Dune?

[MJ12]

Anyone read this series? Any good?
I want to find a good sci-fi series. Was looking for something a little more bizarre, so I thought I might check it out.

 

[Wanted Bob]

I read the first book only. I personally really enjoyed it, so give the first book a shot and see if its for you. Certainly a unique setting.

 

[Lucid]

The first four books are totally worth checking out.

Everything after God Emperor of Dune(which is pushing it as is) are way waaaay too bizarre for my tastes, though your mileage may vary.

 

[Shakermaker]

The first Dune is awesome. It is one of the quintessential scifi novels.

 

[Destructo-Bot]

There is a good core of Sci-fi there, but the mysticism dulled my appreciation for the series.

 

[ríomhaire]

There is a good core of Sci-fi there, but the mysticism dulled my appreciation for the series.

Yeah. I've read the first two and I always figured there was a scientific reason for the stuff (the spice basically turning your brain into a supercomputer, not giving you magic powers) but the second book seems to really try and push the mystical stuff.

 

[Maestro]

The first one is best, the others are a mix of depressing/weird. The first, however, is easily in my top 5 ever. It is just detailed enough to feel real, but leaves all the nitty-gritty behind so that way it doesn't feel dated like almost all science fiction of the 50s and 60s.

 

[alchemistlord]

I'm just reading it now, it's an interesting book.

 

[15357]

First was very good, but the rest of the series was a bit too weird. Still good, though. I loved the series as a whole.

I think the first one was the best, btw.

 

[Ennui]

If you want something bizarre, read the Wraeththu trilogy by Storm Constantine. It's bizarre all right. The basic premise is that in the wake of an unspecified cataclysmic event, humanity is slowly dying out and being usurped on the planet by a new species of psychic/magical hermaphrodites called Wraeththu that are basically a mutated, super powerful and capable form of humans with psionic abilities. It sounds weird as **** (and it is) but it's great writing and actually really entertaining. I'm not generally one for alternative sexuality or whatever but these books are great. Hard to explain, look around online about them if you want more info.

 

[Blinxx]

As others have said, the first Dune is fantastic. Too many books in the series though. Ender's Game is also a sci-fi novel I would heavily recommend. You have probably read it though.

Whilst not necessarily sci-fi (more fantasy), but still quite bizarre and on a similar theme to Dune (warring houses, alien world, political intrigue), the Empire trilogy is a fantastic series of books:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Trilogy

This is the first in the series if you're interested.

Magician is also good, but again, fantasy genre.

 

[MFL]

Try The Chronicles of Amber. Classic stuff, but it does lean towards fantasy a fair bit. The Asimov books are good if you are looking to be depressed when you get to the end and the writer DIES (still worth reading). His short stories are also pretty good. Heinlein has so many good scifi books that you might just get sick of scifi for a couple months. If you want some weird juxtaposition of scifi and fantasy try out the Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony. Read those when I was a kid, not sure if I would still recommend them for their writing, but whatever, I liked the stories. Orson Scott Card has a lot to offer, Ender's Game being the most notable. I still think it's kind of strange that one of his earliest written books was one of his best.

...

Spoiler

ANIMORPHS BY K. A. APPLEGATE ! Nostalgiaaaaaaaaa.

 

[Destructo-Bot]

Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard isn't a series, but the book is thick enough to be one as it weighs in north of 1,000 pages (and I've read it more than once)! It is also damn good sci-fi, just avoid ever watching the movie. An interesting 2-part I'm in the middle of is The Damned series by Alan Dean Foster which is actually fairly short.

I highly recommend Battlefield Earth.

 

[15357]

I'm sorry, but after watching Battlefield Earth, my mind simply refuses to believe that the movie was based on something good.



Go read Heinlein, btw.

 

[Maestro]

Heinlein has too much of an Ayn Rand feel to his work, and Stranger in a Strange Land is just god-damn weird. Cannibalism and stuff...lolwut?

 

[Destructo-Bot]

I have read Heinlein, and you are missing out on a truly great sci-fi book by judging the book based on the movie. They are nothing alike. It would be like dismissing all of the EU Star Wars books because of Jar-Jar in The Phantom Menace. On that topic, the Thrawn Trilogy in the Star Wars EU is also a good read.

 

[MFL]

Here is a link to one of Heinlein's better known short stories. It might give you a good taste of what to expect out of him when he's on his a-game.

http://www.polvoestelar.com.mx/babi...lein/Robert A. Heinlein - All You Zombies.pdf

 

[Maestro]

I have read Heinlein, and you are missing out on a truly great sci-fi book by judging the book based on the movie. They are nothing alike. It would be like dismissing all of the EU Star Wars books because of Jar-Jar in The Phantom Menace. On that topic, the Thrawn Trilogy in the Star Wars EU is also a good read.

I didn't watch the movie. I read it. Too much weird stuff and cannibalism for me. I think if I got the edited version that came out on first publishing it would be easier to read, since I've heard they'd cut a lot of unnecessary stuff.

Here is a link to one of Heinlein's better known short stories. It might give you a good taste of what to expect out of him when he's on his a-game.

http://www.polvoestelar.com.mx/babi...lein/Robert A. Heinlein - All You Zombies.pdf

I read that already, but I haven't seen much else of his work be that awesome. I tried reading Glory Road and the dialogue was just like those cheesy detective movies where everyone's a fast thinker and a faster talker.

 

[Destructo-Bot]

That reply was directed at 15357 about Battlefield Earth, not to you.

I'm sorry, but after watching Battlefield Earth, my mind simply refuses to believe that the movie was based on something good.



Go read Heinlein, btw.

I have read Heinlein, and you are missing out on a truly great sci-fi book by judging the book based on the movie. They are nothing alike. It would be like dismissing all of the EU Star Wars books because of Jar-Jar in The Phantom Menace. On that topic, the Thrawn Trilogy in the Star Wars EU is also a good read.

 

[15357]

I was directing the first line at Destructo as a joke. I will one day take your recommendation and test it. If I find something as bad as the movie I will hunt you down until the end of time. This is a joke.


The second line was directed at the OP.

 

[Destructo-Bot]

Lots misdirection going around it seems

 

[Dan]

I read Dune again for about the 6th time last week. There are a lot of relevant themes that I picked up on. One that someone else pointed out to me is that Arrakis = Iraq, spice = oil. I guess that makes sense. It is about resource control. Also the emperor is named Shaddam.

 

[Shakermaker]

Interesting coincedence but entirely unintentional. Dune was written in 1965, way before Saddam's rise to power. If anything Dune refers to the Middle East in general.

 

[Viperidae]

CHOAM is an allegory for OPEC.

But beyond that, there isn't any extended allegory crap.

Heinlein was a very good author. Preachy or no, he wrote well.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I have the vaguest feeling Dan might be joking (or what netizens* whose vocabulary has forgotten that word might call trolling).

Dune is pretty alright though. When I read it I had recently finished my arduous slog through Lord of the Rings and it was so refreshing to read a novel that felt basically similar but actually good. I laughed when whatserface (Paul's Fremen wife) said "sing me a song from your home planet."

*talking of words that are out of use...

 

[Maestro]

Interesting coincedence but entirely unintentional. Dune was written in 1965, way before Saddam's rise to power. If anything Dune refers to the Middle East in general.

I think Dan's last sentence is entirely humorous.

Just saying, but I'm saying.

 

[ríomhaire]

Dune is pretty alright though. When I read it I had recently finished my arduous slog through Lord of the Rings and it was so refreshing to read a novel that felt basically similar but actually good.

Probably the best description of Dune I've ever read.

 

[Viperidae]

Except, the totality of the Dune series is much longer than LotR... also I think it suffers from the same trapping as LotR, with its unequivocally evil, one dimensional villains.