Dune … Arrakis … Desert Planet Dune has been one of my favourite movies for a long time, despite all its flaws, so I was intrigued to learn how it holds up against Frank Herbert’s novel. As it turns out, it does not do so well. On the surface, Dune deals with the impact of political intrigue on a noble family, the Atreides. The Duke Leto Atreides is tasked by the Galactic Emperor to take over the administration of the desert planet Arrakis, the only […]
How Do They Rise Up?
The following contains minor spoilers. Wading through ash “What if the Dark Lord won?” is the tagline of The Final Empire, the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. The Lord Ruler rules the Final Empire as a god-king, immortal, immensely powerful and all-knowing. According to legend, he vanquished the Deepness, an unknown evil which would have destroyed the world otherwise. As it is, the battle resulted in massive volcanic eruptions that changed the environment to an ash-covered waste with little vegetation that is barely […]
What if your educational voyage does not teach you anything?
A few words in advance This is my second attempt to do the cannonball read. My first was rather short-lived because I could not find the time to write reviews anymore and I hope I will make it this time. Bear in mind that English is not my first language, which means I will make mistakes. Feel free to point them out to me in the comments. The Book Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) is set before World War I. Hans Castorp, scion […]