Did you know Frank Herbert wrote non-science fiction stuff? I had never read anything of his except Dune, so when I found this at the library book sale, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, it reads like a less-interesting and not-quite-as-cohesive Alistair MacLean. There’s some kind of war on, against the Eastern Powers. It seems to maybe be in the future (keeping it sci-fi adjacent?). However, none of what’s going on in the outside world is really addressed. Ninety percent of the story takes place in a […]
Don’t Judge an Author by One Book (Especially Not This One)
There was a guy named Pete in my high school humanities class. Pete loved renaissance festivals and Dune. He said Frank Herbert’s Dune was a great example of what sci-fi can be at its best – a teaching tool. It’s hard (and boring) for us to read someone’s thoughts on what humanity should be like. Put the story in space, though, and we’re more susceptible to new ideas. Dune has plenty to say about power, war, economics, and religion, Pete told me. The book sounded cool […]
The Spice Must Flow
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 […]