbert and Brian Herbert - Man of Two Worlds

Post by SimonH »

Is Man of Two Worlds worth buying?

My FH collection is nearly complete. I was going to buy The Santaroga Barrier on ebay, but shipping will be better with more books from the same dude. The only thing that he has for sale that I don't have is Man of Two Worlds.

I remember reading some disparaging remarks about BH's contributions to this book :?:
User avatar
SandChigger
KJASF Ground Zero
Posts: 14492
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 22:29
Location: A continuing state of irritation
Contact:

Post by SandChigger »

I bought a used copy through the Amazon sellers back during the summer; had a glance through it but haven't read it yet. (It arrived during or soon after my plough through Brian's silly Sidney's Comet, so I really wasn't in the mood for more of his shit. It's still in a near-bed book pile, and glares at me every night and morning. ;) )

My impression from the quick glance was that it's a bit silly, FWIW.
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
User avatar
SimonH
Posts: 179
Joined: 10 Feb 2008 18:28

Post by SimonH »

hmmm. silly FH is my least favourite FH. Let alone BH input... :?

I may buy it just to move towards completing the collection
User avatar
Omphalos
Inglorious Bastard
Posts: 6677
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 11:07
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Post by Omphalos »

Lots of people say it is good. I suppose parts of it were ( :wink: ) but most of it sucked soiled ass.
Image

The New & Improved Book Review Blog

Goodnight Golden Path!
Lundse
Posts: 524
Joined: 01 Jul 2008 11:36
Location: Århus, Denmark

Post by Lundse »

It's been a long time since I read it, but from memory:

The premise is an OK, standard, sci-fi romp - you can tell it is Frank doing it, though, and sometimes interesting bits shine through. But never as well in his better works, and I found nothing truly new about it which was not repeated better elsewhere.
User avatar
Mr. Teg
Moderator
Posts: 708
Joined: 11 Feb 2008 10:14
Location: Chair
Contact:

Post by Mr. Teg »

Lundse wrote:It's been a long time since I read it, but from memory:

The premise is an OK, standard, sci-fi romp - you can tell it is Frank doing it, though, and sometimes interesting bits shine through. But never as well in his better works, and I found nothing truly new about it which was not repeated better elsewhere.
I just reread in Dreamer of Dune how Frank would always consent to basically any changes Brian wanted to make or if he didn't approve of the direction Frank wanted to take with something.

I'm assuming Brain mentions this the way he did to prove that he had a certain level of talent validated by his Dad, but I can't help but wonder given the context of the situation, his Dad was simply focusing on the relationship with his son.
CHOAM
Combine Herbert Ober Anderson Mercantile, Narf!
Brian, Kevin & Byron :? :cylon101: :roll: The HLP
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Post by Freakzilla »

It's along the lines of...

Son: Dad, watch me!
<kid twirls around awkwardly, falls and busts his lip on the coffee table>
Dad: That's great son!

Happens at my house all the time.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
Mr. Teg
Moderator
Posts: 708
Joined: 11 Feb 2008 10:14
Location: Chair
Contact:

Post by Mr. Teg »

Freakzilla wrote:It's along the lines of...

Son: Dad, watch me!
<kid>
Dad: That's great son!

Happens at my house all the time.
Exactly :)
CHOAM
Combine Herbert Ober Anderson Mercantile, Narf!
Brian, Kevin & Byron :? :cylon101: :roll: The HLP
User avatar
Lisan Al-Gaib
Posts: 418
Joined: 11 Feb 2008 15:34
Location: In the Heart of My Religion.

Post by Lisan Al-Gaib »

SandChigger wrote:I bought a used copy through the Amazon sellers back during the summer; had a glance through it but haven't read it yet. (It arrived during or soon after my plough through Brian's silly Sidney's Comet, so I really wasn't in the mood for more of his shit. It's still in a near-bed book pile, and glares at me every night and morning. ;) )

My impression from the quick glance was that it's a bit silly, FWIW.
I'm in the same situation, I bought this book too, but I'm so interested in read another things that I couldn't start reading it yet :?
I didn't get into the plot so much...
The singular multiplicity of this universe draws my deepest attention. It is a thing of ultimate beauty.

-- The Stolen Journals

User avatar
SandChigger
KJASF Ground Zero
Posts: 14492
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 22:29
Location: A continuing state of irritation
Contact:

Post by SandChigger »

IIRC the book came out after Frank has passed on, right?

It's hard to tell how close what finally got published is to the last version he saw/approved before he died. (I don't suppose Brian discusses that aspect in Dreamer?)
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
User avatar
DuneFishUK
Posts: 1991
Joined: 25 May 2008 14:14
Location: Cool Britannia
Contact:

Post by DuneFishUK »

SandChigger wrote:IIRC the book came out after Frank has passed on, right?

It's hard to tell how close what finally got published is to the last version he saw/approved before he died. (I don't suppose Brian discusses that aspect in Dreamer?)

It's 1986 - so yeah it probably will have.

I seem to remember it felt like a solid old sf concept with a definite FH edge to it, but everything is pretty colours and there's a thick layer of pointless aesthetic crud to pad it out.

(Just had a look at the author photo on the back of my copy - damn Brian looked young back then...)
Image
- http://www.kullwahad.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - http://dunefont.kullwahad.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; -
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

I haven't read it since I was really young, but I remember thinking that whoever wrote it was either writing for children or was really high. I'd have to read it again to give you an honest opinion on it.
Image
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Post by Freakzilla »

A Thing of Eternity wrote:I haven't read it since I was really young, but I remember thinking that whoever wrote it was either writing for children or was really high.
Why not both? :smoke:
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
A Thing of Eternity
Posts: 6090
Joined: 08 Apr 2008 15:35
Location: Calgary Alberta

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

Freakzilla wrote:
A Thing of Eternity wrote:I haven't read it since I was really young, but I remember thinking that whoever wrote it was either writing for children or was really high.
Why not both? :smoke:
I said high not drunk. :wink:
Image
User avatar
SandChigger
KJASF Ground Zero
Posts: 14492
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 22:29
Location: A continuing state of irritation
Contact:

Post by SandChigger »

Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!

:lol:
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Post by Freakzilla »

A Thing of Eternity wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:
A Thing of Eternity wrote:I haven't read it since I was really young, but I remember thinking that whoever wrote it was either writing for children or was really high.
Why not both? :smoke:
I said high not drunk. :wink:
Maybe Frank was high and Brian was writing for children (as if he could do anything else).
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
SandChigger
KJASF Ground Zero
Posts: 14492
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 22:29
Location: A continuing state of irritation
Contact:

Post by SandChigger »

I pulled the book out of the pile this morning and just had a look at the dustcover inner-flap text. A few interesting points.
ISBN 0-399-13132-9
>$18.95
(Not bad for a hardcover in '86? I forget how much I paid for it. More for postage than for the book, tho.)
MAN OF TWO WORLDS

FRANK HERBERT AND BRIAN HERBERT

The first-time pairing of the incredible talents of two Herberts, father and son, delivers a brilliant blend of exciting science fiction adventure and slightly outrageous comedy. Double the enjoyment!

Frank Herbert, one of the world's most popular and successful science fiction authors, is best known for the Dune books. The six volumes that have appeared to date in the fabulous future-world saga are celebrated as serious, highly philosophical books of tremendous scope. Mr. Herbert's son, Brian, is a widely acclaimed author in his own right whose works are full of wacky, offbeat humor.

In Man of Two Worlds, their first collaboration, the reader is treated to a glimpse of the lighter side of Frank Herbert and the more serious side of Brian Herbert. Here, these two writers combine their prolific talents to create a charming science fiction adventure story replete with the fascinating elements we expect from the creator of Dune and peppered liberally with enough stabs of wit and improbable situations to mark it clearly as the send-up it is meant to be.

Send-up or not, Man of Two Worlds is a story with a compelling premise:

Suppose all of Earth—all of the universe—were the creation of the fertile imagination of an alien world; suppose too that we had reached the point of being able to destroy that world, without realizing it was our creator, without knowing that its destruction would virtually erase our existence. And suppose that the future of both races lay in the hands of a confused man who is half greedy, aggressive human and half precocious, naive teenage alien!

A masterful concept, masterfully and wittily presented and resolved, makes for the Herberts' newest bestseller.

Frank Herbert is the world-renowned author of Dune and over two dozen other books of science fiction. Brian Herbert, author of The Garbage Chronicles, Sidney's Comet, and most recently Sudanna, Sudanna, lives in the state of Washington.
I love how the author of the blurb ends that last line: "...lives in the state of Washington." Like they had nothing more they could say about him.

Nah...sorry, but just from that description, I already kinda know that this one really isn't going to do it for me. I'll probably read it someday, but not any time soon. (Maybe I'm wrong, but that "teenage alien" bit makes me think "YA".)
"Let the dead give water to the dead. As for me, it's NO MORE FUCKING TEARS!"
Post Reply