Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles #3) by Frank Hebert

"Though the storyline is a bit more intriguing than Dune Messiah, Children of Dune is still full to bursting with theoretical, rhetorical, grandiose thoughts that are just confusing and the prescient vision of ALL the characters gets really old, really fast."

2 STARS

Pros: Again, Herbert uses all the senses to bring the planet of Arrakis to life/Alia's issues and that whole "abomination" thing made for a good ending/After an unnecessarily long time, all the multiple threads of the story came together.

Cons: Prescient vision is so confusing/A lot of the characters just seem kind of soulless and empty at times/Leto and Ghanima's relationship was just...creepy at times.

Full Review:

It has been nine years since the events of in Dune Messiah. Leto II and Ghanima, the twins that Chani bore Paul have been afflicted with the same "preborn" consciousness" of their Aunt Alia. They became aware of themselves while still in the womb, so they are able to tap into multiple lives in the past and draw upon those experiences. This makes them frighteningly intelligent and mature for their age.

Alia has been running the Empire since Paul's disappearance. And unfortunately, she's not been doing a very good job. Unable to handle the many memories of being "pre-born" she has latched onto a singular personality and is letting him control her. Jessica, meanwhile, had fled to Caladan once Paul became Emperor, frightened of what Alia was, so it doesn't help that Alia had no one to turn to for guidance.

Jessica has chosen to come back to Arrakis, to meet her Grandchildren and to see what kind of creature Alia has become, so tensions are high. Meanwhile on Salusa Secundus, the descendants of the late Emperor Shaddam IV are cooking up devious plots of their own to deal with the Atreides line.

As Herbert is fond of saying, there are plots within plots within plots. And I have to be honest, this book was a struggle. The last 100 pages were exciting because all the threads started coming together but Herbert's concentration on prescience and his rhetorical, hypothetical, lofty thoughts at the beginning of each chapter get really old, really fast. Yes, there were some exciting parts and I'm interested to see if God Emperor of Dune will be any better, but for now, the book is done and I am happy to put it on my shelf and take a break from Herbert and his world of Dune for awhile.

Comments

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective. Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review: This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end." ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific. Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd. Full Review: Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar. Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con. Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

All the Books.

Search This Blog