Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Dune by Frank Herbert starting on January 10, 2024.


Happy Reading!

The new movie cover is definitely shinier... no doubt attracts a new audience/generation of readers...

Yay!!! Thanks Yanique.

Hi all :) I would like to join :)

Wonderful and welcome!

Started last night! Already 65% in... no chapters in this baby, eh? Just a little bit past where the first movie ends, actually... totally loving it--I borrowed the full-cast audiobook, and it is really good... also loving all of the philosophical asides, and there are a lot of times where I'm thinking "oh, that reminds me of this book or movie..." and realize... yeah, there's probably a reason for that.

In Book One, (view spoiler)[I find it really interesting how we are shown Yueh is the traitor almost from the start... and how everyone dismisses him as the possible traitor because of how much he hates the Harkonnens... no one stops to think that someone married to a Bene Gesserit, and with a specific type of training, might know how to lie with the truth, and encourage a BG to think what they want... nor do they think that that hate could be due to being the traitor, being forced into a role... no one even thinks of blackmail or hostages...

I love this part of the story, while Paul is still young, and the old Duke is still alive... but it's such a short segment... I love the scene when Stillgar spits in the meeting, and all of the little cultural bits... great worldbuilding... (hide spoiler)]

Up through 75%--(view spoiler)[I find it interesting how the Baron's proclivities toward young boys is hinted in his observations and cut-off speech, but never mentioned straightforward out loud... the effect is one of shivering disgust and fear as well... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze, did anyone recently tell you that you’re a crazy fast reader? Like… today? 😅

She's audio-booking Tabea, Nirkatze and the other audio book listeners are like that, zooming through stuff, you'll get used to it lol. Then there's the rest of us on physical or e-book, all reading at varying speeds. So, welcome! :p

I'll be late to this, by probably a few weeks, lol.

I started this on Monday and then got sick. Hoping to get back to it tonight.

Tabea wrote: "Nirkatze, did anyone recently tell you that you’re a crazy fast reader? Like… today? 😅"

Yea... me and Nirkatze kinda read everything... we try to stick around and respond for awhile, but eventually we're 20 books ahead and details become hazier :D

Nirkatze is better at leaving detailed comments to everything, all at once, about 10hrs from now... I vary by day/book...

I haven't figured out when I'm reading this, yet... sometime in the next few days, when it seems right... almost caught up on everything from the first 10 days of the year...

Joining in, Ive been wanting to reread the Dune series for a while now.

Full cast audio was good! But it's adapted to a point and leaves out parts. Love Dune. Not that excited by the other books in series.

Right now we aren’t planning to continue the series. Or rather I’m not and I’m the one who put in for this read. I will not be offended if you all want to do so though. Feel free!

I just wanted to be ready for the second movie.

I was wanting to read the original six books again on my own. It’s been years. Starting the first book with you guys is giving me the motivation to do so.

🤣 Went to see how far I got with Dune. I read #2. 🤣🤣🤣

Story narrative voice isn't the same after Dune. I've re-read Dune and watched all the movie/show makes minus the latest. The latest casting did not appeal to me, but I'll make time to watch at some point.

I have a lazy plan to read the up to 6--eventually.

What do ya'll enjoy in Dune?

I love the core cast (good/bad), lore & settings for space/planet, Spice, clash of 'religion' vs politics and the whole struggle bus to power.

Oh my. The recent movie was fantastic. It’s the only reason I’m revisiting this. Ha ha.

With my original read through I kept thinking the book was boring and then wondering why I kept wanting to go back to it. Usually with boring books I lose interest real quick. But this one I did want to keep going. There’s definitely something special here.

Pacing for Dune is very slow in the beginning. Like Herbert wanted the readers to feel a weighted, dragging feel. I don't remember how far I had to go to be truly hooked, but Paul and the mysticism kept me going until I wanted to know more about Dune, spice, dreams, etc.

Oh yeah and most of the intro has flat out gross jerkwads. 😆

Tabea wrote: "Nirkatze, did anyone recently tell you that you’re a crazy fast reader? Like… today? 😅"

What Beena & Iain said... though I made it 6 hours instead of 10 today, yay!

Finished this morning. It's really interesting reading this again... last time I read it was a few decades ago, in elementary school, and I was amazed at how much stuck with me. I think I appreciate the story more as an adult, and all the philosophical aspects.

I actually have an opposite feel with the book to @Soo--the beginning, through Book One, feels faster to me, and the second half more deliberate--but I can also see why others would feel the opposite, as the reader gets a sense of the oncoming (view spoiler)[doom of the happy family... (hide spoiler)] Unless y'all are talking about the movie. In which case I remember enjoying but don't remember any other impressions.

Then I stand corrected, Nirkatze and Ian you are crazy fast listeners 😅
I’ve actually never read or watched anything of the Dune universe, not even the most recent movie. Admittedly, that was my motivation for picking it up.
Reading this in elementary schools though? 😱 (You were from Alaska?) it seems such a long and massive book and I’m daunting it even now. Probably gonna start Friday, let’s see how it goes 💪

😆

5th Grade was the start of my bookworm life! LoL

Lord of the Rings, Dune, etc

My parents bought the Children's & World Encyclopedias. I read all of the Children's and most of worlds as a kid.

Children's bible 1st, then regular bible, all the Grimm's, Arabian Nights and Mythology books I could get my hands on.

Ok, maybe my reading love was always there cause the encyclopedias were before 5th grade. 🤔

5th Grade sticks out as the time I started readathons. There was a reading challenge for the year. We got stickers for each book, monthly, semester and year prizes. I read like 200 books in that school year.

Same as Soo--I started my SFF classics kick in 5th grade--read Asimov, LotR, Dune etc, then moved on to Pern and Le Guin... my parents never tried to control my reading, as long as I could find/afford the books on my allowance... except for one time when I got into a scary stories streak and apparently summoned a poltergeist... my mom confiscated all of my books and had the house exorcised... problem went away.

Soo I like the religion vs politics and all the philosophical components of the story. It’s been years. I’m wondering how much of it I can remember. I was excited for the new movies. The first one was great. Although I love David Lynch his Dune film was just ok.

Nirkatze wrote: "Same as Soo--I started my SFF classics kick in 5th grade--read Asimov, LotR, Dune etc, then moved on to Pern and Le Guin... my parents never tried to control my reading, as long as I could find/aff..."

🍿🍿🍿

YOU SUMMONED A POLTERGEIST! We, I mean I, need full story time.

Yeah, gonna need the deets on that.

Right?!?!

Ewww Baron Harkonen! Gross!!!

I will be joining this weekend. I need the poltergeist story too, Nirkatze!

Felina wrote: "Ewww Baron Harkonen! Gross!!!"

Totally one of the jerk wads.

Mm hmm... okay, so Poltergeist story: (view spoiler)[I think I was 11? I was reading a lot of scary stories--Goosebumps & Fear Street, collections of ghost stories and urban tales, anything I could get my hands on... One day mom came in to my room and just confiscated all of my books without telling me why.

I remember there being some weird things happening during that time, like the radio turning on at full blast when neither of us (only mom and I in the household) were in the room with the radio... it was so loud it felt like I had to go against a strong wind to get to it and turn it off...

Or things falling off shelves in unoccupied rooms... once even something falling off a shelf during dinner, on to a guest's head... and the guest wasn't that close to the shelf...

Lights turning on, again, in unoccupied rooms...

I pretty much ignored everything and wrote it off as earthquakes and bad electrical wiring. But when I asked mom why she'd confiscated my books--it took her a few years to answer me, I think I was in high school--she told me I had summoned a poltergeist and that after she took my books away and had a friend of hers come do a Native Alaskan cleansing ceremony all those little things went away. She thought it was a combination of what I was reading and a sort-of... volatile spiritual energy generated during puberty. She told me of a few other incidents I hadn't noticed and it put the ones I had noticed in a different light.

We still had a bundle of sage and bird feathers from the cleansing ceremony in our living room until she sold the house last year. (hide spoiler)]

🍿🍿🍿

Woo! Waited all day for story time. 🤗 (view spoiler)[

My take is that you are gifted and should have some sort of centering activity to keep ya in the balanced zone. Spirits are not attracted to normal vibes. Never too late to hone sixth senses. Though, it gets harder with age. Not because of learning is different, but there's more self directed blocks that you gotta unwind or release to make new patterns.

Also your mom sounds hella cool. Feel free to pass on my compliments! (hide spoiler)]

LOL glad the story was popcorn-worthy! I haven't had any other episodes that I'm aware of. I'll have to look into centering activities, thank you! Will convey thoughts to mom.

Finished this one. I enjoy this book and gave it a solid 3 stars. It’s a very interesting story but it’s a slog in some spots. And I’m reminded why I don’t want to continue with the series.

While most of you seem already done, I have now managed to read the first couple of pages. To me, it feels timeless yet old at the same time. My best guess is that’s due to no real POV, we know the thoughts of all persons involved in a situation and it’s a third person narrator; not sure if I like this narration style.

Also there’s some really unique and cool names for places, peoples and persons. And then there’s… Paul 😂

This is one of the few I'm super late on... not everyone is done, yet...

There are lots of biblical influences in the series. You could correlate the broadstrokes of Paul in Dune & Paul the Apostle.

Nirkatze wrote: "Started last night! Already 65% in... no chapters in this baby, eh?..."

The version I'm reading feels like it has chapter breaks, even tho it doesn't...

The main story is read by George Guidall, and the epigraphs are read by Davina Porter, so they feel like chapter breaks, and happen with some regularity...

Tabea wrote: "While most of you seem already done, I have now managed to read the first couple of pages. To me, it feels timeless yet old at the same time. My best guess is that’s due to no real POV, we know the..."

(view spoiler)[ Yea, we know it's sci-fi and future-y, but the Benn Geserit traditions feel very old-school / pagan... (hide spoiler)]

The pleasant narration, and my vivid memories of the old Dune movie leave me with some serious cognitive dissonance...

Baron Harkonnen, from the old movie: (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

I am starting today... Looking forward to reading it!

I read book 1 (since the table of contents splits the story into 3 "books"... decided to break the book into 3 sections myself, and alternate with Fifth Season...

There are definitely alot of vaguely memorable moments, but it's been years/decades since I last saw the old movie from the 80s...

The story may be slow-going, but I think it's pretty solid... you see alot of factions and motivations coming together in unexpected ways, beyond anything planned by anyone, which is always fun...

Looking into the book some more, online, I find it interesting that this is the book that proved sci-fi novels can be tomes... and that it was originally published as a magazine serial over the course of 2-3 years... as much as publishing changes, it finds ways to stay the same, with the ongoing trend of web serials, these days...

Damn, did not now about that--I love publishing history!

I wonder if each serial was started with one of those quotes by Irulian?

Book lengths changed for a variety of reasons. If you go from after print machines, book binding and easier ways to process paper, then it has a lot to do with literacy and country wealth.

To read, it always cost money. Cost more to be a student, write and read in any country.

So format and length have gone in waves of transitions. I am thankful to be in a time where book length is less of an issue and there are avenues of reading access that don't necessarily need money.

I find the trend for short form over length to be interesting change from 70's to now. It's gone back and forth. Lots of indicators about influence of advertising, technology, downgrade in education, etc.

My thing is, I don't care if long stories are broken into shorter lengths and still reach the epic page count & a full story arc. It's the cost of it. There's lack of price grading for book length. That's a personal gripe.

Sorta like Audible charging a credit per book in a series. Sometimes a series bundle/collection/omnibus will be released and you can snag it also for a credit. That's not too bad. Membership vs non price grading definitely skews for company but can be ok on consumer side if incorporated well.

- Uh going back to Dune. I forgot it was a serial release. Makes me wonder how the story was able to maintain popularity. Does make sense in how parts are in segmented format. Not quite episodic.

I used to get Reader's Digest. I definitely did not read those as much as I should have. 😅 But those were a good part of publishing shorts and some serials.

My version is narrated by George Guidall and Davina Porter… Davina Porter I recognize from the Sherlock and Mary series… George Guidall feels like a narrator I recognize, but haven’t heard before I don’t think… most of his stuff is Stephen King and stuff I haven’t read or wouldn’t read…

Guidall is the narrator for Longmire. He's old school and narrated several genres.

Soo wrote: "Guidall is the narrator for Longmire. He's old school and narrated several genres."

Yea... after hundreds/thousands of audiobooks, it's a surprise to find a narrator I haven't heard, but THINK I have...

Longmire is one I might try someday... I keep meaning to try more Stephen King, too... not sure I saw much else I'd try...

Guidall is the narrator for Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn. He's worked on SF, thriller, horror, classics and mystery. I like him.

Soo wrote: "Guidall is the narrator for Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn. He's worked on SF, thriller, horror, classics and mystery. I like him."

I actually might have listened to a few Rapp books by him, when I tried a re-read and stalled out again around book 5, like the first time as ebooks...

Nirkatze, the poltergeist story was awesome! I also think your mom handled it like a champ!

Started the book tonight and I can see how much it has influenced more contemporary writers of both Sci-fi and Fantasy. The structure of the way it is written reminds me a lot of Stormlight Archives...

More Guidall narrations: several Ursula K. LeGuin books, The Golem and the Djinni series.

My mom appreciated folks's appreciation of her action in the poltergeist story...