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Just finished "Dune" for the first time!! Dune fans?

Danoz

Danoz

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
This really is epic storytelling. I enjoyed every second of this book. Paul Muad'dib is one of the most uniquely written and well-developed characters I have ever read Without divulging too much, is it worth continuing to the "Dune: Messiah" and "Children of Dune" sequels? I have basically an idea of what they are about. Also.. how much would I enjoy The Dune movie or miniseries?

And while I'm at it, I had a hell of time casting the characters in this book :) (one of my favorite things to do when I read new novels). Let me know what you think of my all star cast (not everybody was cast as an existing actor you would know of, some people took the form of people I know or have met in the past-- and a few I made up on the spot [the baron and Chani, for instance]).

Duke Leto Atreides (Russell Crowe)
Lady Jessica (Connie Nielsen)
Paul Atreides (Max Elliott Slade)
Thufir Hawat (Edward James Olmos)
Gurney Halleck (Brendan Gleeson)
Duncan Idaho (Antonia Banderas)
Dr. Wellington Yueh (Alexander Siddig)
Shaddam IV (Ian Mckellen)
Princess Irulan (Keira Knightley)
Stilgar (Naveen Andrews)
Liet-Kynes (Alan Rickman)

Let me know if you approve/disaprove of any of these :) --or happy to hear your casting list. Also let me know about the movie/miniseries/sequels-- and what is worth watching or avoiding.
 
I was 15 or so when I first read Dune, it blew my mind. It's been one of my most favourite novels of all time since. And I can recommend the sequels. Of all the Anderson-Herbert books I have only read the two prequel series. I rather liked the "Prelude to" series, but the other one not as much. Unfortunately I havent heard much good about the Anderson-Herbert sequels :(.

Btw, I heard they're going to make a new Dune movie. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/)

On regards to the 1984 movie, it is a real cult movie, you either like it because its about Dune or you hate it because its.. just bad. Except for the soundtrack by Toto!
The 2000 Dune miniseries is good in its own way, but in some regards I actually prefer the movie.
The second miniseries is very good imho, good cast, and has an excellent soundtrack.
 
I first read Dune in 1971 or 1972. It was a great read and to this day remains one of my all time favorite books. I enjoyed the two sequels (all there were at the time) but not with the same enthusiasm as the original. And the later stuff really didn't impress me at all. I was very disappointed in the Dune movie, but the miniseries did a decent job of bringing the original tale to the screen.

My experience, FWIW.
 
The miniseries is a bit lacking in production values, but at least sticks close to the book story-wise. The 1984 movie takes too many liberties on the plot, I felt.

The best realization of the Dune universe on-screen so far is the Children of Dune miniseries. It borrows a number of actors and design concepts from the 2000 mini, but swaps some out as well.

While the CoD mini may be appreciated on its own, you'll get more out of it if you read Dune Messiah and Children of Dune first.
 
Agree with Lindley, and let me add that I think the other 5 books in the series are very much worth reading. At the very least to and including God Emperor of Dune. The subsequent non Frank Herbert books are ok, but I would not consider them Dune.
 
I tried reading Dune once when I was 12 and failed. I then tried again after the 2000 SciFi mini-series and enjoyed it far more. It's a great book with a brilliantly realized world, ecology, culture, etc. But I'm not the biggest fan of Frank Herbert's writing style.
 
The whole saga as written by Frank Herbert is worth reading (I haven't read the prequel books, but I hear they're not nearly as good as Herbert's original series).

The movie is definitely worth seeing. Because Lynch had to edit it down, much of the story is unfortunately missing, and it takes a huge liberty with the ending that grates many fans something awful. But the production and costume designs create a look for the Dune universe that's really wonderful to behold, and some of the casting is spot-on.

The first mini-series is much more faithful to the book since it has enough screen time to let more of the plot play out. Some of the production values suffer from the limited budget, and the cast's performances range from good to dodgy. The costume design is quite over the top and quite different from the style set in Lynch's movie.

The second mini-series condenses the second and third books into a single plot and therefore isn't as faithful an adaptation as the first mini. The production values of the second mini are better, and it boasts an excellent score by Brian Tyler. Both mini-series are worth seeing in my opinion.
 
This is all great advice. I will definitely read the next two books-- but first I think I will watch the motion picture and the mini-series. I have fairly specific views of the scenes in my head, so I'm interested in how others interpret it.
 
Definitely check out the next two books before you go watching any Dune. And then you may as well go ahead and read God Emperor of Dune. It's an amazing book, comparable to Dune.
 
Danoz said:
This is all great advice. I will definitely read the next two books-- but first I think I will watch the motion picture and the mini-series. I have fairly specific views of the scenes in my head, so I'm interested in how others interpret it.
Click to expand...

Be warned, many view the sequel (Messiah) as a disappointment. I'm not among them, personally. I think it's a worthy successor, but it's also rather depressing. In truth, none of the other books can really measure up to the original, but they're all worth a read. My favourite sequel is God Emperor, cause Leto II is so damn cool. I hate the new novels by KJA and BH.
 
Norrin Radd said:
Danoz said:
This is all great advice. I will definitely read the next two books-- but first I think I will watch the motion picture and the mini-series. I have fairly specific views of the scenes in my head, so I'm interested in how others interpret it.
Click to expand...

Be warned, many view the sequel (Messiah) as a disappointment. I'm not among them, personally. I think it's a worthy successor, but it's also rather depressing. In truth, none of the other books can really measure up to the original, but they're all worth a read. My favourite sequel is God Emperor, cause Leto II is so damn cool. I hate the new novels by KJA and BH.
Click to expand...

When I first read Messiah, it FELT like it was a story serialized in a magazine, if that makes any sense. It also seemed rather loose and disjointed narratively.
 
You will probably find much to enjoy in at least some of the other Dune stuff out there, but be aware that you have already experienced the pinnacle, IMO. It's a masterpiece, and as far as I know, nothing that follows, however enjoyable, is a masterpiece. (I must confess that I haven't read it all, however.) So long as you have realistic expectations, though, you've got some enjoyable fiction ahead of you.
 
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never read the books.... did listen to all of the unabridged audiobooks though... at least twice... I think i prefer starting the series at the machine crusaide, instead of at dune then the prequils.
 
I love Dune, it's one of my favourite books. It deals with a lot of heavy stuff, but it's well worth it -- a true masterpiece of science-fiction literature.

As far as the sequels go, I've only read up to God Emperor of Dune, which is possibly the most challenging of all of them. Like the others, it can really make you think, but in keeping with Herbert's writing style, it was very complex, and not always easy to understand -- but it may just be me (I won't deny the possibility that I might just be easily confused :p). At any rate, it made me want to take a break from the series, but I think I'll start on Heretics of Dune sometime in the near future. Haven't read any of the non-Frank Herbert books, and I don't really have any desire to.

The movies: both Lynch's 1984 big-screen adaptation and the Sci-Fi Channel's mini-series have their ups and downs. Lynch's film has a solid cast, good production values, and --I'm not quite sure how to put it-- it has the feel of Dune. However, there are some notable differences and ommisions from the book, some of which are understandable and some of which are not. The mini-series was more faithful to the story and characters, but the production values were quite lacking, and the quality of the acting was mixed. I would have to say that there has yet to be a wholly satisfactory version of Dune put on screen, but I hear that another film adaptation is on the way -- here's hoping it can combine the best elements of the previous attempts and satisfy fans of the series.

I would say, though, that so far the best on-screen representation of Dune would be the mini-series Children of Dune, which is a sequel to the first mini-series and combines the second and third books. It takes a few liberties with certain things, but overall it's a faithful adaptation that improves upon its predecessor in almost every way. I recommend watching it after you've read the books.
 
I have hardcover editions of each of the novels (Herbert's six) and they're some of my favourite works of science fiction, but I haven't seen the film or miniseries and have no interest in doing so, nor in reading the novels written by Kevin J. Anderson.
 
You'll probably recognize portions of the Children of Dune score---it's been used in numerous movie trailers. Even one of the Star Trek trailers, I believe.

Also, CoD trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fJxR4x5l4s
That's pretty much what convinced me to read Dune in the first place. Finished the novel in a couple of weeks, just in time to watch the 2000 mini and the premier of CoD back-to-back. It's dangerous getting that Dune-ized.....
 
I'm a fan of all the Dune books published through Sandworms of Dune. Paul of Dune felt like an unnecessary connect-the-dots novel, but it may seem better if read between Dune and Dune Messiah. The Sci-Fi miniseries of Dune and Children of Dune are worth your time if you want a visual retelling of the first three books. Lynch's Dune has Patrick Stewart and Sting, but it's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination.
 
There are always tons of different opinions on these sorts of things, and Dune in particular since there are so many facets and ways to explore the universe. For what it's worth, I'll throw in my two cents.

I first encountered the story through the 2000 miniseries. I had fun, so I read the book which I thought was phenomenal if a little heady. I continued with seeing the Children of Dune miniseries and the two books it's based on. I read God Emperor of Dune and didn't like it nearly as much, from what I remember. Then I tried reading Heretics of Dune and had to stop because I had just lost interest; but it's always been hanging over me, this desire to finish the saga and read the rest of the books.

So I'm in the process of listening to the audiobooks in between the Harry Potter audiobooks. I've only done the first one so far, but it was fantastic. Simon Vance is a great narrator, and I liked the use of voice actors for certain scenes.
 
Both Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune suffer from being slow and plodding for the first 80%, and then abruptly becoming awesome in the last 20%. Not sure why.
 
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