Monday, 16 October 2017

Dune

Both Herbert and Anderson have an interstellar Empire. However, Anderson shows us Imperial rise and decline plus before and after.

Anderson shows us many imaginative intelligent species interacting with each other whereas Herbert, like Asimov, presents a humans only galaxy albeit with human beings altered in various ways.

The Dune series seems to have continued because books with the word "Dune" in the title sold whereas readers had to recognize which works belonged to Anderson's Psychotechnic and Technic Histories. Anderson's Harvest Of Stars Tetralogy continued because its author had more to say about that future history.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I like DUNE and read it more than once. And I think at least the first two sequels, DUME MESSIAH, and CHILDREN OF DUNE, are worth reading. I discussed DUNE with another online friend and she told me how she did not like the book because there were no truly LIKABLE characters in it. I had not thought of that before, but she was right. DUNE is a grim, gritty tale of interstellar intrigue and war, and the best thing the "hero" of the book can think of is unleash a slaughterous jihad on the human inhabited parts of the galaxy. Readable, gripping, fascinating, but not PLEASANT.

Sean