Science Fiction Book Club discussion

So what did you think?

Read this book when I was in 9th grade. I always loved the destiny take and Frank Herbert captured it better than any other story that I have read.
The movie still makes me laugh. The floating fat man.

It has been a few years since I read this, so I can't really say more than I remember thinking it was as good as everyone told me it was. Dune is definitely a must read. It felt like a book that had a lot of work, thought and time put into it.

I also agree with a majority of people that the books that followed weren't even close. I forced my way though the second one, but decided not to read the other.

It's been many years since I've read it but I remember it fondly. It was a classic in this genre. I can remember enjoying the quotations on the top of each chapter. I must read it again soon. I did not enjoy the sequels as much and the movie was rubbish. However I did enjoy the books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson which led up to the original. I hope this is making sense as I'm writing it in a busy shopping centre on my iPad.

I think I am the only person I know that actually liked the movie. I know, I know, I may burn in hell for it or, worse, be expelled from this bookclub.

In my discharge, I must say I liked the book a lot more (the first at least). I found it fascinating. I may have been 13 at the time, and it was my first sci-fi/fantasy book. Truly eye-opener. The complexity of the Bene-Gesserit organisation and prophecies, the raising of the young hero, the Fremen culture, the lies within the lies within the lies... Spectacular.

Later on I read Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, but didn't like them one bit. They lacked whatever had made the first Dune so compelling.

Tacuazin wrote: "I think I am the only person I know that actually liked the movie. I know, I know, I may burn in hell for it or, worse, be expelled from this bookclub.

In my discharge, I must say I liked the bo..."

I enjoyed the movie. For as complicated of a story as the book was I defintiely think the movie did an adaquate job of capturing the feeling. It was like the first Starship Troopers for me, similar to the book but still entertaining.

The scary thing about this book is that this was the book of the month read for two of my groups last month, but one of them has since been terminated.

I think that Dune was good up until God Emperor of Dune, all the rest was really not need to be written, but I liked Paul of Dune, Sandworms of Dune, and loved to what I think to be the best Dune Novel of all time, Dune: The Butlerian Jihad.

I've read and re-read it I don't know how many times. It's been a few years since the last time, but it remains one of my all time favorite books. I read it as a child originally and have really enjoyed how deep and layered the world and characters are. Dune is very esoteric, which draws in people like me who really enjoy it, but I think may turn some people off who don't find it worth the effort to understand the Dune universe and it's nuances.

Did anyone read this book this month?

Laura wrote: "Did anyone read this book this month?"

It appears no one as of yet who has commented did. I just joined this group this month and upon seeing Dune as the book, and being in the middle of reading a book, I wasn't going to read it again nor could I in time. I have ordered Mistborn and am waiting for Amazon to deliver it so next month I will be on point with the discussion similar to this.

Unfortunately, I went to see the "Dune" movie before I read the book, and watching the movie almost kept me from reading it. Thanks to my close friends in high school at the time, they encouraged me to read it, and I loved every bit of it.

It is hard to believe that this book dates from the mid-1960's and still resonates so well with a "modern" audience. I think that is due to a number of things. The story of "Dune" is a timeless one; the story of a Messiah who comes to lead the downtrodden to victory over their foes.

Herbert sets this timeless tale well into the future, where space flight is dependent on "spice", the mining and distribution of which will make the family that controls it rich and prosperous. House Atreides comes to Arakkis to take over the operation from House Harkonnen, but treachery is afoot to see that the status quo stays intact.

Herbert does a masterful job of characterization and he makes it so easy to "see" each one of them and to love them or hate them. His description of a desert world and the "worms" that inhabit it makes it easy for your imagination to imagine such a place.

"Dune" is a "must-read" in the genre of science fiction. I have read it at least a half dozen times, and I learn something new each time. I don't think any movie or TV series can do justice to such a masterful work of art.

If you haven't read this book, please start. Be careful, though, as I was barely able to put it down until I was finished the first time I read it.

I read it again, though I didn't get in under the wire because I've got some writing projects that I'm trying to tie up. I love Dune and read it every couple of years anyway, so it tied in nicely for me.
It's a completely convincing universe with hugely complex characters and plotting and Herberts' writing is just brilliant.
Forget the film, forget the TV versions. This is the only way to experience Dune.

What do y'all think of the rest of the series, including the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson collaborations? I've listened to them all on audio and like them quite a bit. The Dune series is an interesting experiment where you get an answer to almost every question raised. Some may prefer to leave more to the imagination, but I thought it was cool to get so many origin stories, and a conclusion to Frank Herbert's original 6 books. The House Trilogy I found particularly good, immediately preceding Dune itself in chronological order.

Okay, I'm a nerd- I get it.

Philip wrote: "What do y'all think of the rest of the series, including the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson collaborations? I've listened to them all on audio and like them quite a bit. The Dune series is an interes..."

I never read the rest of the series. Though I must do this before I die.

Read and live the universe of dune it last year, and started reading it again, and would read the original series many more times because i still feel i missed some thing story in this huge story.

And i would like to share, Some thought provoking and inspiring quotes from Dune original:
->"Most deadly errors arise from obsolete assumptions,"
->"Mood's a thing for cattle or for making
love. You fight when the necessity arises, no matter your mood. "
->Knowledge, you see, has no uses without purpose, but purpose is what
builds enclosing walls.
->We humans are a form of colony organism!
->Enemies strengthen you. Allies weaken.
->"You should never be in the company of anyone with whom you would not want to die."

To a degree Dune is universally-appealing because it was supposed to be: just refer to Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces. I've said a lot about Dune Messiah elsewhere, and I'll skip it here, for now.

I remember when Children of Dune was still piled up as a new book in the front of the local B Dalton. Children of Dune is his first novel in which Herbert attempts a truly "literary" style, which had not been seen before in science fiction and, I daresay, which has seldom been seen since by other SF authors.

God Emperor of Dune is, I think, Herbert's great masterpiece, although it's very interesting to me that readers seem to really love or really hate GEoD. To me, GEoD justifies the enormous setup of all three preceding Dune books. I'd be very interested to know what you other readers think about that book especially.

I'm also always very interested in learning if you've read any other, or very many other, works by Herbert. It seems that modern readers know Dune frontward, backward, and sidewaysward, but scarcely know any other Herbert books at all.

Dune is a real SF classic. It goes in my "top-ten SF books of all time" list. The follow-on Dune books aren't as good in my opinion; though, well worth reading.

do you remember God Emperor of Dune, Clyde? I always thought SF writers ought to try to write SF in a truly literary way. I thought GEoD did exactly that, and did it better than any other SF I've ever read. I'm less impressed with Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune, but absent Dune 7 I fear we'll never be able to properly judge them.

Bob wrote: "do you remember God Emperor of Dune, Clyde? I always thought SF writers ought to try to write SF in a truly literary way. I thought GEoD did exactly that, and did it better than any other SF I've..."

It has been quite a while. Perhaps I should read it again.

A very good idea to try to leach out the celluloid memories and replace them with the legitimate item.

Tacuazin wrote: "I think I am the only person I know that actually liked the movie. I know, I know, I may burn in hell for it or, worse, be expelled from this bookclub..."

I like the movie too. Still haven't got around to reading the book. So many books I want to read, so little time. On top of that I'm trying to concentrate on writing instead of reading.

I saw the movie abt 8 yr after I read the book for the 1st time. Can't imagine the shock involved doing it in reverse order, although of course that's the standard approach for everyone these days. And it's standard to think Brian Herbert's stuff is part of the same vision. It's just not.

If you write SF, Paul, you really ought to try to find or make time to read Dune, although I appreciate how hard it can be for a writer to do so. Different people will express different opinions about whether you should continue on with the rest of the series. I'll leave that to your discretion.

hmm . . . my time's all gobbled up, too, but perhaps i should revisit Dune myself this summer.

Philip wrote: "I've read and re-read it I don't know how many times. It's been a few years since the last time, but it remains one of my all time favorite books. I read it as a child originally and have really en..."

What he said. This book has inspired my writing. I love the sheer politics of the first novel. The others left me somewhat cold. But I can't tell you how many times I've recited that Litany against Fear in stressful moments of my own life. "Fear is the mind-killer..."

This book was a great read. Vast ecological landscapes, Arakis.. The spice. Religious fanatics, Muad Dib, I remember it all.. Still easily one of my best reading experiences. Dune messiah was a good sequel in my opinion, but after that it kinda got lost a bit, I did enjoyed the Godemperor, which was the 4th part if im not mistaking, read Sandworms of dune many years later by son of Herbert but that one never got me.

Steve wrote: "I liked the movie as well. As a matter of fact I watch it on DVD every couple of years or so. Granted, the movie came out 14 years after I had read the book so I couldn't be disappointed by the dif..."

Yes i also enjoy those movies regulary. The underrated Lynch movie around every 6 years maybe but thats just because I liked the more slicker version of the miniseries which came later.

Bob wrote: "do you remember God Emperor of Dune, Clyde? I always thought SF writers ought to try to write SF in a truly literary way. I thought GEoD did exactly that, and did it better than any other SF I've..."

Yes i do remember the Godemperor. He was the best. I totally agree with your comment.

I'm currently doing another re-read listening to the 2007 Macmillan Audio version and it's excellent. It has multiple narrators, but not quite full cast. Simon Vance does the lion's share of the narration and I'd prefer he did it all- he's one of the best narrators on the planet. I've listened to so many of the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson collaborations since the last time I read Dune it's fascinating to hear references to so much that was fleshed out by them. Also, re-reading it in the light of Frank Herbert's other 5 books as well helps to understand this first book so much better. Much like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, Dune begs to be re-read and for most mortals can't be fully appreciated until done so.

Kevin wrote: "I think that Dune was good up until God Emperor of Dune, all the rest was really not need to be written, but I liked Paul of Dune, Sandworms of Dune, and loved to what I think to be the best Dune N..."

I totally agree with your comment