Emotional Leper: Frank Herbert's Dune Series Expert

[Cagliostro]

What is the spice?




Strangely enough, I really dug the movie. Then again, I hadn't really read the books at that point. And I've only ever read the first one, and started the second, but couldn't get into it. Actually, I had started the first book before I saw the movie, and as a result, was able to get through the book easier at that point. But something about Herbert's writing I just could never break through and pay attention. But I think the best adaptation ever of Dune was the earliest videogame of it. Well, maybe not the earliest, if there is a text version of it, but the first one that was in wide release. I still play it occasionally. Lots of fun, even though some of it is pretty doofy. And I like that they included the beginning scenes of the movie in there. Whoever that lady is (I think the daughter of the head naughty guy - emperor?) was way sexy.

[er-andy]

From what I recall I loved God emperor, but it's been so long I don't remember why. Maybe Leto's philosophy...

[emotional leper]

From what I recall I loved God emperor, but it's been so long I don't remember why. Maybe Leto's philosophy...

IIRC, God Emperor was originally written in the First Person, from Leto's Point of View. When Herbert re-wrote it to third person, much of the cut Leto monologues were used for the epigraphs.

By Leto's philosophy do you mean his Golden Path, or his personal musings? It's hard to seperate the two at times.

[Loredoctor]

Emotional Leper is indeed an expert on the books, but I'll reserve my own judgment on the adaptations. I could not disagree more with the majority opinion on David Lynch's Dune: I thought it was a visionary sci-fi movie.

I think the movie is excellent, too.

The miniseries, meanwhile, rates as a big yawner (I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it). You guys can have it. I'll keep Lynch's movie proudly on my DVD shelf, thank you very much.

I couldn't watch more than an hour of the mini-series. It was poorly directed, the costumers were awful, the Baron was a joke, and the effects were . . . bad.

[The Dreaming]

yeah see i knew there was some sort of implication of insestuousness of some sort.

oddly, Comcast (my cable company) is having Sci-Fi month on On Demand. and guess what their featuring in the Director's Cut or Expanded Edition or something...

yeah... Dune. might have to watch it!!

You want the Director's Cut of David Lynch's Dune?

This puts David Lynch's "genius" in perspective..

I bloody god damn hate that movie.

I don't blame Lynch (too much) The script to that movie was just a piece of bloody garbage. I could take a squat on a sheet of paper and it would be a better script than the one to the dune movie. Hell, to watch it it feels like a network exec copy/pasted (or the equivalent from before word processors) random excerpts from the book and called a multi million dollar movie script.

The fact that it is pretty damn well acted (well, except for Sting I think) only makes it more painful.

It still boggles me that in an industry where you spends *that* much money on making everything look cool, you can't get a script that isn't a piece of moldy garbage.

I *do* kinda wanna know who sees Eraserhead and thinks "you know what? This guy is perfect to direct Dune", and I actually *like* Lynch

[Bran Pendragon]

Love the books - can't claim to have read each of them 20 times in a year, but consider myself pretty confident on my understanding of the universe. Agree re the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books - its like if someone started pumping out books based in the Land but in the writing style of the Dungeons and Dragons books. They're highly disposable, frequently irritating, and (attempt to) damage the Dune universe quite badly.

I loved God-Emperor, might be my second favourite in the series, after the original book. Its amazing imagining.

I quite like the Lynch movie, but obviously not a patch on the book, never got around to getting the mini-series on DVD.

[The Dreaming]

The Dune mini was pretty damn good, Children of Dune was actually *way better*. Hell, I think I enjoyed the sci-fi version more than I enjoyed the actual books. (Dune Messiah and Children of Dune)

The way I feel about Dune is much the way I feel about a lot of continuations of promising sci-fi openers. They give disappointing answers to awesome mysteries. Take the Heechee in Pohl's Gateway series. They were *much* more interesting as a mystery than as characters. Knowing there *was* a Golden Path was a lot more interesting to me than seeing what the Golden Path actually was. (This happens a lot more often in Science Fiction than in fantasy)

Maybe I'm just weird. (This is the reason I absolutely hated the Matrix sequels too)

[Wyldewode]

Ah. . . I see we have an expert or two in the house.

I read Dune a few times, and have read Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. I think I started God Emperor, but never finished it. I guess it's another thing for my MUST list (finish reading Dune books).

[Loredoctor]

I can honestly say that I have read each of the Dune Books atleast 20 times in the past year. I listen to the Audiobooks constantly while I play games, or when I'm trying to go to sleep.

I'm really trying hard to believe you.

[Wyldewode]

The funny thing is the fact that I do believe him, Lore.

Back in my younger days I could read a novel in a sitting. That was back when all I had to do was go to high school for 7 hours a day. I'd start one on the bus home from school, read for the hour it took to get home, pause for dinner, then resume reading until I was finished. I'd read everything worth reading in our library by the second semester of my freshman year. Then I started re-reading. And that was also when I had just enough money to go buy the cheapest books I could get my hands on at the used bookstore! They sold the books for 1/2 cover price, so I had all kinds of classics from in the 1960 & 1970 editions--those had very low cover prices!

Anyway, back to Tsukasa, if he reads anything like I used to, he could easily have gone through 120 readings in a year. That gives him three days for each reading--something I think is doable when you're a college student (or whatever he was back when he first posted this).

Just saying. . .

And thanks for the trip down memory lane. . . I wish I could read like that now!

[Loredoctor]

I read Dune in one day, so I have no issue with anyone reading it, or any other book, fast. But methinks Mr Leper is exaggerating for effect again.

[Wyldewode]

That is always a possibility.