Posted on 02/02/2015 3:27:28 PM PST by Perdogg
I apologize for the vanity, but I know that FR is a community of avid readers. Last year, I read "The Hobbit", "The Lord of The Rings" and "The Silmarillion".
I read that Arthur C Clarke referred to "Dune" as 'The Lord of the Rings' of Science Fiction.
What are Freepers opinion of Dune (the book not the movie) and should I continue with the sequels? I saw the film 30 years ago, I remember receiving a sheet with a primmer at the movie theatre after buying a ticket.
also, is there a Gothic horror equivalent to "Dune" of "Lord of the Rings"?
Dune is one of the greatest SF books ever. The sequels didn’t match up to the original but most were still worth reading.
Bump for later
The movie sort of sucked in comparison, but nothing unusual there. Worth the read at least once.
Baby Spice FTW!
Nah, IT...
I read that book in about 12 hours on the way to the beach.
Got there late, dark...windy...my buddy slides open the screen door.
Sounded just like a manhole cover sliding...
It had me scared to death at the very beginning when little Georgie has to go down in the basement and absolutely nothing happens but King is so descriptive that it brought back childhood memories of the basement in our house and the scary coal furnace.
I knew that book was going to be winner before I finished the first 10 pages.
The movie had too many homosexual overtones as well with that Sting dude mincing around. Found it creepy.
For years, I resisted reading Stranger In A Strange Land by Heinlen, but I finally broke down and read it. Meh.
But anyway, yes, you're in for a treat, because Herbert was able to create a vivid and complex universe in a way akin to what Tolkien did.
You should at least be good for the first few Dune books. And pay no attention to the films...
Dune is quite good - significant flaws but also a rich and unique fantasy universe. Each sequel is much worse than the previous book. Even the second book is nowhere near as good as the first, and by the time you get to the third book and beyond there is nothing new in the stories. I’d read the first book and then stop there.
The book is awesome - one of the all-time greats. The sequels - not so much.
I found Turtledove’s The Man With The Iron Heart to be formulaic and predictable. It was nazis as suicide bombers in ‘46.
(The original) Frankenstein; best novel ever written by a teenager. Coming up on the 200th anniversary of its first publication.
Dune is my all time favorite series, but I agree with the rest of your list also...along with many, many others. Throw in a little Herman Hesse and Carlos Castaneda...and you’ll have me re-living my hippie youth...but then I was a flaming liberal back then so maybe I don’t want to reflect on those days too much...lol
My favorites are THE RATS IN THE WALLS and THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE.
THE Dunwich Horror
Dreams in the Witch House
IN the VAULT.
Fifty three years ago I challenged a classmate to read THE RATS IN THE WALLS. A week later she cursed me out as she had not been able to sleep for a week as a result!
Barely readable.
Good decision!
When you finish tomorrow, what are you going to read next? 8<)
Agreed.
I read it several times as a kid, never since. But even back then it seemed to me to allegorize and uncannily predict the power shifts, tangled allegiances and terrible battles over oil (spice).
After that, you ought to read some Heinlein.
I think I had heard some of this story before but thanks for telling it. It’s been a long time since I read the book.
No doubt that was a dreadful experience. War is hell too bad the Germans tried to take over the world. And I say that as a proud german american.
I’ve probably read more Kurt Vonnegut than anybody, if we don’t count detective stories. I know he was a lefty but if he came back today he’d probably have to become a freeper or something since the Left has gone so completely over the edge in just the last few years.
I can’t see Vonnegut supporting “speech codes” or Mohammed obescien.
The Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake have a strong Gothic flavor, and are well work reading.
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