Isaac Asimov or Frank Herbert, Who is Greater?

I suspect elements of this film will be good. Very good, in fact. However, I also believe it will be a massive let down in other areas (Momoa's awful over-un-acting for one). I only hope the good is enough to outweigh the bad.
 
Vince W said:
I suspect elements of this film will be good. Very good, in fact. However, I also believe it will be a massive let down in other areas (Momoa's awful over-un-acting for one). I only hope the good is enough to outweigh the bad.
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Id love to see this one become box office blockbuster. :cool:
 
What a silly question…..like comparing Jack Nicolas to Chi Chi Rodregues. Chi Chi won a few tournaments but will never be mentioned in the same class as Jack.

The only thing I ever liked about Herbert was the Whipping Star series. Had he quit after the first Dune book it might have been a very important book..but he ruined it with an endless series of sequels.

There may only be one or two writers in Azimov’s stratosphere (as a holder of an advanced degree in physics I learned more physics from Azimov than any college professor). Maybe Heinlein. I personally place Zelazney in the same class as Asimov but then, I appreciate the magical mixture of fantasy and science fiction (Lord of Light).
 
Right. You guys have all been waiting for me to give the final and definitive verdict. But I have none to give. Sorry!
Who is Greater? In what respect exactly? Writing, style, literary aspect, genre-changing or -defining aspects, rate of influencing of those that came after?
I love SFF and am an avid reader, but I doubt I could pinpoint any writer and say he, or she, or they, was The Greatest. I like one writer more than the other, but that is not saying much. Any preference might also have its origins in the order in which I read their work.

When Dune was first published in the Netherlands (somewhere around 1973/1974) the books lay in large stacks prominently on the presentation tables and counters. I had never seen that before with any SF or Fantasy novel. It was a door-stopper and had an intriguing cover. Everything shouted 'this is something special.' and 'buy me!' So I did and never regretted it. It was SF unlike anything I had ever read. To me, while reading it, it felt as if SF has matured. It was complex, layered and deep. Dune still sits prominently among my favorites.
Foundation somehow escaped my attention in my younger days and I didn't read it until a few years ago. I read book 1 and 2 (or only half, I can't remember) and never could be bribed, bludgeoned or blackmailed to read the remainder of the series. Too dated to me taste. That doesn't mean it cannot have been as important to the genre as Dune in my opinion was. I'm not sure exactly where I shelved his books.
I have however read a lot of Asimov, in those now somewhat misty days of my younger self. I liked them, but never thrilled me.
From Herbert I read (of course next to Dune. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune) The Dragon in the Sea and The Santaroga Barrier. Neither convinced me to continue on that path.
All in all I think Asimov was the Greatest when talking about the importance to the world of SF. He made it accessible and popular to the general public. Next to Arthur C. Clarke.
But I think the one novel that had the most impact (at least within the SF-world) is Dune.
To be honest though, I dislike terms like The Greatest. Let's just say Among The Truly Great.
 
I read tons of Asimov while I was in my situation the whole idea at the start of the galactic encyclopedia real got me. I wished I could go back in time and blow his mind with today's internet. Once I read his books and realized how many he wrote it blew my mind the guy didnt need the internet he was the damn internet. In the end his books made a lasting impact on my life and are why i am here now on this site learning to write my own
As far as dune I couldn't even last thru the movie
 
Lizard King said:
Had he quit after the first Dune book it might have been a very important book..but he ruined it with an endless series of sequels.
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Well I was good for three Dune books. Which is about normal for me. I'm never good for more than three or four in a trilogy. (Except Douglas Adams.In his case a six volume trilogy was about right.)

Inre the opening premise: Asimov was an amazingly prolific polymath. Science fiction, Science fact, Limericks both clean and filthy.

And then there's this hilarious spoof on a popular sex manual from the '70's. Game over.
Dr A.png
 
I really like Asimov's science books, he was really good at explaining things, plus there were all the columns he wrote for F&SF Magazine that have been collected into paperbacks.
He did a two volume set, paperback published by Penguin, the first book on the physical sciences and the second on the life sciences.
He also did a three book set, just standard sized papberbacks, nothing too heavy, on basic physics, volume one gravity, volume two electricity and electromagnetism, volume atoms and maybe relativity, not sure?
Anyway they are all good books and worth a read for the scientific layman/woman/person/being/or-whatever!
 
We have both Dune as film and Foundation as a tv series , both at the same time. How cool is that? :cool:
 
I got as far as Amazon TV and only because I have prime. No apple TV, sold the box on eBay. No CBS streaming either. It's hard to find new scifi on free Roku. Of what I have seen so far, CW comes closest, but it's super hero or fantasy shows.
 
Robert Zwilling said:
I got as far as Amazon TV and only because I have prime. No apple TV, sold the box on eBay. No CBS streaming either. It's hard to find new scifi on free Roku. Of what I have seen so far, CW comes closest, but it's super hero or fantasy shows.
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I stopped watching CW shows quite while ago.
 
There was probably 2 shows that I watched on CW. The age range of the audience is supposed to 18 to 34, probably why I didn't watch many programs. CW is now up for sale. A lot of the popular material came from Warners but it supposed to be even split between CBS and Warners. Now that Warner and CBS are streaming their own stuff they have no need to use CW to show their stuff. Apparently it's anybody's guess what CW will end up showing after it gets sold.
 
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