Off the shelf

Discussion in 'The Chatterbox' started by micah1_8, May 4, 2009.

  1. Dr. Mike

    Dr. Mike New Member

    I agree about Herbert. The thing with the Dune saga is that it drops you in the middle of a history that is already expansive, but creates a focal point to condense it one more. Then from there, it explodes and increases indefinitely - mankind breaking out of the ever-more restrictive limits they had placed on themselves. He then purposely let it end very much unresolved, and open-ended. The problem with the works of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson is that they are attempting to put bookends on the series - to give it a very nice and satisfying, and definite, beginning and ending, and have it all tie in together. They claim Frank had intended to write one more book, and that they found a rough sketch for that book in a safe deposit box after his death, from which they built the final two books they wrote. There is some evidence that this might have been the case - the flow of the saga suggests there might have been a seventh book. It reads like a trilogy, then the 4th book which serves as the bridge then to a final "trilogy" of only 2 books. Whether Frank was going to write a 7th book or not, the ending that they give it seems more as a way to legitimize their prequels regarding the Butlerian Jihad, so often referenced in Frank's books but never expounded upon. Instead, they seem to have stolen concepts from others and sold them as their own - anybody else see shades of Asimov's R. Daneel Olivaw in what Herbert and Anderson tried to do - but even worse, selling it as if that was what Frank had intended.

    I enjoyed the Butlerian Jihad trilogy, and somewhat enjoyed the immediate prequel "House" books. I view them as extraneous to the story - more along the lines of spinoffs or alternate interpretations than actually being part of the actual Dune "universe" or story line.

    Bottom line, if you read nothing else, read "Dune." If you saw the movie and were put off by it, disregard it and get the book. It is incredible in its scope, and I often see it listed at the top of "best of" sci-fi lists, with Asimov's Foundation series.

    On another note, I have read a few Phillip K. Dick books - interesting, still not sure how I feel about them. I have read "The Man in the High Castle" and "D.A.D.O.E.S aka Bladerunner." Not bad. With the exception of "Paycheck" I have enjoyed the movie adaptations of his stories, especially Bladerunner and Minority Report.
     
  2. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    What does it say about me that I rather enjoyed both movie versions of Dune?
     
  3. Dr. Mike

    Dr. Mike New Member

    I enjoyed them too, but the 80s movie varied greatly from the book, so I was saying that if you didn't like that movie, you might still like the book.

    The Sci-Fi channel versions of Dune and Children of Dune are, while maybe a little slower, more true to the books, and worth checking out.
     
  4. Special_K

    Special_K New Member

    You guys mentioned going back re-reading...I for the life of me have never been able to do this. Even with movies it is very hard for me to re-watch.
     
  5. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    You know, I can re-watch movies*... but I've usually got to let sufficient time pass between viewings. Like say 2 years... anything sooner is just too recent. The only books I've ever had any desire to go back and re-read have been the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy." I think it's because they're so densely packed with stuff that it's easy to find something new each time you read them.

    *I should hope so, otherwise my 800+ DVD collection would seem a tad silly.
     
  6. Dr. Mike

    Dr. Mike New Member

    Only a few books have been worth reading more than once:
    The Dune saga (Frank Herbert)
    The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit (I've read both of these ~5X)
    Band of Brothers - Ambrose
    And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie (I have read a few of her mysteries, and this one was the only one that made me want to read it again - brilliant. see if you can figure out who did it - I couldn't)
     
  7. Special_K

    Special_K New Member

    Fabulous tv series. I'm sure the book was great too.
     
  8. NoobShaver

    NoobShaver BGDAAA

    Those aren't the best PKD. My favorite's Confessions of a Crap Artist which is one of his non-sf efforts. Quite a good effort at that. Captures the weirdness of California living in the late 60s. I highly recommend it.

    After that, check out Martian Time Slip, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, The Divine Invasion, and if you're still digging PKD, VALIS. Other PKD works of note are The Maze of Death, Counter Clock World, Time Out of Joint and The Game Players of Titan.

    As for movies, I haven't seen Paycheck but I think I've seen the rest. My favorite was "Screamers" which was adapted from his short story "Second Variety." I didn't like the adaptation of "A Scanner Darkly" featuring Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr. and Wynona Ryder. It was boring; I almost fell asleep in the middle.
     
  9. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    Something weird happened with that quote there... I didn't say that stuff.
     
  10. NoobShaver

    NoobShaver BGDAAA

    heh. I know what happened. I multiquoted, with a quote from you above- somehow the upper quote got deleted and your name merged with the tags. Thus, Dr. Mike's quote was attributed to you.
     
  11. poppi

    poppi Well-Known Member

    I've really enjoyed books by Clive Cussler and Robert Ludlum. Liked the early Tom Clancy books as well. Aside from those authors, I basically read Scriptures daily and that's about it.

    In the past I've partaken of the classics i.e. Tale of Two Cities, The Deer Hunter, Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, etc and enjoyed them. It's been many years so perhaps it's time to revisit them.

    Good books are a joy.
     
  12. Dr. Mike

    Dr. Mike New Member

    Oh, man, how could I have forgotten Dickens! I finally started a few years back to read Dickens - the first I read was A Tale of Two Cities and I was mesmerized. What an incredible book. I then read Great Expectations and David Copperfield and enjoyed them greatly. Bleak House has been sitting on my shelf for a little while, waiting for me to tackle it.

    I enjoyed Ludlum's books, but after a while they seemed just too formulaic. It was the same basic story line - some sinister group with a grandiose scheme to do something dastardly, a lone rogue agent who stumbles across the plot and seeks to thwart it, and along the way he recruits the aid of an attractive young woman to help him. The Bourne Trilogy wasn't bad at all, though - particularly the Bourne Identity - much different than the movies.

    Clancy was good early on. Red October, Cardinal of the Kremlin were good, and Red Storm Rising was very entertaining. After Without Remorse, though, I felt he really started going downhill.
     
  13. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    Attached Files:

  14. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    I just added a book to my TBR pile.

    We went to the bookstore last night and I picked up a copy of Seeing Redd, the second book in the Looking Glass Wars. Now I don't know if I should read it, the second Rumpole Omnibus, or Lolita next.
     
  15. mkirby

    mkirby New Member

    currently reading Paris 1919 - Margaret MacMillan again :)
     
  16. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    Settled on Lolita. Man, that Humbert Humbert was one screwed up dude.

    Nabakov's writing is excellent, however. Excellent, and creepy. I can't imagine writing a character like that-- having to get inside his head-- it's disturbing enough just reading the man's thoughts, I can't fathom writing them.
     
  17. freddy88

    freddy88 Member

    Night by Elie Wiesel. While it is a small book (only 115 pp), an autobiography of the author's teen years, it took me two weeks to finish. It was so horrific, because it was true, that I couldn't read more than ten pages at a time before having to put the book down.

    The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials trilogy) by Philip Pullman. An amazing fantasy series for young adults, this series is also found in the adult section of many bookstores and libraries (and rightfully so).

    Coming up: Chasing the Dime by Robert Crais and The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. I find the Elvis Cole and Lincoln Rhyme series perfect escapist fare.

    Even though I read these some time ago, they were a wonderful guilty pleasure: the entire Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
     
  18. Special_K

    Special_K New Member

    I've read Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly. That was an awesome mystery/thriller book.Oh i see I think you meant Chasing the Darkness by Crais. I might have to check those two authors out.
     
  19. freddy88

    freddy88 Member

    I have read most of Michael Connelly's novels (including Chasing the Dime) and they are all fantastic. His Harry Bosch books are always fantastic. I also like the way Mr. Connelly has various characters meeting up in his various novels. It makes you feel that you're not reading any one of his books in a vacuum.

    If you haven't yet, give both Robert Crais' Elvis Cole and Jeffery Deavers' Lincoln Rhyme series a try. They are both great escapist reading. Next week I have a long journey ahead of me (San Diego, California to Edinburgh, Scotland). The two books I mentioned in my earlier thread are going to make those flights seem much faster than they actually are.

    Of course you are right. Sorry about that. I did, indeed mean Chasing the Darkness by Robert Crais.
     
  20. micah1_8

    micah1_8 Poor Heartless Prevert

    Just started a Gabriel Hunt adventure, At the Well of Eternity. So far, it's pretty much pulp, but it's fun!
     

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