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10
Feb

Hunters of Dune ramblings

When frank Herbert died he left a safe deposit box with notes and a detailed outline for what would be the seventh Dune novel. When Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson started writing their prequels the details of the 7th novel were found and that shaped their Butlerian Jihad series to fit in. Now that they are writing the ending book (split into two) I can see the basic story that Frank Herbert had outlined but it seems like the authors didn’t read the previous Dune novels and are just working from an outline of what has happened before.

Technology is made use of thousands of years before it is invented. They have ignored information from the last chapter of the 6th book. They have a character running around afraid something will get found out when two other characters know it already and the character afraid of discovery should know they know (again from the 6th book). These things and more can be overlooked to get the story out, and the story telling is entertaining, but seeing these inconsistencies jar me out of the reading. I find it irritating that they didn’t even have someone who recently read the original novels read their new novels to point out any inconsistencies so they could be fixed.

I’ll still read the finishing novel but then I’m done with any other Dune novels they might write. I hope they decide to release Frank Herbert’s outline and notes when they are done. I’d like to see what was intended.

4 Responses to “Hunters of Dune ramblings”

  1. 1
    Andy Says:

    I agree fully. I found Hunters to be aimed at an audience who only want a dispsoable read. It was unsatisfying, as have been the entire “new Dune” range. The writing is full of “tell” when every good author knows to “show and not tell”. So much exposition, so much repitition (and the assumption that the readers are stupid?), and to many awful adjectives – less is more. We don’t need to be told that there is a mysterious Enemy. We can deduce that for ourselves.

    This type of writing would not get a look-in for an unpublished author. Having a famous father and having published previously has meant that a rough draft was published.

    Andy

  2. 2
    Douglas Says:

    Dang, now I’m irritated about it all over again. My goal for this month is I think to write them a letter asking for the publication of Frank Herbert’s outline and notes after they finish with the 7th(8th) book.

    And Paul of Dune series to take place between Dune and Dune Messiah? Going to be so bad.

    I blame Kevin J Anderson as much of not more than Brian Herbert. His writing is talking into a tape recorder and having someone transcribe what he says. Then as far as I can tell he has no editor.

  3. 3
    Andy Says:

    A great goal! I would love to know what is in those notes…I think I would have preferred just to have had those notes published and left it at that. The Oracle of Time? I doubt it. There may have been reference to thinking machines, but I doubt they were intended to be like Omnius.

    And an evil Paul againt a good Paul battle? It’s just too cheesy.

    I didn’t know that about Anderson – what a lazy and terrible way to write.

    Paul of Dune…I will NOT being reading that.

    last gripe for the day…The portayal of the unawakened Barron was so pathetic. No subtleties or anything as clever as having a him be a product of his environment. Let’s just make him evil from the start, but not in an eerie way, let’s aim for stereotypical evil!! great…

  4. 4
    Douglas Says:

    You reminded me of the Baron issues. The Baron in the original series didn’t hate living things and want to pave the universe. He was ambitious with no moral barometer to stop him from doing anything it took to get what he wanted. The new Baron hates things just to hate them and doesn’t seem to have much ambition at all. And the Alia in his head thing is horrible! She was in his head before because she was going along future lines and putting the thoughts there for him to get. She’s not alive anymore for that to happen. And the excuse that he was in her mind doesn’t cut it since she was possessed by Other Memory.

    I would have preferred the notes be published too. I hope once they have no more financial gain from them not being published that they will be published. Oracle of Time is bunk. Why have a super being presumably more powerful than Paul or Leto II if they can’t stop Omnius by themself. And I too doubt Omnius was the thinking machine originally intended.

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