Has KJA ever written anything that didn't

"And we have him going against other official material again, and a goverment which as shown the capability to build 25.000 thousand ISD's and 17.6km long SSD's and millions upon millions of fighters and support ships to add to it, and still being capable of building one 160km battlestation in secret and one 800km after that and noone even noticed the change in chanelling of resources, add to that that they built the DS2 in 6 months...
We are talking serious technological and pure industrial strenght "

He was going by older sources.

I've read a few that said that the Executor did nearly bankrupt the Empire.Later sources say it bakrupted several systems.

 

"All the Dune fans hate him too. Funny that."


One review from amazon.com rated 4 out 5 stars:

"I have read many reviews of "Dune:House Atreides" and every single one goes on to compare it to the magnificence of the original series. Nothing will ever come close to the engrossing, complex, and wonderful worlds that Frank Herbert brought to us (unless the Tleilaxu have secretly made of ghola of the man himself). But I think in all fairness that Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson have made one hell of a go at it. The plot is rich with so many colorful layers and the daunting history of the DUNE universe. The charaters seem real and the familiar ones stand up to what they are to become later in the DUNE timeline. Yes, any diehard fan knows exactly what's coming, but going back to the pre-Mau'Dib era and seeing the events that led up to the original series is like looking back at an old family photo album with fond nostalgia. Also I think these two fine authors need this prequel trilogy to get their proverbial feet wet to get themselves and readers re-familiar with the DUNE universe so they can adequately take on the emense task of taking up where "Chapterhouseune" left us hanging. "Dune:House Atreides" kept me reading and interested, made me feel and think. It felt like coming home to the DUNE universe that I and so many others have come to love. Not perfect, not Frank Herbert, but still worthy of a Freman's loyalty."

As well, as the fact that there are various degrees of critiscism on the books some, hate them, some love them. Some say while it's not to the level of the original, it's still good. But saying all hate them, is incorrect assumption.

So before making a generallity like you did, you should see if you can back up your facts.

 

"He was going by older sources."

Older than the movies?

"I've read a few that said that the Executor did nearly bankrupt the Empire.Later sources say it bakrupted several systems."

It couldn't have if it did the movies we saw could never have happened if a lone SSD would put such a strain on the economy...

Though the 'systems' explanation could be valid, if they used somewhat backwater systems without external supplies in order to keep the construction secret, that could be a good explanation.

 

I will never, ever forgive him for what he did to Mara Jade.

However, his non-SW stuff isn't that bad. And, really, if we didn't have other authors to compare him to, his SW stuff wouldn't even be that bad. He just happens to have written in a field with a lot of incredible writers for competition. Give the man a break!

 

Zahn created Fey'lya, perhaps the most globaly hated eu character of all time. BUT he also created Kardde Thrawn and Jade, but of course we dont hold Fey'lya against him.

Even if KJA made mistakes, you can let them slide because he created Exar Kun, the whole maw thing, and gave Jacen and Jaina their jedi identity that they have in TNJO.

Besides, it all depends on that certain point of view thing...........

 

My own review of House Atredies/House Harkonan...

Utter and complete &@@(@ that maximizes the reader's capacity for revulsion at the sick mynogynistic and animalistic things every character in the book is guilty of from Leto Atredies to Baron Harkonnan. The frank power of sexuality and other physical delights in the Herbert universe is laid bare like a carnival freakshow because Brian and Kevin can think of nothing better to waste page after page after page upon. The word plagiarism is often used in sequels but only since Volkov rewrote the Wizard of Oz in Russia and passed it off as his own work has any book ever born such similarity to it's source material (Duke leto and his concubine's marital troubles, the Harkonnen's plotting against the Atredies, the Emperor plotting against a house with an allies help, even specific scenes which should come off as homage like the dinner sequence on Arrakis with Count Fenrig and his wife come off as more unoriginality) without being derided as the sleazey theft it is. The Fremen are psychopathic religeous cartoon characters rather than a very oppressed people eager to enact revenge, the Imperial Royal Family are effete psychopathic irreligeous cartoon characters rather than Maciavellian plotters who come from a different society, The Atredies are dirtbags or people on the brink of insanity with a tendancy to berfriend and bed spoiled little rich/poor girls, the Harkonnans have no motivation but to offend the reader with homosexuality/rape/child abuse/murderous actions....the homosexuality offending me the most because it's tauted as something to make the baron more repulsive than a simple aspect of the Baron's character. The setups for scenes are great but go nowhere because they're telegraphed and the characters are amazingly stupid and slow figuring things out.

I'm a fan of KJA's work but quite simply both he and Brian Herbert before they finish the next book in the trilogy let alone attempt to write the book found In Frank Herbert's Safety deposit box on floppy disk a few years ago.....need to be shot.

***

KJA has written very good stuff and I point to "Skin" and "Ground Zero" his novels for the X-Files to show a wealth of deep characterization, political intrigue, and lovely scenes.

SCully and Mulder are completely in character and the stories are neither farfetched nor anything less than enjoyable....if both have Scully and Mulder visiting places more fantastic than usual it's to show KJA's vision for making it believable.

***

KJA is a fun writer truly....I just...can't forgive him for what he did to the Dune universe.

Star Wars his works have been very good but...ugh.

I wish the Chronology had been a novel really, it would have been great

As for Fey'lya he isn't hated as a character, he's hated as a person which is far different. Characters hated as characters are Waru, Henethir, and Triculous. Characters hated as people include the Emperor, Felya, and Luminya.

 

I've only read the first of the prequel trilogy, but it was horrible. Not only was the whole Idaho situation completely unbelievable, a lot of space was simply wasted, repeating stuff over and over again. It can and should be assumed that your readers will be intelligent and don't need constant plot recaps within a novel. Also, the Baron's obescity doesn't seem like such a marvel anymore I can't really remember any more as I've tried to forget the horrible experience that was reading that dreadful book.

 

Ground Zero was a great book

 

Well, as I was saying anyone can give negative reviews, but it still doesn't disapprove or invalidate those that loved the books, and give good reviews. Fans and critices(both positive and negative) come in many shapes and sizes, and don't adhere to singluler minded hive minds. Everyone's oppinion is just as valid as the next guy. The only difference is if the person tries to beat there oppionion into someones psyche(that is wrong), but that doesn't seem to have happened yet.

 

The way I think about things, there's two kinds of books that have any appeal for me: good books, and bad books that for some reason I like. And I'm pretty good at telling the difference. When I judge whether a book is good or bad, depending on what the point of the book is, I look at the mechanics and style, as well as the believability of the plot and all that. If someone has the best ideas in the world, it's no fun unless they have the skill to write them down adequately. Now, going by those standards, the Dune prequel that I read is a bad book -- regardless of how many people like it or don't like it, it is not a good piece of writing or storytelling. Different people, of course, have different standards -- as evidenced by the all the support for Ruin, which is in many ways the absolute worst New Jedi Order so far. I personally enjoyed it a lot, but it is just not a good piece of writing.

That's often a fine distinction and a difficult call, whether something is good or whether it's just enjoyable. It's like the difference between ethics and morals -- one is personal, while the other is an overall standard.

 

I'd forgotten about the X-Files books. I really enjoyed them, as well as that book about the labratory- what was it called?

As I said, Anderson could do great things, he just didn't.