Well I just finished the final book in the Dune series by Frank Herbert and without a fathom of a doubt its one of the best series of books I have ever read. That's not such a simple statement either. I've read a lot and I'm quite proud to admit that I'm a book worm. I've read many of the classics, from 1984 to Zorro and everything in between, as well as more modern, 'easy' books. By easy I mean books of no true 'literary value', you're not going to be able to open up a Dean Koontz book and extract deep symbolism nor are you going to find much satire hidden in the pages of Dan Brown. Some people scoff at the idea of such books and are rather prejudiced of them, so what if they don't amount up to Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath? That doesn't make them worthless. I believe a book is written for the entertainment and enjoyment of the reader. Simply put MILLIONS of people enjoy these so called 'worthless' books and indeed The New York Times is rather good at finding these books and getting them out there. If you ask the average person if they enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea they'd look at you and say "didn't we read that in high school? God I hated all the crap they made us read back then." Yet if you asked them if they liked anything by James Patterson, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, or Stephen King the majority of people would probably like if not love a certain title by one of those authors. There's nothing inherently bad about this, in my opinion these authors are doing what they love and sharing that love with everyone in the process. They give their readers a brief escape from the stress of real life and entertain them to no end. Of course there's always a line that can be crossed. When an author signs a book deal,in which they have to get a certain ridiculous number of books out per year, I tend to have a problem with that. All their books become the same, read the first chapter and the last chapter and you won't really miss a thing. I work in a book store and it saddens me to see once great authors, such as Danielle Steele, turn a blind eye on the quality of their work and just pump out release after release. More so what upsets me the most is that there's no repercussion from this, at least not in a quick timely manner. People continue to read books pumped out by these authors and thus continue to make them bestsellers because the reader knows what the author was once capable of. These writers let their readers down. For me reading is like a drug, you have that first high from a particular book by a particular author and you're hooked. It doesn't matter that that high sometimes never comes again you'll keep going and going based on this hope that the author will deliver. The relationship between an author and a reader is a powerful one, not only must the author open up and trust the reader with their innermost thoughts and ideas but in turn the reader must trust the author to fill their writing with passion and love. It's like walking on the edge of a knife and when the reader has finally had enough there's no going back. Its over.
With that being said there have been books written throughout history that have withstood the test of time with not only a story everyone can relate to but a deeper more refined world. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and more recently Rowling's Harry Potter Series. All three of these sets of books did something that most authors can only dream of doing; create a world they not only love but the masses fall in love with as well. Of course there are critics (there always is) and perhaps the three sets of books I chose will raise some heckles, especially the last, but no one can deny the success it has and continues to have. With that success the absolute joy it wrought: to be able to lose ones self in a thoroughly detailed and magical world. Now Harry Potter is probably the only one I don't feel too strongly about, its a very detailed and all, but I needed an example of a decent series thats got the popularity. She's far from a Tolkien but she serves my point. I do believe that Dune is one of those epic works that will stand the test of time.
I'm not going to summarize any of the events in the six books because, I for one, hate spoilers and even when someone is trying their best not to spoil anything we're all only human. I also don't believe I am capable of giving due justice to these books, I will bring up points and various things I felt while I read the book in later posts but for now this is really a general overview. I'll admit I was rather critical of the boast on the front cover of Dune: "Science Fiction's Supreme Masterpiece". Talk about a bold statement but twenty pages in I was hooked. This wasn't even a normal hooked for me this set of books became almost an addiction! I'd suddenly find myself at 3 in the morning not able to put them down. Frank Herbert has done what I thought was impossible: upped the bar. Before I'd compare books to say Tolkien, Orwell or Steinbeck but now I find myself comparing all three to Herbert! Sure each has its strong points, Tolkien's utter detail in creating his world, Orwells strong analyzation and warning of human nature, and Steinbeck well Steinbeck was a master of symbolism even if his work was a bit dry at times. What I found in Herberts work was all three to such a degree that it boggled my mind. He created a world I could get lost in for hours and hours, he analyzed humans, government, religion and many things in between, and he used symbolism to an extent that Steinbeck would be proud. On top of all those, and many other qualities, he made Dune into a part of my day to day life. I often times think "what would the Bene Gesserit say about that?" or I'll try and mentally look at a problem in the way a mentat might look at it. Probably the biggest day to day thing I've noticed is my use of the Litany against Fear.
The Litany Against Fear
Frank Herbert
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
Frank Herbert
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
For an author to so utterly influence me is astounding! I thought before Dune I had read some of the best books that were written. Not even just deep or symbolic ones I had favorite 'easy' books as well. I found that while reading Dune it quickly became one of my favorite books but as I read each sequel they'd take over the previous as my favorite. Many authors botch series endings, Rowling particularly. Some take the story where the readers don't want to go. Others take don't share certain details that the reader needs to know. Because of this, the ending of many stories don't alleviate the reader's craving. Frank Herbert is not one of those authors! Chapterhouse: Dune, which was the last book he wrote, happens to be the best book I have ever read. On the second through the sixth book the covers read"Book *insert number* of the magnificent Dune series." I must say, 'magnificent' is almost an understatement.
One of the things I absolutely love about Frank Herbert is his amazing ability to combine elements from almost everything. As I hinted at earlier, he has a little bit of everything: politics, government, religion, environmental issues, and to top it all off a fantastic philosophy on life. He addresses what it is to be human without being overly critical. He shows both sides of the coin that is humanity. On one side he shows just how evil a human can be but at the same time just how good we can be as well. The interesting thing I found is not that he uses both extremes, but that he shows every degree in between. He has some of the best characters I've ever had the pleasure to read. He coaxes the reader into loving a character to hating to loving again all flawlessly. So far we have thought provoking elements, a fascinating philosophy on life, and deep characters. There are so many aspects to his writing that I could go on and on about but the last I want to address is time. To be able to jump not only years but thousands of years into the future is extraordinary! Time is one of those paradoxical concepts that is really hard to understand much less write about in a coherent way. He addresses time and the changes it brings with it to such a degree I often wondered just how long he spent on his concept. In any case though, he made everything absolutely believable. His characters, his worlds, his governments, and all the scandal that goes with them. Throughout the series I could easily see this being the future of humans. And that is perhaps the greatest thing about Dune.
If all you take away from this is a desire to pick up Dune I'll have succeeded. Even if you're not a strong reader, read Dune for the story. Its fantastic. If you are a strong reader pick up Dune with an open mind and take what you can from it. There are plot lines that everyone will enjoy. A fair warning though, do not skip the book because you've seen either of the movies. They're decent sure but there is no way to fully grasp all the plots within plots of Dune. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the series:
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."
One of the things I absolutely love about Frank Herbert is his amazing ability to combine elements from almost everything. As I hinted at earlier, he has a little bit of everything: politics, government, religion, environmental issues, and to top it all off a fantastic philosophy on life. He addresses what it is to be human without being overly critical. He shows both sides of the coin that is humanity. On one side he shows just how evil a human can be but at the same time just how good we can be as well. The interesting thing I found is not that he uses both extremes, but that he shows every degree in between. He has some of the best characters I've ever had the pleasure to read. He coaxes the reader into loving a character to hating to loving again all flawlessly. So far we have thought provoking elements, a fascinating philosophy on life, and deep characters. There are so many aspects to his writing that I could go on and on about but the last I want to address is time. To be able to jump not only years but thousands of years into the future is extraordinary! Time is one of those paradoxical concepts that is really hard to understand much less write about in a coherent way. He addresses time and the changes it brings with it to such a degree I often wondered just how long he spent on his concept. In any case though, he made everything absolutely believable. His characters, his worlds, his governments, and all the scandal that goes with them. Throughout the series I could easily see this being the future of humans. And that is perhaps the greatest thing about Dune.
If all you take away from this is a desire to pick up Dune I'll have succeeded. Even if you're not a strong reader, read Dune for the story. Its fantastic. If you are a strong reader pick up Dune with an open mind and take what you can from it. There are plot lines that everyone will enjoy. A fair warning though, do not skip the book because you've seen either of the movies. They're decent sure but there is no way to fully grasp all the plots within plots of Dune. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the series:
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."
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