I know this is 'cind off topic, but I need something to pass the time until Star by Star comes out. So can someone tell me if the book or the movie was any good?
I read Dune many years ago. I remember thinking that it was very well written, but the book simply wasn't my cup of tea. So yes, it is a good book. The movie, on the other hand, was terrible.
The first book in the Dune series is great, but it goes downhill from there. The 80's movie is ok but the one the Sci-Fi channel did last year has got to be the best Dune movie. If you are going to read Dune read it. But don't read the other books. They suck even more than the EU.
Dune is outstanding. The sequel isn't so great, but it helps you understand Dune much better. The other sequels are pretty good, but the prequels SUCK. They are badly written, they are unbelievable...uggh.
I loved Frank Herbert's Dune. It was very prophecy-oriented with alot of "the one" references. Similar to other captivating stories I could think of
The first Dune novel is amazing, really interesting. I didn't care much for the 1st sequel, but the 2nd, Children of Dune was far better. As for the prequels, I quite like them. No where near the standard of the original, but worth reading anyway, IMHO. I got the 3rd prequel, House Corrino, yesterday and so far it's good.
It's really good but definitely a style that you either like or dislike. I found it very well written though
Dune is definatly a story you either love or hate. However, i might mention that many elements of star wars are based on it and continue to be(ie vong = fremen, shapers = bene tlexiu). The most obvious being tatooien which is in many ways identical to Arrakas(Dune) and luke shares many traites with paul atreides. Dune is a dark, deep story, that has many subplots. It's not something to be simply skimmed on a bus at 3 am, the story will make no sense. Genneraly if you like teh darker aspects of star wars and the NJO, and tend to read SW more for the jedi aspects than the military ones you'll probably like DUNE. Still i STRONGLY recommend reading at least the 1st book, which is probably the best(the next three sequals are good but get progressivly weirder as you go). The 1980 movie is horrible(especially considering that ESB came out in the same year but looks decades ahead in terms of Special effects). The Sci fi channel mini series is great and captures teh book VERY well(it does rearrange the story a little bit but nothing major) It's a good thing to watch after reading the novel(although i myself saw it before reading the novel). BTW for those who liked the sci fi mini series i have good news the SCI fi channel annoced it's going to make a sequal. The sequal which will be called "Children of Dune" and will consist of the 2nd sequal"Dune Messiah"(which was really short) and the 3rd "Children of Dune". It should come out in a year or so. NO THIS IS NOT A RUMOR!!!!!!!
BTW for those who liked the sci fi mini series i have good news the SCI fi channel annoced it's going to make a sequal. Cool, I loved the scifi-channel rendition of Dune, so I'll be looking forward to this as well!
Dune's outstanding, the next couple of sequels are strange, but then it's really good again in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune. As for the prequels, I actually enjoyed them thoroughly. Much more politically oriented. The 80's movie though, I despised. I thought it was perhaps the most horrendous mutilation of an excellent book that I've -ever- seen, whereas the new Dune movie is actually one of the best book-to-film conversions I've seen.
Dune is great. Once I read the part with the gom jabber I knew this was superb writing. It's a good reading if you get used to the pacing, which is basically true with any book. The Sci-Fi movie is good, but long. I watched the whole thing in one night and got Duned out for awhile. But after I read Guns of the South I picked up Dune Messiah, which is shorter but still good. Children of Dune is excellent as well but I don't think I'll read God Emperor until after I finish SbS. Oh yeah the Sci-Fi sequel is going to be called Children of Dune but will cover both Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Hopefully they will do another good job with this one.
IMHO, the first three books were decent, and it suddenly spiraled downwards. The old movie was very poor, even for its day in age, and missed a lot of good story. The newer movie I like - and nobody tell me I think that just because it's new... I like it better because six hours were needed to get even half of the story of Dune, not just two. You can get the DVD of the new movie at any video store - the sense of scale is muy impressivo. Enjoy!
