Hello, all!
Posted: 04 Dec 2010 12:09
Hello!
I've been lurking around this site for a couple of weeks now and have been enjoying the discussions of all things Dune (and quasi-Dune). Time I introduced myself, really. This is probably a familiar story to you guys...
I first read Dune as an early teen: a cliche battered paperback that my mum picked up from a library giveaway. I fell in love with the deep world, subtle themes and characters, the intrigue and in particular the most incredible writing style I have ever had the good fortune to read.
FH is the only author who has had this strange effect on me while reading. I find myself staring at the bottom of a page after the first paragraph has put me into such deep imagination and contemplation that my eyes have kept moving but I've forgotten to read.
I've read and loved all of the original Dune series - though I'm ashamed to say I have never gotten around to reading any other FH works.
I was thrilled when I heard that the reins of Dune had been taken over by Frank's son and some novelist who sounded vaguely familiar.
If I remember right, I read the 'Legends' series of prequels first and was horrified to find it full of gross misunderstandings about the BJ, horrible prequel tropes along the lines of "all lore happened on the same Saturday by the same people at 3:03pm", ridiculous soft-sci-fi concepts and none of the subtleties of FH. But hey... it was a pre-prequel and didn't really affect Dune too much (I convinced myself).
Next up I read the prelude series, gritting my teeth at the mockery that had been made of the characters, the obvious plot-holes and inconsitencies, mysticism and redundant storylines.
I still went and bought Dune 7 (or Dune 7-8, Dune 7.5?) like a fool.
I raged at the Hunters introduction - such arrogance and dubious legitimising. And then, thinking I couldn't rage any more, I read the first few chapters. The characters had become utter morons and seemed to suffer amnesia, the setting was a horribly literal and redundant vision of Duncan's way of saying "we're lost", it treated me like an idiot, reminding me of events that happened a few pages prior and it was painfully obvious that the big-bads would turn out to be roleplaying robots.
I put the book down and went to do some research. I found "spoilers" to confirm how ludicrous the ending was and also found some very saddening stories about how the Herbert estate had treated Frank's loyal fans, such as the Second-Life roleplaying group, the word "Talifans" and the news that any inconsistency is resolved by the fact that it was, in actuality, the originals which were wrong.
In the end, though I found this place and learned to laugh at the bumblings of KJA and HLP. So thank you, Jacurutu.
I've been lurking around this site for a couple of weeks now and have been enjoying the discussions of all things Dune (and quasi-Dune). Time I introduced myself, really. This is probably a familiar story to you guys...
I first read Dune as an early teen: a cliche battered paperback that my mum picked up from a library giveaway. I fell in love with the deep world, subtle themes and characters, the intrigue and in particular the most incredible writing style I have ever had the good fortune to read.
FH is the only author who has had this strange effect on me while reading. I find myself staring at the bottom of a page after the first paragraph has put me into such deep imagination and contemplation that my eyes have kept moving but I've forgotten to read.
I've read and loved all of the original Dune series - though I'm ashamed to say I have never gotten around to reading any other FH works.
I was thrilled when I heard that the reins of Dune had been taken over by Frank's son and some novelist who sounded vaguely familiar.
If I remember right, I read the 'Legends' series of prequels first and was horrified to find it full of gross misunderstandings about the BJ, horrible prequel tropes along the lines of "all lore happened on the same Saturday by the same people at 3:03pm", ridiculous soft-sci-fi concepts and none of the subtleties of FH. But hey... it was a pre-prequel and didn't really affect Dune too much (I convinced myself).
Next up I read the prelude series, gritting my teeth at the mockery that had been made of the characters, the obvious plot-holes and inconsitencies, mysticism and redundant storylines.
I still went and bought Dune 7 (or Dune 7-8, Dune 7.5?) like a fool.
I raged at the Hunters introduction - such arrogance and dubious legitimising. And then, thinking I couldn't rage any more, I read the first few chapters. The characters had become utter morons and seemed to suffer amnesia, the setting was a horribly literal and redundant vision of Duncan's way of saying "we're lost", it treated me like an idiot, reminding me of events that happened a few pages prior and it was painfully obvious that the big-bads would turn out to be roleplaying robots.
I put the book down and went to do some research. I found "spoilers" to confirm how ludicrous the ending was and also found some very saddening stories about how the Herbert estate had treated Frank's loyal fans, such as the Second-Life roleplaying group, the word "Talifans" and the news that any inconsistency is resolved by the fact that it was, in actuality, the originals which were wrong.
In the end, though I found this place and learned to laugh at the bumblings of KJA and HLP. So thank you, Jacurutu.
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(belated) Greetings and Salutations!