[DCBryan1]

Yeech - those Dune books have to be THE most boring series I ever tried to read. And I'll read damn near anything.

I thought the exact same thing at 13. Now after reading it in my 20's , and now I'm 30, I find myself reading "DUNE" at least once every year and the series once every other year.

Frank Herbert is as genious with science fiction as Tolkien is to fiction.

Signed
Kwitzat Haderach

[DCBryan1]

Bene Gesseret PING!

[freedumb2003]

>>Frank Herbert is as genious with science fiction as Tolkien is to fiction.<<

Uhh, that's a little much. Herbert's pretty darn good, but is the top of the second tier. Dune was a very good series but he tends to get pedantic as the series wears on.

The first tier pantheon will always be Asimov, Henlein, Campbell, (MAYBE Bradbury for TMC) and some others.

[Ramius]

Have to agree.

I had the distict privilege of meeting Mr. Herbert for lunch about twenty-some years ago, before the first movie was released. He spoke about the screen-adaptation process. Didn't care for it much, but he knew the reality of things.

It was a most remarkable meeting. He is a giant among writers.

Regards,

[Xenalyte]

Perhaps I should clarify. I've attempted to read Dune five times, between ages 21 and 33, and never gotten more than 100 pages into the first one.

The action is sloooow, and the characters aren't all that likable, but what really gets me is that I have to learn an entire new vocabulary AND mythology to appreciate the story. It's unnecessary and a drag on the book, and it could have been better done.

I give you Exhibit A: A Clockwork Orange. I had to learn tons of new words for that, and my copy didn't have a glossary, but they didn't distract me from the story; they added to the surreality and the eerie atmosphere.

The new vocab in Dune, on the other hand, irritated me to the point that I couldn't get past it.

However, to make y'all happy, and to forestall Paul's comments about my maturity level, I'll try it AGAIN, and report back. Maybe I've been granted patience since my most recent attempt, last summer.