#like asimov's foundation and herbert's dune

[luckyladylily]

Followed from the 'men or bear' post and simply trying to be social,

never read (or watched) dune but why do you feel its over rated?

So I've overplayed it a bit over the years because it's fun, but I have basically two major problems with Dune.

The first of course is the standard early to mid 20th century problem of it was written by a sexist racist white guy, but also I can't exactly judge if Frank Herbert was unusually racist and sexist for the time. But it is very much there, and it very much impacts the quality of the series for me. I don't really talk about this much because a given when dealing with older sci fi.

The second point is where I really get my rant on. See, the thing is Dune isn't the worst book ever. But for many years, well into the 2000's, a very large and very vocal group of people insisted it was the greatest sci fi novel ever written. So, in high school, I pick up the novel.

Now you need to understand, I read voraciously as a teenager and at a very high level. I'm not saying I'm better than other people but when you've read Moby Dick you get an idea of what a master can do with words. When you've read Issac Asimov you begin to understand how ideas can be woven together in a mind expanding way.

So I pick up "The greatest sci fi novel ever written" expecting it to be, at the very least, good. It was not good. It did not even come close to meeting the least of my expectations. I was astounded that anyone considered *this* the greatest sci fi novel. Really? Better than Foundation? Better than Frankenstein? This shit won a fucking Hugo and a Nebula? People compared this favorably to Lord of the Rings?

It's not fucking Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, what is actually wrong with it. Starting off, the book has decent ideas, but they are not presented in a particularly inspired way, nor is it the best presentation of those ideas. It was the first time that a white guy presented many of these ideas that he borrowed from other sources to other white people, and I guess that counts as originality back then. But in that respect it is just uninteresting. The real problem is how it is written. Which is badly, both in terms of prose and plot.

I am going to link you to my rant on Dune chapter 1. I discuss prose and presentation in that rant. It is difficult to summarize because there is just so much wrong with it. But to give an example of where it falls short in plot, lets talk about an event early in the first book. This is a spoiler, so fair warning. I call this the most uninspired and unearned betrayal ever.

Paul, the main character, is the heir to the House Atreides. In order to set up the rest of the plot, Herbert needs House Atreides to be destroyed through treachery. But Duke Atreides, Paul's dad, has to be shown to be a brilliant, wise, and capable leader. No run of the mill treachery can get past him. To solve this problem, Herbert introduces Duke Atreides personal doctor, and Duke Atreides directly states to everyone (especially directly to the audience) that this man is 100% trustworthy and unbreakable because he has undergone special mental conditioning making him incapable of causing harm. In X many hundred or thousand years no man so conditioned has ever broken. He is an unbreakably loyal man. And thus we have a character Duke Atreides can trust implicitly, so he can later be stabbed in the back without looking like an incompetent moron.

So now you probably think this is where we set up the dangerous nature of the Baron Harkonnen (greatest enemy of House Atreides), somehow brilliantly finding some mental weakpoint, or maybe inventing a brand new form of mental torture that successfully breaks the conditioning, or something else establishing Baron Harkonnen as a force to be reckoned with. So, how did Baron Harkonnen break the unbreakable man?

He kidnapped his wife. That's it. Didn't even torture her in front of the man, just nabbed her and said "hey do my bidding or I'll kill her!" And the unbreakable man folds like a cheap suit. He doesn't even bother to get proof of life. So in the hundreds or thousands of years these supposedly unbreakable people have been around the secret all along was kidnap their loved ones. No one has ever tried that before? Really?

I need to stress, this is not a misdirect and no other explanation is given. We are genuinely supposed to buy that the doctor is effectively unbreakable, that the Duke is wise and correct to have accepted this at face value, and that kidnapping the doctor's wife was actually the twisted, brilliant treachery it's place in the story would suggest.

It is astoundingly bad plotting that only exists because Frank Herbert couldn't be arsed to give a fuck about the plot of his own book. Even worse, it isn't a hard plot hole to fill with a better betrayal that also made logical sense. For example, Herbert could have written a character that the Duke naturally trusted implicitly, perhaps a brother or close friend, and shown why and how that trust exists. This would make more sense, give the betrayal real emotional weight, and matter in a much more personal way to our protagonist.

But no, that would take effort. Frank Herbert, master of tell don't show, just parades out a character and directly tells the audience that he's 100% totally trustworthy no for realz bro, and then expects us to just go along with the idea that the betrayal was earned and isn't fucking stupid. This is the level Frank Herbert is on.

But anyway greatest sci fi novel ever written, am I right? Winner of both a Hugo and a Nebula!

This is why I hate Dune. Not because it is the worst thing ever, there are even things to like in it, but it is like millions of people collectively decided that Bicentennial Man was the greatest science fiction movie of all time and it won the best film oscar and people are comparing it to the all time greatest films ever made and I'm over here just. Sure, it tries to play with some interesting ideas but it's got structural problems, there are acting issues, the script is poor. There are things to like but it's mid at best! Is everyone in on some collective joke? Am I in the fucking twilight zone?

Now, in the couple of decades since I first read Dune the "best sci fi novel ever" nonsense has pulled back a lot. I don't think I've heard someone make that claim in years. But it can be fun to be a hater, especially when something deserves it.

Edit: I want to make it clear I don't think less of anyone for liking Dune. Dune is probably a great playground for fandom and god knows I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to my personal favs. I also hear the new movies are good, and nothing about Dune makes me think it couldn't be adapted well.

[quasi-normalcy]

A while ago while I was in tumblr jail, you posted that you had a masters in science fiction literature (unless you didn't, I have been known to be mistaken), and I am wondering, what do you consider 'important' works of science fiction? Like the science fiction literary canon? I am so curious. Feel free to ignore, I will not harass you.

Yes! I do. I can tell you the ones that I was assigned (I'm afraid that the list skews extremely male and (especially) white).

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)

Olaf Stapledon, Last and First Men (1930) and Star Maker (1937) [You can probably add Odd John (1935) to this list]

Jules Verne, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) [You can probably add From the Earth to the Moon (1865)]

H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895) and War of the Worlds (1897) [Though you can probably go ahead and add The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The First Men in the Moon (1901)]

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland (1915)

Catherine Burdekin (writing as Murray Constantine), Swastika Night (1937)

Karel Čapek, R.U.R. (1920)

Isaac Asimov, I, Robot (1950) [You can probably add the first three Foundation novels here as well]

Yevgeny Zamyatin, We (1921)

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1967) and Rendezvous with Rama (1973) [Add: Childhood's End (1953) and The Fountains of Paradise (1979)

John Wyndham, Day of the Triffids (1951) [add: The Chrysalids (1955) and The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)]

H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926) [add The Shadow over Innsmouth (1931)]

Richard Matheson, I Am Legend (1954)

Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination (1956)

Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers (1959) [Probably Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966) too, depending on, you know, how much of Heinlein's bullshit you can take]

J.G. Ballard, The Drowned World (1962) [Also, The Burning World (1964) and The Crystal World (1966)]

Phillip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle (1962) [Also Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) and several of his short stories]

Frank Herbert, Dune (1965)

Michael Moorcock, Behold the Man (1969)

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-5 (1969)

Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974) [Also The Lathe of Heaven (1971) and The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)]

Brian Aldiss, Supertoys series

William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984)

Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Mars (1992) [Also Green Mars and Blue Mars]

They also included Iain M. Banks's The Algebraist (2004), but I personally think you'd be better off reading some of his Culture novels

Other ones that I might add (not necessarily my favourite, just what I would consider the most influential):

Joe Haldeman, The Forever War (1974)

Matsamune Shiro, Ghost in the Shell (1989-91)

Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira (1982-1990)

Octavia Butler, Lilith's Brood (1987-89) and Parable of the Sower (1993)

Poul Anderson, Operation Chaos (1971)

Hector Garman Oesterheld & Francisco Solano Lopez, The Eternaut (1957-59)

Liu Cixin, The Three-Body Problem (2008)

Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975)

William Hope Hodgson, The House on the Borderland (1908)

Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash (1992)

Joanna Russ, The Female Man (1975)

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game (1985) [Please take this one from a library]

Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1912)

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and Oryx and Crake (2003)

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932)

Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy (1952-68)

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time (1962)

Walter M. Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959)

Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

[cockamamieschemes]

Sci-Fi Classics for the Uninitiated

I’ve read A LOT of old sci fi throughout the years and wanted to drop the ones here that are good reads, also distinguished by difficulty to get into.  So without further ado:

Victorian Era (fairly easy reads, just requires a bit of explanation for certain things pertaining to the times, so try to get an annotated copy)

The Food of the Gods by HG Wells --revolves around a growth formula that can turn chickens into the size of houses...A LOT funnier than I thought it’d be

The Invisible Man by HG Wells --takes a while to get going but goes fast once The Invisible Man starts his plan rolling

War of the Worlds by HG Wells --kinda dark with more involved than you typically see in the television/movie adaptions

The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells --Scientist who makes crazy experiments on an island--warped and weird but I liked it

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne --Adventuring uncle drags his anxious nephew on a trip to the earth’s core

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne --adventuring below the sea, feels more grounded since nothing too fantastical happens, but of course, the characters are on a giant sophisticated submarine so that’s the most sci fi part

“Golden Age” Era (bold ones are a little more heady)

The Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation (also including Prelude to Foundation in here because it’s actually a really good prequel!) by Isaac Asimov --the books span several decades/centuries so don’t get too attached to any one character, save in Prelude which follows Hari Seldon and his journey into coming up with psychohistory

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov --fun sci fi whodunit--with robots!

Pebble in the Sky/The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov --haven’t gotten to the third one in this trilogy yet but I liked these two!

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury --short stories set on Mars that are more like fantasy/sci fi

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury --you probably read this in school...still a good book nevertheless

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke --I mean...kinda weird but I enjoyed it

2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke --if you liked 2001, you’ll like this since it expands on a few things, and it’s a little easier to get into with a bigger cast

The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke --Utopian future story that’s pretty short and intriguing in regards to worldbuilding

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke --Crew explores an alien generation ship, not as high stakes as the Space Odyssey ones so it feels more like a sci fi Jules Verne

Dune/Dune Messiah/Children of Dune/God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert --first book takes some time to get into but goes quickly once you get to Arrakis; to be fair, the books get easier to read once you know the world and what’s going on!

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein --a little more philosophical than what you’d expect from a book about sci fi war

[szyszkasosnowa]

Bookshelf wrapped

A list of books I've read in 2023 for statistical and archival purposes and also because I like to catalog things (and tumblr let me down by not having a year in review this year).

If any of my followers would feel inspired to do a similar thing please tag me, I'd love to see what you've read!

Służące do wszystkiego, Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak. I love reading the first-hands accounts of history, esp from regular/lower class people. So it's worth to read just for it. There was something lacking for it to be a really good reportage tbh.

Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin. Really nice if you're an asoiafhead. Can't really recommend to someone who hadn't read asoiaf before. Also I wish GRRM would focus on finishing the saga instead of starting new projects. But can't really blame him for pursuing side stories.

Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer. Keep thinking about that redditor guy who said this book inspired him to try and prepare to climb Mount Everest in one year. Maybe reddit pisses on poor even more than tumblr.

Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert. I must say that of (5) Dune books I've read so far, this has the higher amount of what I consider Dune's fatal flaws. Mostly unnecessarily convoluted dialogues that end up being borderline incomprehensible. It also underutilizes very interesting characters, like Scytale and Mohiam. I would give extra points for Paul's ending, but then I've read Children of Dune.

The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson. Just fine. Even better if you like winter.

Children of Dune, Frank Herbert. Way better than Messiah, can't hold a candle to the original Dune. I feel like some stuff was retconned in this part, concerning Alia's and the twins' abilities. Esp. Alia's arc could use more foundation set in the previous parts.

God-Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert. Still not as good as the original Dune, but what a beautiful wild ride. So many cool ideas and characters, including the answer to the question 'would you love me if I were a worm', Idk why the people say it's not adaptable to the screen, I know exactly how I would direct the movie. I wasn't born a nepo baby so you will probably never see this, sadly.

Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov. I saw a really good performance before reading the play so it probably influenced my rating. Good read for ugly girls who pull no bitches.

The Last Question, Isaac Asimov. Clever.

Girl, interrupted, Susanna Kaysen. Good read for mentally ill and probably ugly girls.

Other voices, other rooms, Truman Capote. Loved how the climate was painted, and I'd say the way it was written, but I've read the translation. So I liked the translator's way with words I guess.

Dracula, Bram Stoker. Jonathan's diary at the beginning is crazy, scary and overall amazing, but sadly it's the highest point of the novel and the rest doesn't live up to the hype. It's still good and it nice to compare how some motives evolved in the popculture.

Chłopki. Opowieść o naszych babkach, Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak. Again, I absolutely loved the primary sources used in this book. And it's in fact rare to see some memoirs by the women of the lowest of low classes. But other then the sources, Idk.

Heretics of Dune, Frank Herbert. The issues of Messiah are back. Can we let go of Duncan at last. Honored Matres as a concept are questionable/laughable. I wanted to ask on Dune subreddit if anyone else thinks Teg and Patrin were gay for each other but they removed my ask, so I'm just gonna believe this on my own.

The Crucible, Arthur Miller. Very good. I have some issues with the character of Abigail and how she compares to the historical Abigail though.

Things fall apart, Chinua Achebe. Crazy good. I kept changing my mind on what I like the most about the book as I read it. In the end I think what I liked the most was giving a perspective of the people who didn't fit with the traditional society.

Śniła się sowa, Ewa Ostrowska. Raw, disgusting, unsettling portrayal of a small, closed off countryside society, and its violence. As small, closed off countryside societies are one of my biggest fears, I loved (?? appreciated) this book.

Owoc żywota twego, Ewa Ostrowska. As above, but even more disgusting and unsettling. Dead Dove Do Not Eat, but if you're fully ready for what awaits you, it's a good read.

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. Actually good.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, Manuel Puig. Very cool idea for the book structure (dialogue-only, two inmates try to pass time, one recounts to the other the movies he had seen). But the story itself isn't bad also.

Dungeon Meshi, Ryouko Kui. Beautiful! Heartwrenching! Heals your depression! Elf twinks! Extremely thought out worldbuilding and a consistent, planned out story. Love to see it.

I don't include the manga I've read that are ongoing (or I hadn't finished them).

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

can you tell me how to Kill?

This is an odd question and I can't answer it well, but here are some of the books that were on my mind as a kid:

A Time of Gifts by Terry Pratchett

The Diamond Age by Philip K. Dick

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

The Gone-Away World by James Blish

The Golden Age by Frederik Pohl

Solaris by Stanisław Lem

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The Diamond Age and Other Stories by Philip K. Dick

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (I read it twice)

The Book of Skulls by Charles L. Grant

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (I never got far but that didn't stop me from reading this every chance I got)

The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Dune by Frank Herbert

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by James Tiptree, Jr

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Foundation and Empire (again)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (again)

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Last Unicorn by Diane Duane

I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg, there are other favorites but these are some of the ones that come to mind right now. Sorry it's so long -- the list of books I "read" is probably double that list -- but I think it's a representative sample. If you have any specific requests about what kind of books are on the list, let me know.

(If the books I list here don't seem interesting/worth reading, I could try to give some kind of "taste" or "idea" about them instead)

In the context of my "question" above, I don't think I know "how" to Kill, but there are certainly lots of books that are about people who try very hard to Kill.

[dontplaywithityoullbreakit]

Read-alikes for Dune by Frank Herbert…

The massive popularity of the Dune movie series has put the books by Frank Herbert in high demand. If you haven’t been able to get hold of a copy, or you’ve already read the series and are looking for more books like it here are some you may like: 

The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester

A protagonist with psionic powers navigating an interplanetary war. Warring clans and the honing of one's body. 

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

A story of the interconnectivity of many galactic empires. A story of pilgrimage and spiritual philosophy explored.

Red Star - Alexander Bogdanov

A more realist approach to the dreaming up of ‘worlds that could be’ and how humans will adapt and build. This sci-fi forerunner is an early inspiration to so many narratives that came after. Governmental struggle and political philosophy abound.

A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine

Diplomatic intrigue and navigating political conquest. An adventure through a deep and well-crafted galactic empire. 

Foundation - Isaac Asimov 

As Dune tells a story of warring empires, Asimov writes of a galactic empire in decline, alluding to the fall of the roman empire. The protagonist battles the looming possibility of a dark age.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

If the dystopian control of those in power and battling between hierarchies of Dune were of interest to you, Huxley’s Brave New World is a predecessor and must read. 

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin crafts a tale of a galactic empire through the lens of anthropology and feminist theory similar to the exploration of gender dynamics found in Dune. The world building has a great depth like Dune, and there is a similar focus on ecology and the ‘what ifs’ around environmental sci-fi.

[pagebypagereviews]

Top Space Opera Novels: A Journey Through the Stars Space opera, a subgenre of science fiction, captivates readers with its grandiose themes, epic battles, intricate politics, and exploration of the vast, uncharted territories of the universe. These narratives often focus on heroic characters, complex moral dilemmas, and the eternal struggle between good and evil, set against the backdrop of a highly imaginative, technologically advanced future. This article delves into some of the most compelling space opera novels that have left an indelible mark on the genre, offering readers a gateway to exploring the cosmos through the power of storytelling. The Foundation of Space Opera Before diving into the list of top space opera novels, it's essential to understand the roots of this genre. Space opera emerged in the early 20th century, with pioneers like E.E. "Doc" Smith and his "Lensman" series setting the stage for what would become a beloved and enduring genre. These early works emphasized adventure, space exploration, and conflict on a galactic scale, laying the groundwork for future authors to build upon. Top Space Opera Novels of All Time The following novels represent the pinnacle of space opera, each contributing unique visions of the future, complex character dynamics, and profound philosophical inquiries into the nature of humanity and the universe. Dune by Frank Herbert - Often hailed as the pinnacle of space opera and science fiction, "Dune" explores themes of politics, religion, and ecology on the desert planet of Arrakis. Herbert's masterpiece is renowned for its intricate plot, deep philosophical underpinnings, and the creation of a fully realized universe. The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov - This seminal series begins with the psychohistorian Hari Seldon's efforts to preserve knowledge and save humanity from a dark age. Asimov's work is a monumental exploration of societal evolution, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the power of knowledge. The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks - Banks' series stands out for its examination of a post-scarcity, anarchist, and utopian society. The novels delve into the interactions between the Culture, a highly advanced interstellar society, and other civilizations, raising questions about morality, identity, and the nature of consciousness. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons - This series is known for its complex narrative structure, deeply philosophical themes, and richly developed universe. Simmons weaves together multiple storylines, each exploring different aspects of humanity, technology, and the cosmos. The Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey - A more recent addition to the space opera canon, this series has quickly gained acclaim for its realistic portrayal of space travel, geopolitical complexity, and engaging character dynamics. It's a thrilling exploration of humanity's expansion into the solar system and the challenges that arise. Why These Novels Stand Out What sets these novels apart from the vast sea of science fiction is not just their imaginative settings or the grand scale of their narratives, but their deep engagement with complex themes and their ability to challenge readers' perceptions. They offer more than just escapism; they provoke thought about our society, our place in the universe, and the future we are heading towards. Each of these works has contributed to the evolution of the genre, pushing the boundaries of what science fiction can be and inspiring generations of writers and readers alike. Impact on Popular Culture Space opera novels have had a profound impact on popular culture, influencing not just literature, but also film, television, and video games. The success of franchises like "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" can be attributed to the public's appetite for the themes and narratives explored in space opera literature. These stories have become a part of our collective imagination, shaping our visions of the future and our understanding of our place in the cosmos.

Conclusion: The Enduring Legacy of Space Opera Space opera novels offer a unique blend of adventure, philosophy, and speculation about the future, making them an essential part of the science fiction genre. The novels discussed in this article represent some of the best the genre has to offer, each contributing to the rich tapestry of space opera with their imaginative worlds, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes. As we continue to explore the universe, both in reality and through the lens of science fiction, these stories remind us of the endless possibilities that await among the stars. The legacy of space opera is one of inspiration, challenging us to dream bigger, explore further, and imagine a future beyond the confines of our planet. In conclusion, space opera novels are not just tales of space battles and interstellar exploration; they are reflections on humanity, society, and the universe. They challenge us to think critically about our world and inspire us to envision a future full of wonder and possibility. As we look to the stars, these novels serve as a reminder of the power of human imagination to explore the unknown and to tell stories that captivate and inspire across generations.

[fantasyinvader]

So, my thoughts on Heretics and Chapterhouse…

Not a good way to end things, but also is.

Part of this experience has been me learning the actual formation of the Dune Saga. I was under the belief that Messiah was a part of the first book that was cut and later extended into it’s own novel. Turns out it and Children were simply based on notes Herbert had when he wrote the original book (as a trilogy in a magazine), as such it and Children weren’t as planned out as I thought. Now, Messiah does feel like an actual extension of the original book, where the messages come to a head giving the book a more overt moral. You know, rather than people taking Dune as a simple heroes journey narrative.

Messiah still took four years to write, while Children took seven years after that. Five years passed and Herbert cranked out God Emperor, which I feel works as a grand finale to what started with Paul. Then Herbert announced he was going to finish the saga with a trilogy, releasing Heretics a scant three years after God Emperor and Chapterhouse the following year. Then Herbert died the year after that, but supposedly he had notes left behind that his son used to make two novels to finish the saga to questionable success.

The fact Herbert talked about making a trilogy and started off by taking a shot at Star Wars, implying it was simply a cheap imitation of Dune that people went gaga over, and Herbert was looking down on those people. I don’t really feel this is a case of a sci-fi writer being upset over the implications of Star Wars and what it did to the genre (there’s even a book on that), but jealous of the other franchise’s success. They even altered his story when the 84 movie was made to have it end with Paul actually being the messiah, rather than him simply manipulating the Freman for revenge, and tried to market it like it was Star Wars.

Now, Star Wars wasn’t telling the same story as Dune, it played the heroes journey and the things Dune was trying to warn people of straight. It also borrows from a lot of stuff, from Asimov’s Foundation series to Kurosawa films. But, that shot Herbert made kept bothering me. It feels like his intended sequel trilogy was meant to show up Star Wars. It made the themes of Dune more overt, spelled out some of the messages, tried to tantalize with what I call “creepy sixties sci-fi writer horniness” (also known as going Heinlein), as well as played up the talks on philosophy and plans.

It’s a weird case that I like the characters, especially in Heretics, but it feels like it’s faux-deep. When you’re talking about women sexually dominating men to rule the galaxy, or how torture turns Miles Teg into the fucking Flash, it kinda messes with the stuff on needing to terraform Chapterhouse into a new Arrakis. Dune had always been about how the universe is too vast to control and how just a little misstep can throw plans into dissarray, but this stuff felt more like Herbert was pulling it out of his butt (again, we have a character become the Flash). The series ends with the threat we’ve been dealing with having their victory (using an unforeseen, bloodless way of killing that’s never explained) turned on them due to ultimately a chance encounter with one of their members turning into something more, but there’s a bigger threat out there implied to be autonomous face dancers. But we also get the DNA of the classic Dune characters waved in front of our faces to bring them back as gholas.

It just feels like Dune is going in circles.

I can accept this point as the end, as it leaves everything up to possibilities with the only thing we know for certain is that mankind will still exist in 5000 years, but really it should have ended with God Emperor. That was the perfect ending to the saga, not whatever notes Herbert left behind that were supposed to end with a transition to democracy (after Chapterhouse talked at length how democracy can be subverted)

[thyon-nero]

This year my biggest reading goal is to read more Hugo and Nebula award winners! Not because I think those will inherently be better than non-award-winning books, but because I want to expand my horizons within my favorite genres. I read mostly science fiction and fantasy, but I definitely don’t read the full breadth of what these genres have to offer.

So far, I’ve read 14 Hugo best novel winners out of 71 total: A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr; Dune by Frank Herbert; The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin; The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin; Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov; Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card; Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JKR; American Gods by Neil Gaiman; Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke; The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman; Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie; The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin; and The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin.

As far as Nebula winners, I’ve read 9 out of 59 total: Dune by Frank Herbert; The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin; The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin; Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card; Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card; American Gods by Neil Gaiman; Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie; Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer; and All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders.

There’s a decent amount of overlap between the two lists so I don’t have to read 100 books to complete these lists, but it’ll still take me a while! I’m also not holding myself to these lists too closely: finding some of the older books might be hard, and I have no problem DNFing if I start a book and really don’t like it, since my goal is to learn more about other SFF books.

Have you read any Hugo or Nebula award winners? Of the ones that I haven’t read yet, what would you recommend I start with?

[ladypepperofdavenshire]

Three main chars from a sci fi story I’ve started delving into!  I got the idea around 2020 and sort of left it alone to stew for a while (and seeing that there’s an increasing lack of interest in Dune fan ocs, why not dabble in some og stuff?), so I’ve been working on the characters, plot, and worlbuilding for the past two weeks.  There’s still SO MUCH I need to iron out in regards to the plot, but I’ve been really enjoying developing the characters and the universe!  Some information on the featured chars for those curious are beneath the cut

Thrust into the seat of power after her father was assassinated, Empress Ariadne Fenway II has to contend with a planet of people who have been under the heel of the Fenway Dynasty for far too long and are ready to revolt as she tries to enact reforms to help make reparations.  Ultimately she is forced to flee when a charismatic member from the Priest Sect who calls himself “The Demagogue” joins forces with a rival noble house on the planet and enacts a coup.

A longtime childhood friend of the Empress, Captain Judd Kaspar is the head of her Honor Guard and tasked with keeping her alive.  He’s one of the few that she’s comfortable speaking freely with due to their friendship (which has gone a little past being “just friends” as they’ve gotten older—they secretly wed about a year before the coup).  Judd’s job becomes harder when “The Demagogue” gains enough leverage to force the Empress out of power, and doesn’t stop there, but sends assassins after her even while she’s on the run.

The Demagogue is a priest who rose to power suddenly in the years leading up to Empress Ariadne II taking the throne.  No one knows who he really is or where he came from, but he and his followers refer to him as “The Demagogue.”  He militarizes the people to take over neighboring star systems and planets, further limiting the places of sanctuary where the Empress can flee.  He MAY have modeled himself as a savior figure…so killing him would only make his followers more fanatical.  He knows this and is betting on his enemies avoiding killing him to steer clear of that happening. 

I may or may not post more--who knows! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kuiperblog]

Things about Dune that are just plain weird to modern audiences

Dune is a weird book. I read it in elementary school, so I was mostly unaware of how weird it was when I first read it. Kids, lacking experience and cultural context, often don't have a sense of what is "normal" and what is "weird." Stories that come across as cliche to some audiences might seem completely novel to kids. And, as adult with the benefit of hindsight, I can now revisit Dune and recognize that there are lots of things about it that are probably just plain weird to modern audiences:

Weird thing #1: The book is written in third-person omniscient viewpoint

I'd wager that over 95% of all YA books published in the past 20 years are either first-person POV or third-person limited POV. The same is probably true of popular adult market fiction published in recent books. But back in the 1960's, Frank Herbert's use of a third-person omniscient narrator wouldn't have been that unusual. I certainly didn't see it as unusual as a kid, given that my early diet of genre fiction included classics like The Hobbit (1937) and the various works of Isaac Asimov (1940's onward). Omniscient viewpoint stories often give you the impression of a narrator sitting down to tell you a story, occasionally dropping knowing details about what events lie ahead, as opposed to limited POV stories which stick you in the head of the main characters who are just as clueless as you are about what's going to happen next.

Weird thing #2: It was published as a serial

This is another thing that used to be fairly "normal" but now seems atypical. Many classic literary novels were originally published chapter-by-chapter in magazines, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Alexander Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, Jospeh Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and Isaac Asimov's The Foundation.  While The Foundation was published as a novel in 1951, it began as a series of stories published in Analog magazine during the 1940's.  Decades later, Frank Herbert followed in the footsteps of science fiction writers like Asimov by publishing Dune in several installments in Analog magazine from 1963 to 1964.

Weird thing #3: It was published by an automotive manual printer

Nowadays, in the publishing world, people often speak of "The Big Five," those being Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan. These "big five" are the result of a series of acquisitions over many decades; no points for guessing what merger led to the existence of Penguin/Random House.

Many companies that are often thought of as "publishers" exist as imprints for larger companies. For example, Tor is a pretty legendary name in the world of fantasy and science fiction, having published the works of Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time series), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game series), Brandon Sanderson (a bunch of series), and Phillip K. Dick (Weird Creepy Unsettling Stories that Gave Me Nightmares as a Child series), among many, many others. Tor was acquired in 1987 by St. Martin's Press, and now is part of Macmillan.

Even as there is consolidation at the top, there is currently tons of diffusion at the bottom, with countless thousands of authors taking directly to self-publishing platforms to directly deliver their ebooks to the masses. As things swell at the top and bottom, it feels like the "middle" of the industry is hollowing out.

Back in 1965, getting your book into the hands of eager readers required having the ability to physically print and distribute books.  If you were a young Frank Herbert who had just had his Dune novel rejected by over twenty publishers, that meant partnering with Chilton Company, who is best known for publishing automotive manuals.  Wikipedia describes Chilton Company as follows:

Chilton Company (AKA Chilton Printing Co., Chilton Publishing Co., Chilton Book Co. and Chilton Research Services) is a former publishing company, most famous for its trade magazines, and automotive manuals. It also provided conference and market research services to a wide variety of industries. Chilton grew from a small publisher of a single magazine to a leading publisher of business-to-business magazines, consumer and professional automotive manuals, craft and hobby books, and a large, well-known marketing research company.

Dune flopped and Chilton fired the editor who had pushed for Frank Herbert's novel to be published.

Weird thing #4: The sticker price was a real shocker

Maybe the reason that Dune flopped on release is that it was priced at $5.95, quite the hefty price tag in 1965. Adjusted for inflation, that's $51.81 in 2021's dollars.

Weird thing #5: The book contains tons of weird jargon that you need to use a glossary to understand

Dune is notorious for containing lots of strange made-up sci-fi terms whose meaning is impossible to understand or infer from context alone, and whose meaning is more fully elaborated in the glossary located at the end of the books.  The glossary helpfully defines terms like "Jihad," "Shari-a," "Dune Men," "Stunner," "Fan metal," and "High Council," many opaque terms whose meaning is otherwise inscrutable to most readers.

For example, from reading the glossary we learn that “Dune Men” is an idiomatic term used to refer to men who work on the open sand. Without that glossary definition for “Dune Men,” the reader might be completely confused by this passage from the book:

“We particularly need spice drivers, weather scanners, dune men—any with open sand experience.”

Similarly, the glossary informs us that “High Council,” a completely weird made-up sci-fi term whose meaning can’t be inferred based on context, actually refers to an authoritative body that mediates disputes between houses.

One of the things that makes these terms so varied is that many of them are drawn from various languages. For example, the terms "Jihad" and "Shari-a," while completely unfamiliar to most English speakers, are actually Arabic: those who are fluent in Arabic may find that their understanding of the language helps them in understanding the use of these terms in Dune. Likewise, the term "stunner" is derived from the Old English term "stun" which means "to knock unconscious or incapacitate," something that you'll recognize if you're familiar with the dialect spoken in England during the 12th to 15th centuries. Knowing the meaning of the term "stun" provides a clue as to the function of the "stunner" that several characters carry as a personal defense weapon, but those of us who lack a background in Old English will left to turn to the glossary when encountering such words.

Weird thing #6: The navigators take drugs and get high and this is the thing that makes FTL travel possible

In Dune, it is said that "he who controls the spice controls the universe." It is somewhat analogous to oil on 20th century earth: it is essential for travel. Without spice, you can't use faster-than-light travel to get from planet to planet. This is because spice is a drug that gets you high and allows you to see the future, and navigators take the drug and get high and use it to see forward through space and time to chart courses that allow them to avoid space debris while traveling through space at faster-than-light speeds. The space ships that they travel in are called “heighliners.”

This stands in stark contrast to our own world, where amphetamines are standard issue for US Airforce Pilots, and many commercial airline pilots take amphetamines in an unofficial capacity.  Unlike spice, which is a rare and precious commodity that must be farmed from specific planets, amphetamines are commonly available and can be easily manufactured in a lab setting, and there are even many cases documented in law enforcement records describing entrepreneurial amateur chemists creating their own amphetamines at home in their kitchen or basement.

[beyondthecosmicvoid]

THE UNION OF THE UNKNOWN OF COSMIC HORROR & THE CAUTIONARY TALES AGAINST THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE IN DUNE

This horrific genre began with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. Since then, there have been countless other authors that have continued expanding this genre. Some more successfully than others. But what Lovecraft began and was popularized after his death, wasn’t exclusive to him during his lifetime. Other authors also created astounding tales of cosmic wonders and horrors. One of them is perhaps the most famous science fiction author of late nineteenth century and early twentieth: H. G. Wells. While Wells did not proclaim himself to be a horror writer, he might as well have been because his stories are the stuff of nightmares. If Mary Shelley’s spirit got her hands on what he wrote she’d have deemed him a kindred spirit to the nightmares she wrote in her novel Frankestein (also called The Modern Prometheus).

What differentiated Wells from Lovecraft, Campbell Jr, Stephen King, and others of the like, is that the man’s stories were like Shelley’s Frankenstein, of a cautionary nature to be taken when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. To be clear though, Wells was a scientist at heart more than a writer and NEVER in his life did he stood against science. He did however, stress that there needs to be an ethical approach towards it or else it could set humanity back hundreds, maybe even thousands of years back to an era of forgetfulness and savagery. Einstein echoed these thoughts as well when he was asked about War World III. His answer was that he did not know how WWIII would go but he was certain that War World 4 would be fought with sticks and stones.

This cautionary approach is balanced really well with the unfathomable horrors and wonders of the cosmos in Frank Herbert’s saga DUNE. Having taken inspiration from its predecessor, Isaac Asimov’s FOUNDATION saga, Dune becomes something that is familiar to the aforementioned novel but it is also its own thing.

As I have written in a previous post, I was nervous going into the latest adaptation but to my good fortune, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Denis Villeneuve has adapted what many previously believed (as with the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien) was near impossible to adapt. Denis Villeneuve managed to hit it off the park and embrace those impossible odds to give us something that is not a copy and paste but not something unrecognizable from the source material.

The film DUNE (2021) centers on the first half of the first eponymous book. As such, we do not get the epic conclusion we see from Paul’s vision but rather, the road that will lead to it and Paul’s inevitable decision to take this arduous rode since it’s the only hope left for humanity to ensure its survival against its extinction in the eons to come. But this Golden Path will force Paul to stain his hand with the blood of trillions and hurt many of his loved ones. For those of you that are non-readers, I won’t give spoilers of what is to come, but let’s just say that this union of the exploration, discovery of the unknown, the wonders of space and time, and the dangers of obsession and throwing caution to the wind when it comes to authority figures and science, is better exemplified.

The original saga is all about abandoning the previous advancements of science because of the interminable suffering it led to. Called the Butlerian Jihad, this war between man and machine is different from what’s commonly depicted of Artificial Intelligence revolting against its creators in Hollywood movies. In a time where humanity has reached the stars and colonized hundreds of world, there is a hegemony that seeks to enslave a select number of the human race to continue the status quo. Those in power ended up shooting themselves in the foot because this method in control made them lazy and dismissive of the dangerous force they were using to keep their fellow human peers in submission. Before long, the A.I. rebelled and led to this terrible war that cost many lives and took many generations to end. This aspect, as that of Paul Atreides (as Emperor) and his sister (when Regent), seeking to change the ecological landscape of Arrakis, is cautionary tale regarding weird science that Mary Shelley and H. G. Wells often warned about their respective novels. But Frank Herbert goes a step further by throwing politics in it. His son Brian Herbert and co-author Kevin J. Anderson have expanded on this by revealing more key details about the Butlerian Jihad. What they have revealed is the same as what Frank Herbert cautioned against in his original saga: charismatic leaders. EVERY book in the Dune saga is a warning against these people. Science is an act of sheer will. Science cannot move forward without someone or something advancing it. HOW it is advanced is what HG Wells and Mary Shelley cautioned. Frank Herbert expands on this concept by pinpointing fingers at those in power and the dreamers with the best of intentions. Both of these groups believe that they are using science to advance their agenda. The first group wants to remain in power. The second wants to use it because it believes it will lead to a golden age for all of humanity. What both don’t realize is that this power that they are yet to understand or grasp, will corrupt them. In the miraculous event that they do not become mad with power, they will still have to stain their hands because in order to achieve their means they will have to stamp out dissent.

This terrible unknown that becomes known can lead men to become drunk with power or as previously stated, go mad with the horror of the actions they will have to do to achieve their means. This leads into the science fiction sub-genre of cosmic horror. In the saga, there’s no clear answer as to WHERE the sandworms came from or WHO or WHAT dropped them in Arrakis. What is known is that the planet commonly known as Dune is the only one where the spice mélange comes from. After Paul overthrows the Padisha Emperor, Shaddam IV, and becomes Emperor of the Known Universe, he lets it be known what the guild that holds a monopoly over the spice, didn’t want to let it be known: the spice comes from the worms. Yet that doesn’t solve the origin of the worms themselves. Worshipped as the manifestation of God on Earth, the Fremen call them Shai Hulud. One of them, the planetologist Liet Kynes and his father before him, Pardot Kynes, theorize that the planet was once a lush oasis but the sandworms caused it to dry up.  Mysterious creatures from whom humans can change their body chemistry or expand their mind to see through various realities was often glimpsed in Lovecraft’s short stories. The sandworms share a lot of similarities with the outer gods and the Fremen too with the violent cults worshipping them. Due to their isolation since the Butlerian Jihad, the Fremen have viewed themselves as stronger than any other human group in the known universe. They hate the way outsiders have ravaged the land they claimed as theirs thousands of years prior but also take pride in how their suffering has made them a force to be reckon with. Like the cults that worship the outer gods and other cosmic monstrosities in Lovecraftian tales, there is a richness to their culture but also a savagery to them. When Paul unleashes his Jihad upon the known universe, Princess Irulan writes that no more innocents are left. The classic tale of the oppressed becoming the oppressor is better illustrated in DUNE MESSIAH (the second book in the original saga).

In an interview last year, Oscar Isaac (who portrays Duke Leto, Paul’s father and Lady Jessica’s lover in DUNE) says that the film shows Dune and the rest of what is briefly glimpsed in the Known Universe as brutal and nightmarish. The actor was right. In ALL of his stories that involve the outer gods or other extraterrestrial species show the unforgivig and brutal nature of the universe. Something that can seem so wonderful and mysterious can turn out to be a little shop of horrors. 

It is for all of these reasons that the DUNE saga continues to appeal to many avid readers and science fiction fans. The union of the cautionary tale began by Shelley and later popularized by Wells, and the cosmic horror of Lovecraft that has continued decades after his death, is harmonized in a way that makes DUNE one of the crown jewels of science fiction and one of the greatest sagas in literature.

Hopefully, this tradition will continue in part 2 and in future sequels.

[lord-fallen]

Hello! I am so thrilled by your projects — the themes are basically the themes and i love to gobble up :D i was wondering, what's your favorite books? What pieces of media that made you love the genre that you're writing? (honestly i just wanted a gothic book rec) thank you beforehand!

Thank you for this wonderful ask, anon.

I feel like I am inspired by nearly everything I consume that I end up enjoying, so it's hard to list all of it. I did, however, curate a list of book recommendations - divided into respective genres which I write in.

fantasy

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (dark, good world-building)

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (dark, good world-building)

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (alternate history)

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (satire)

gothic

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson (dark romance, ft. vampire)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (romance)

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

The Haunting of The Hillhouse by Shirley Jackson (horror)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (ft. vampire)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (my favorite work of his)

Perfume by Patrick Süskind

science fiction

Dune by Frank Herbert (good world-building)

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (good world-building)

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (cyberpunk)

[tenrose]

Do you have any book recs ??

Mmmh depends what you like!

Fantasy: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (or basically any Sanderson books but if you aren't read any, this is the best to begin with imo), His Dark Materials (if you haven't read by now, it's about time!), The Priory of the Orange Tree, Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon, The Witcher books, The Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling (she also have another serie set in the same universe with i think gay stuff happening but i haven't read it yet), by Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (i'll let you know it's very adult fantasy with BDSM), The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris, Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (one of the very first fantasy books written by.... SURPRISE a woman!)

Scifi: Dune by Frank Herbert, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Ice People by René Barjavel, Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhvosky, Silo by Hugh Howey, The Giver by Lois Lowry (ok in fairness i don't rember much about the book but the plot twist at the end that's very good, also apparently there is more than one book), The Wave by Todd Strasser, Foundation by Asimov (truth to be told this book didn't leave me with a good impression but that's a classic, I have however loved some of his short stories)

Various: Les Fleurs du Mal by Baudelaire (poetry), Aristotle and Dante discover the secret of the universe by Benjamin Alire Saez, if you happen to read french do yourself a favour and read Le Pacte des Marchombres by Pierre Bottero (it's fantasy by the way, and if you want more french books i have more just didn't list here cause no translation), The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, La Légende des siècles by Victor Hugo (poetry)

Also not listed here because again, i don't know about translations but in France we have a hell lot of nordic thrillers and I'm only getting into them lately but they really are page turners most of them.

[quibliography]

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Synopsis: This series of five short stories is about the creation of a sanctuary community called Foundation. Hari Seldon, using the revolutionary science of psychohistory, foresees the downfall of the Galactic Empire. To preserve humanity and minimize the coming dark age, he gathers all the best scientists and scholars to preserve knowledge in a project which will last hundreds of years. Decades later, the people of Foundation are under threat from neighboring barbaric civilizations. But when they turn to a historic message left by a holographic legendary Hari Seldon, they learn an astounding truth about their purpose.

My Quibs: I had no pre-existing knowledge about Foundation before I started reading. It probably would’ve been good to know that it’s not a standard novel, but a series of short stories that spans centuries. I barely had a grasp on what was happening in “section” II until they started referring to Hari Seldon like he was a founding father. Also to preface, I usually like science fiction, but not science fiction that involves politics, let alone politics and religion. So, although I can appreciate Asimov’s ideas, my quibbles are definitely biased.

I was finally motivated to read this because Apple is coming out with a TV series this month. So I thought, I have to read it first!! Although after having watched the trailer, I was confused all over again. There was a great article that explained basically why Foundation is difficult to translate to screen: 1) Asimov’s conflict resolution is so anti-conflict that he doesn’t even devote time to it. I would get excited at the conclusion of a section like a season finale cliffhanger and then in the next, there would be a character explaining not only how it was resolved but the resonating effect of it decades later. Which leads me to point 2) Moving each story 50 years forward means that you generally get a whole new cast of characters with one or two similar faces to bridge the gap. I have terrible brain capacity for new names and faces so I struggled remembering everyone and their place in the story.

It’s no wonder Asimov is an icon. His ideas are like a game of chess, to predict your opponent's next several moves or comprehend all combinations of future behaviors is mind boggling. I can’t even begin to unravel this on my own.

Should you read it? I won’t dissuade anyone from reading a classic. Even though it’s not my cup of tea, it’s one of those “Books to read before you die”.

Similar reads? It reminds me of Dune like if they were brothers but perhaps Frank Herbert was an activist and Isaac Asimov was a pacifist? Similar ideas but different choices. Also, whereas Asimov shows the effect across generations, Herbert focuses his story on the life of one protagonist.

(Spoiler Alert!) Asimov seems like one of those old people who tell you slow winding tales with a moral at the end. I started to find current day similarities in his messages:  For The Psychohistorians, you can’t rely on your shortsighted elected officials (or any person of power) to work for the good of society. For The Encyclopedists and The Mayors, it seemed very The Art of War, but with a western American twist. For The Traders, it reminded me of how influence is derived from dependence. This one really soured on me because even though Apple or Facebook weren’t the first to use this technique, I can’t help but see them as the protagonists of this story. And in The Merchant Princes, Asimov even describes planned obsolescence. “And since the power unit of this particular item will not last longer than six months, there will be the necessity of frequent replacements...". In the last story, the character even reflects on past stories strategies: “conquest by missionary”, “power of trade”, “forces of economics and sociology”. I first thought these ideas revolutionary, but when he condensed it down like that, I realized this is a cycle seen throughout history. We’re in the final story, each country trying to assert dominance through economics and sociology. Then he says, “There will be other crises in the time to come when money power has become as dead a force as religion is now.” I wonder if when that battle ends, religion will rise again as the landscape on which we will struggle for power. In some ways, it already looks like a viable means of influence (:P unfortunately). Dammit, science fiction can be so depressing sometimes.

But, despite my mixed feelings about the book, I must defend it against the “interpretation” of Apple TV’s new series. I mean, it isn’t even fair to compare them since off the bat, the story line immediately goes in a different direction. A terrorist attack?? Who wrote that?? It goes wholly against Asimov’s style of “threaten violence but don’t act”. To have bombs and guns is to be overly dramatic, which I guess is what the silver screen wants if not the page. Also, the empire (and its demise) is symbolic and become barely a name after The Psychohistorians. But in the series, its role is so significant they needed to hire three different actors to represent it. Apple TV’s Foundation may be worth watching but not if you expect to watch Asimov’s Foundation.

What did you think of Foundation?

[hpldreads]

Have you enjoyed reading or watching "Dune" by Frank Herbert? You might also like "The Foundation Trilogy" by Isaac Asimov, "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons, and "Leviathan Wakes" by James S. A. Corey.

Foundation: "For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun -- or fight them and be destroyed."

Hyperion: "On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands."

Leviathan Wakes: "When Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind the attack, stop a war, and find the truth behind a vast conspiracy that threatens the entire human race."