Dune Fanatics discussion

Howdy guys,

I was wondering after reading Navigators of dune if anyone thought I should just skip the house books and move on to Dune. I AM HUGE INTO READING CHRONOLOGICALLY, but it may be a decade before they get back to finish up after navigators of dune. What do you guys think?

Just read the original Dune series written by Frank Herbert, they are gold compared to the spin-offs written by his untalented son. Dune is the best SF novel of all time and it would be a shame to waste your time with the prequels.

I read the original series again a few years ago, and then decided to read the expanded series in chronological order. It was a fantastic ride! I definitely recommend trying it out, even if you don't get the rest of the navigators story. It was interesting to see the differences in writing styles of the original series to the expansion. Frank's writing style is very different than the new books, but, for me, it didn't detract from my enjoyment.

Paul you are litteraly the only person that has suggested this. I'm glad that someone out there enjoyed these. I'm about 30 pages into the HOUSE books and having trouble, do they get better?? I loved all the other ones tho. I'm also doing audio books and the audio is kinda old sounding.

As Andrei commented, Frank's books are gold by comparison, these are just not cut from the same cloth. I just allowed myself to enjoy the ride and accepted them as they were. They were fast and easy reads, and there are nuggets of gold to be found in certain parts of the stories. I'd love to know which parts were lifted from Frank's notes. When I reached the originals while reading chronologically, the jump in styles is quite noticeable and I was relieved to know that my lifelong fandom had not been misplaced. It made me appreciate them more.
I liken the experience to watching a movie adaptation of say, the Bourne books. If I focus on the differences, it makes the experience unenjoyable. The books were superior to the movies, and they destroyed the lead female (Bourne's wife), but they were fun and convinced my nephews (in their teens) to pick up the books! Hopefully they will pick up Dune someday. :-)

I loved the House books. In fact I have loved all of the Herbert/Anderson books that I have read so far.

I originally read Dune a very long time ago, then about twenty years later, I decided to read the entire series in chronological order, starting with the House series. As it turned out, I couldn't read the whole thing in exactly chronological order because before I finished the original series, Brian Herbert began releasing the Butlerian Jihad books.

So now let me open myself up to all manner of hatred, vitriol, and indignant flame-spraying: overall, I like the Herbert/Anderson books better than the originals. That's not true in every case, of course, but in general, that's how I feel. Dune is one of the greatest books ever written, but none of the other originals even came close to it.

I have not read all of the Herbert/Anderson books yet, but I have read most of them, and the ones I have read have all been thoroughly entertaining.

And that's the key - "entertaining". If, like me, you read scifi for entertainment, and if you have an open mind, then there is at least a very good chance you will enjoy the Herbert/Anderson books. On the other hand, if the original Dune series is your religion (which seems to be the case for many people) then you will probably not like the newer books.