Frank Herbert?

[Cozener]

Hi

I'm new to the site and I couldn't help but notice that there is no section for Frank Herbert in the authors section. How did this happen? I know that not everyone would agree but as far as I'm concerned the Dune chronicles are the crown jewel of science fiction. Of course, I do concede that his Dune novels are really the only novels that he's known for and maybe this is what kept him from mention.

edit: I also noticed that Asimov doesn't have his own little section.

Oh and please don't take this as criticism. I was just taken aback and I'm curious.

 

[j d worthington]

Hello and welcome to the Chronicles, Cozener!

Well, Herbert (and Dune) are certainly talked about on here ... quite frequently. Asimov, too, gets his share of mentions. It is just that there have not been enough threads devoted to discussing them and their work ... if that happens, and if enough people show interest in keeping the threads going, that's when a subsection is likely. As it is, and has been said about quite a number of deserving -- and well-known -- writers, there are an awful lot of them out there that have not got their own sections here, so it certainly has nothing to do with lack of respect or interest for them ... simply the writers who were being discussed the most at the time is what guides such decisions.

 

[chrispenycate]

If all the authors I wanted to talk about were on the specialised list, the site would require reorganising.
Not that I don't like Frank Herbert; and not only the "Dune" series (which I consider to show symptoms of "sequelitis" even before his son started rehashing his notes) but his ecological (Hellestrom's hive etc.), the Dosadai experiment, the white plague - even the first I read of his "the dragon in the sea", back in the sixties.
Actually, I suspect that giving an author his own subsection is almost as much to prevent the clogging up of the general thread as it is an honour; this author needs his own space, he's taking up too much of mine.
Actually, if you did a search for Frank Herbert, (or the Herbert family) you might easily find there's enough there to put them in quarantine; largely people complaining how the son's prequels don't stand up to comparison with the original Dune series, of course, but quantitively sufficient.

There, I was right. If you feel you must petition for your hero to have his own solitary cell, then:-
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/2307-herberts-other-stuff.html http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/2671-attention-dune-fans.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/28649-herbert-frank-the-dosadi-experiment.html http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/1416-dune-use-of-conflict.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/1145-the-dark-side-of-dune.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/f...-series-books-compare-with-the-originals.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/5954-dune-and-science-fiction.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/6573-dune-a-science-fiction-great.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/7120-the-eyes-of-heisenberg.html http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/7249-frank-herbert-and-the-godmakers.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/6956-dune-prophetic-or-coincidental.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/11775-hunters-of-dune.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/9938-brian-herbert.html http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/14828-dune-1984-a.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/32601-hunters-of-dune.html
http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/11959-a-brief-review-frank-herbert-dune.html

 

[mightymem]

I am a fan of Frank Herbert and my first forum I ever became a member of was a site dedicated to all things Dune. My favourite of Frank Herberts books are the Dune series, Dragon in the sea, Dosadi experient. Destination void I just found to hard to understand, although I stuck through and read the whole book. I recently bought a collection of second hand Frank Herbert books and hope to read them soon.

 

[j d worthington]

I must confess to not having read a great deal of Herbert's work aside from Dune, though I've read scattered short stories and a handful of the other books over the years; but I still remember the impression Hellstrom's Hive made on me when I first came across it... It remains one of my favorites of his novels, because it disturbed the daylights out of me.... still does.

 

[mightymem]

Although Frank Herbert Dune series made such an impact, it is really quite difficult to get hold of his other books, I actual bought many of his book while I was on holiday in Toronto, I found a great second hand book shop. His other books also do not always get there message across so effectively as Dune does, although they are still often fun to read.

 

[j d worthington]

Yes, I've not seen a lot of them in years, though they used to be quite easy to find. One thing I recall always liking, though, was Herbert's structure and manner of storytelling, as to me it gave an odd and paradoxical feeling of both immediacy and of reading an account of historical events... I always thought that was a very good handling, as it made an impact on a very subtle level of the ephemeral nature of societies, no matter how impressive or majestic or powerful ... even in Hellstrom's Hive, this is the case, where we have the two cultures clashing; here it made our own society seem quite ephemeral in a very frightening way... really made me feel that the illusions had been stripped off, and we were treading a very thin layer of already creaking ice over a vast abyss...

 

[mightymem]

I agree, although i cannot put it quite so elegently as you, Dune had the same impact and because I was going to uni at the same time the impact I felt was doubled. Frank herbert helped me move away from ideogical deadends and look at socioty from a different perspective, a more human wide view. Although he never said to forget your identity, but to open your mind

 

[j d worthington]

I agree, although i cannot put it quite so elegently as you, Dune had the same impact and because I was going to uni at the same time the impact I felt was doubled. Frank herbert helped me move away from ideogical deadends and look at socioty from a different perspective, a more human wide view. Although he never said to forget your identity, but to open your mind

Agreed. I think Herbert remains one of the great "future historians", as it were.... and thanks for the compliment!

 

[steve12553]

I found the Eyes Of Heisenberg in my collection but it's been there so long I don't remember if I've read it. I was into the fifth book of the Dune trilogy before I lost interest in persuing further but I didgo back and reread the first three.

 

[Snowdog]

I don't think I've been disappointed by any of Herbert's books (I'm not including the later Dune sequels/prequels, which I haven't read because I suspect I would be disappointed).

Apart from the Dune itself, I thought the previously mentioned Hellstrom's Hive and The Dosadi Experiment were particularly excellent, along with one not mentioned so far, Whipping Star.

 

[JBI]

He wrote other things, including one famous book about a generation ship where the inhabitants worship the ship as god. Can't remember the name, but it had Jesus Christ in it.

 

[j d worthington]

I believe you're referring to The Jesus Incident (1978), written with Bill Ransom;it was the first of a trilogy, the other two being The Lazarus Effect (1983) and The Ascension Factor (1988).

 

[iansales]

The Pandora trilogy is actually based on an earlier novel, Destination: Void.

Incidentally, many of Herbert's non-Dune novels are being reprinted in the US.

 

[Cozener]

I admit, I haven't read anything by Herbert but the six Dune books and yes, Snowdog, you'd most likely be disappointed in the prequels. Judging by how badly Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson has screwed up the Dune story with the prequels, I refuse to read Hunters of Dune so I can't comment on it.


Cozener=Talifan