onejayhawk
Afflicted with reason
I am so glad Stieg Larsson lived to finish the Millenium Trilogy. For those that have read it, imagine if he had died between books two and three.
J
J
Authors you wished could finish what they started.
- Thread starter onejayhawk
- Start date
Leifmk
Deity
The correct way to read the Dune series is to begin with the original Dune, then continue with the Frank Herbert ones until you stop enjoying them (this point may vary widely from reader to reader), then stop. Under no circumstance read any of the non-Frank stuff.
Excellent advice. However, there are a few other Dune-related books I will recommend:
The Dune Encyclopedia, by Dr. Willis E. McNelly. This is the only work of original Dune fiction Frank Herbert ever authorized to be written by someone else, and he and Dr. McNelly were friends. The Encyclopedia covers the period of time up to and including God Emperor of Dune. Parts of it analyze and explain various aspects of the novels, and other parts expand into other areas, such as Fremen culture, the history of the various factions in the Imperium, there is some actual sheet music for the baliset, some writeups on a few of the hypothetical Duncan Idaho gholas, and a cute story about a couple of Bene Gesserit laundry workers who win a vacation to Gamont (a pleasure planet) that was sponsored by a soap company.
The Making of Dune, by Ed Naha. This book chronicles the making of the 1984 movie made by David Lynch. It's fascinating to read about all the things that were actually planned but didn't happen for various reasons, and the scenes that were filmed but not included. They actually filmed much more than was in the final theatrical release, and there are lots of interviews with the cast, crew, and Frank Herbert himself.
Eye, by Frank Herbert. This is a bit of an odd anthology, but it does include some original Dune material in the form of a travelogue - what a pilgrim would expect to see during the time of Paul's reign in Arrakeen. The artwork is fantastic.
National Lampoon's Doon, by Ellis Weiner. This is a wonderful parody of Dune that tells the story of young Duke Pall-Mauve'Bib, whose father fell afoul of the machinations of the evil Baron Hardchargin and Emperor Shaddap IV. Can Pall and his mother survive the sugary wastelands of Arruckis, with its wild pretzels? Read and find out...
Dreamer of Dune, by Brian Herbert. This is BH's biography of Frank Herbert. It's quite interesting, but keep in mind that there are various stories and bits of gossip that have gone around the internet for many years about what kind of relationship BH and his father actually had. So take any negativity in this book with a grain of salt and just enjoy it.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
The direct sequel is not one I particularly enjoyed, but Children of Dune is quite good.. and I quite enjoyed the last 3 books he wrote, even though they were often quite crytpic and more like poetry and streams of consciousness than just a novel. Not super easy to get through, but quite enjoyable. I wish he had time to finish it off and give us a finale - I don't mind the one that his son came up with, but I know that he would have made it.. poetic.
Frank Herbert would have made it actually make sense, and cut out the garbage. Frank Herbert would also have remembered that space has three dimensions, not two.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
That was my main beef with the finale as well. I liked most of everything else though, especially what happened to Duncan Idaho. Never occurred to me that such a thing would work with the golden path and everything else - I thought it was a very satisfactory ending to the whole saga.
Jan H
Prince
But he was planning to write more books. Apperently another author (someone called David Lagercrantz) is now writing these books, based on Larsson's synopsis... The first one will be released later this year.
onejayhawk
Afflicted with reason
I know and I hope it works. Still, it is good that he starts from the top, rather than working from the middle to end. It was also much better to have one author start and finish the Millennium series.
J
Anne Frank
cybrxkhan
Asian Xwedodah
If it counts, I do wish that Tolkien wrote more proper works, especially the story idea he seemed to be toying with concerning events that happened a century or two or three after LotR. But I guess he was too busy being a legit academic and dabbling around with his conlangs.
