I agree with elfdream. I did make it through DUNE, DUNE MESSIAH and half of CHILDREN OF DUNE before I had an intense urge to run around turning on all the faucets and playing in the water. It sort of poisoned Herbert for me.



GKC

No comment on the Winston Cigarettes?

I preferred the Old Gold dancing cigarette packs, with the little dancing match box.

GKC

Yep. And at the end, the cigarette pops up.


GKC

I remember a parody in Mad Magazine for a Winston commercial song.

Winston's taste bad, like the one I just had.
No filter, no taste just a 42 cents waste.

I have the worst memory in the world, but I remember that. 42 cents for a pack of cigarettes? We've come a long way baby!

:)!

MAD parodies used to be great! "Sung to the tune of........."

I would say that Herbert was not as good a writer as Tolkien (though perhaps if Dune had been subjected to the same process of revision and rewriting that The Lord of the Rings was, I might think differently), but nevertheless, Dune is an amazing work (I would not say the same about any other novels in the series, though I have read a few of them). As far as SF goes it would rank it with The Mote in God's Eye.

Nothing ranks with THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE.

GKC

Check out this list for a good laugh:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes ... rank1.html

"Mote" is ranked 25, right above Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness (which I could not even finish)

loved it.... have no recollection of it...just remembered that i loved it when i read it... also read lucifer's hammer... though i don't recall being affected as much by it

I'm a large Niven and Pournelle fan, with MOTE being my all-time favorite SF fun novel.

HAMMER I was not so fond of, not generally liking post-apocalyptic stuff. Unfortunately, THE GRIPPING HAND, sequel to MOTE, was a let down for me. But generally, I've liked all the stuff Niven and Pournelle have done, collectively and individually.

As expected, I've met them a few times.

GKC

Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, and God Emperor of Dune were excellent, some of the best sci-fi I've ever read, very impactful, superbly written. That being said, Heretics of Dune was just ok and Chapterhouse stunk. The first four were just superb.

I found Lord of the Rings, particularly the HOOOOOORRRIBLY boring and banal Tom Bombadil junk and the poetry to be tough to get through. That was tough. The Two Towers was more boring than an insurance seminar. Return of the King, awesome, though seriously lacking in violent battle details! One thing that Tolkien stunk at was the details of battle. So vague, short, and bland were the battle 'scenes' of his books. Thank God for the films!

As for Lewis' Narnia books, I'd rather have a colonoscopy! But I like Lewis' theological stuff, though it's hard to read like Chesterton, but very powerful

No accounting for reactions to books.


I never try to argue anyone into or out of enjoying or not enjoying what they seem to like.

All my Tolkien/Chesterton/Lewis is out in my primary collection. All my Herbert is buried deep in boxes, in the dark.

GKC