Hello there, fellow Orthodox-ians!
Posted: 27 Aug 2010 23:29
Before I begin, let me first admit that I've now read every single one of the "new" books. They certainly annoy the hell out of me at times with KJA's quantity-over-quality writing style and all of the various other flaws that y'all have obviously been over with a fine tooth comb.....but I have a voracious appetite for all things Dune and I am satisfied to extract the odd bit of non-tripe from the new school material, trying not to let the overarching crapfest ruin it for me (despite often failing).
Here's one that will really get to you guys....Dune itself is the last of the books that I read! I'd seen the Lynch film and the Syfy (don't get me started) miniseries, got my hands on God Emperor a few years back, loved it (still my favorite of the books -- Long Live the Tyrant! 3,500 More Years! Heh), and for various reasons just never got around to actually reading Dune itself until I'd finished everything else.
I thought I knew what it was going to be like, that I knew everything that happened in the story. What a surprise I had in store for me!
In a way, I think I've enjoyed the original book all that much more for the contrast between it and the other books, having read them first. Even against Frank's own other works, it has a certain warmth and glow of youth that is lacking in the later, IMHO "drier," sequels. But there's still that self-negating theme that gets under my skin and opens me up to being that much more accepting of the non-canon....I'm sure I'll get shit for saying so, but the reason that the "finale" of Sandworms of Dune was so appealing to me was that for once, the good guys get to "win" without losing just as much if not more in the process! There's a certain beauty to Frank's approach, but the appeal of the notion that Paul eventually gets to be *actually happy* in his second life (ignoring the whole Paolo thing....god what a stupid fucking name, but I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on that one) was just too much for me. I keep getting lured in by KJA/BH's cheap sugary-sweet themes, even though underneath it all I hate them just as much as any of y'all.
So....I'm a writer myself, though I've been stuck on my opus for many years much as Frank spent six years preparing to write Dune, and haven't been published in about a decade. Eventually I may start posting about my plans for that creative project and a few others I have planned, but I babble about that in plenty of other places so I'll spare you for the time being.
I've lurked here for some time, and decided it was time -- now that I've finally read the original masterwork -- to join in. My own personal backstory is long and complicated, but the short version is that I'm 32, with two kids, former professional athlete/martial arts teacher and successful self-employed polymath (I still do a little work in very broad ranges of business, mostly consulting and web publishing but many other things as well), been disabled by a severe chronic pain/immune-system condition for nearly 10 years now, a disease that may eventually prove fatal. I'm trying to make the most of my life, and my opportunities to make my mark on history, with however much time I have left in which I can still do the necessary work. Already, (don't let this long intro post fool you!) I am having trouble typing nearly as prolifically as I used to because of severe arthritis in my hands. Playing my baliset....er, I mean guitar....is becoming very difficult. So, I immerse myself in the world of Dune as a means of letting my mind soar out of my ruined body, and I take much inspiration from it for my own opus which I hope to publish in a "transmedia" community-collaborative format (tricky to explain because it's such an ambitious and complex concept, but I'm sure I'll bend your ears about it soon enough) beginning in the next year, with roughly 10 'seasons' planned if it succeeds in anything remotely like the fashion I hope for.
That's the short version (yes, really! LOL) of who I am and what brought me here. You may now proceed to berate me for my failings as an Orthodox Herbertarian.
Here's one that will really get to you guys....Dune itself is the last of the books that I read! I'd seen the Lynch film and the Syfy (don't get me started) miniseries, got my hands on God Emperor a few years back, loved it (still my favorite of the books -- Long Live the Tyrant! 3,500 More Years! Heh), and for various reasons just never got around to actually reading Dune itself until I'd finished everything else.
I thought I knew what it was going to be like, that I knew everything that happened in the story. What a surprise I had in store for me!
In a way, I think I've enjoyed the original book all that much more for the contrast between it and the other books, having read them first. Even against Frank's own other works, it has a certain warmth and glow of youth that is lacking in the later, IMHO "drier," sequels. But there's still that self-negating theme that gets under my skin and opens me up to being that much more accepting of the non-canon....I'm sure I'll get shit for saying so, but the reason that the "finale" of Sandworms of Dune was so appealing to me was that for once, the good guys get to "win" without losing just as much if not more in the process! There's a certain beauty to Frank's approach, but the appeal of the notion that Paul eventually gets to be *actually happy* in his second life (ignoring the whole Paolo thing....god what a stupid fucking name, but I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on that one) was just too much for me. I keep getting lured in by KJA/BH's cheap sugary-sweet themes, even though underneath it all I hate them just as much as any of y'all.
So....I'm a writer myself, though I've been stuck on my opus for many years much as Frank spent six years preparing to write Dune, and haven't been published in about a decade. Eventually I may start posting about my plans for that creative project and a few others I have planned, but I babble about that in plenty of other places so I'll spare you for the time being.
I've lurked here for some time, and decided it was time -- now that I've finally read the original masterwork -- to join in. My own personal backstory is long and complicated, but the short version is that I'm 32, with two kids, former professional athlete/martial arts teacher and successful self-employed polymath (I still do a little work in very broad ranges of business, mostly consulting and web publishing but many other things as well), been disabled by a severe chronic pain/immune-system condition for nearly 10 years now, a disease that may eventually prove fatal. I'm trying to make the most of my life, and my opportunities to make my mark on history, with however much time I have left in which I can still do the necessary work. Already, (don't let this long intro post fool you!) I am having trouble typing nearly as prolifically as I used to because of severe arthritis in my hands. Playing my baliset....er, I mean guitar....is becoming very difficult. So, I immerse myself in the world of Dune as a means of letting my mind soar out of my ruined body, and I take much inspiration from it for my own opus which I hope to publish in a "transmedia" community-collaborative format (tricky to explain because it's such an ambitious and complex concept, but I'm sure I'll bend your ears about it soon enough) beginning in the next year, with roughly 10 'seasons' planned if it succeeds in anything remotely like the fashion I hope for.
That's the short version (yes, really! LOL) of who I am and what brought me here. You may now proceed to berate me for my failings as an Orthodox Herbertarian.
