Even down to the Piurivar race of shapeshifters who resembled Face Dancers in many ways, but also the mix between science and mystical forces.
(I did a search on the forum for precedent posts but found none, so if someone has already pointed out that issue please direct me to the concerned thread thanks!)
Those similarities were troubling but ran deeper than I thought, but things hitting you in the face apparently can be ignored, and I had to get the final piece of the puzzle from someone else
In fact it's all about chronology which is why I overlooked it:
1965 Dune
1980 Lord Valentine's Castle
http://www.bookrags.com/shortguide-lord ... itles.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Lord Valentine's Castle owes as much to the modern tradition of fantasy as to predecessors in science fiction: the work of J. R. R. Tolkien and his imitators is clearly an influence. Unlike Tolkien, however, Silverberg shows little indebtedness to medieval heroic saga or to Norse mythology. Moreover, the planet Majipoor with its three continents, diverse cultures, and history is supposed to exist in a science fiction continuum. It has been colonized by humans and exists several thousand years in the future, although the various indigenous beings of the planet are Silverberg's own invention — including Skandars, sea dragons, and shape shifters. For this thoughtful and detailed construction of an imaginary planet, the most influential model is probably Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) and its sequels, although earlier writers, including even the much maligned Edgar Rice Burroughs,.....
WHAT??
SEA DRAGONS in a universe inspired by Dune
and then seaWORMS appear in the crappy follow ups now what a coincidence...
I'm sure to find other cases of blatant plagiarism should I put my hands back on my copy of Lord Valentine.
Mind boggling hacking: steal some (good) stuff inspired by the stories you're already stealing and turn it into crap