I'm almost ashamed to say that I've never read DUNE. I'm 43 and once read gobs of Sci-Fi and fantasy. Most of it was when I was a kid because when college hit a physics program was just too study intensive to leave much time for anything. Then when a job hit I discovered it was even worse. I started writing a few years ago (like, 10) and slowly began to find time to read again. After a while I realized the stuff I was writing fit best in Sci-Fi. That led me... here!
There was a discussion a few weeks ago about books that would or wouldn't get published today. I think it was in an info-dump thread. Dune came up and I thought to myself, "You really need to read that."
Now, there are many things we first experience when we're really not too well equipped to evaluate them beyond "Love it" and "Hate it". I don't know how many books and movies I wish I could watch for the first time again. Dune was a classic I'd never read and I'm now a mature (debatable) and experienced (also debatable) writer even if I'm unpublised (not debatable). Unfortunately, the experience isn't entirely pure. I know the plot from the 80's era movie so keep seeing the faces of the actors. Fortunately, however, the casting of the 80's movie was superb (especially where Baron Harkonnen is concerned) and the directors didn't much follow the book so the damage is not as bad as it might be.
First off, the first few chapters of Dune are mega-info-dump. Tons of names, and lots of detail without a lot of plot.
Secondly, the POV is odd. It is written in the 3rd person Omnicient point of view. You get inner dialogue (in italics, no less) switching from one character to the next from one paragraph to the next with no line breaks. I keep hearing the whispering from the movie. "Dune, desert planet... Never one drop of rain on Arrakis..."
Third, style unusual. Fragmentary phrases abound. Paul walked into the room, turned around, said "Hi."
Fourth, the plot develops quite slowly. There is a lot of talk about Harkonnens and the threat they pose, and the CHOAM company, and the emperor, and all that, without much plot participation, or any real clarification, by or about any of these entities.
However, I do like the book, and more and more as I consume it's pages. It was a bit tough to get in to. I don't mind the 3rdPerson-O but it is non-standard. Sentence fragments a bit jarring and remain so. I don't mind info-dump, as long as the info feeds back into the story later, which it does. And a slow-developing plot is like well-aged wine. But I'm more convinced than ever, for the very reasons that I like the book, that it would never be published today and that is... sad.
There was a discussion a few weeks ago about books that would or wouldn't get published today. I think it was in an info-dump thread. Dune came up and I thought to myself, "You really need to read that."
Now, there are many things we first experience when we're really not too well equipped to evaluate them beyond "Love it" and "Hate it". I don't know how many books and movies I wish I could watch for the first time again. Dune was a classic I'd never read and I'm now a mature (debatable) and experienced (also debatable) writer even if I'm unpublised (not debatable). Unfortunately, the experience isn't entirely pure. I know the plot from the 80's era movie so keep seeing the faces of the actors. Fortunately, however, the casting of the 80's movie was superb (especially where Baron Harkonnen is concerned) and the directors didn't much follow the book so the damage is not as bad as it might be.
First off, the first few chapters of Dune are mega-info-dump. Tons of names, and lots of detail without a lot of plot.
Secondly, the POV is odd. It is written in the 3rd person Omnicient point of view. You get inner dialogue (in italics, no less) switching from one character to the next from one paragraph to the next with no line breaks. I keep hearing the whispering from the movie. "Dune, desert planet... Never one drop of rain on Arrakis..."
Third, style unusual. Fragmentary phrases abound. Paul walked into the room, turned around, said "Hi."
Fourth, the plot develops quite slowly. There is a lot of talk about Harkonnens and the threat they pose, and the CHOAM company, and the emperor, and all that, without much plot participation, or any real clarification, by or about any of these entities.
However, I do like the book, and more and more as I consume it's pages. It was a bit tough to get in to. I don't mind the 3rdPerson-O but it is non-standard. Sentence fragments a bit jarring and remain so. I don't mind info-dump, as long as the info feeds back into the story later, which it does. And a slow-developing plot is like well-aged wine. But I'm more convinced than ever, for the very reasons that I like the book, that it would never be published today and that is... sad.
