Bakufu

Good to hear everyone's opinions. I debate with myself every time the 40% coupon arrives from borders and I see that three-pack of Battle of Corrin, Butlerian Jihad, and The Machine Crusade. Wicked...it's not so much that I didn't like it, just that I see too many people claim him to be this superb writer. I was really intrigued by the idea and the story, but it always felt like Maguire was shifting to a new thought without completing the last. It felt so disjointed and shallow. I wouldn't call his writing ostentatious as I've seen others describe in their reviews, but it was unnecessarily flashy and flowery. Instead of invoking the need for analysis as a book like Dune does, Wicked creates a sensation of perpetual hope that the book is eventually going to develop something substantial for prolonged thought. Before I knew it the book was over and I sat there thinking that maybe the next book would get somewhere. Haven't bothered to pick up Son of a Witch because of that.

I have to admit, I was looking forward to Paul of Dune the most. I think I'll be able to accept Hunters/Sandworms. Harry Potter books are fun, easy reads, but vastly inferior to something I consider phenomenal such as the Wheel of Time series. That being said, I still enjoyed the simplicity of Harry Potter; if Hunters/Sandworms is comparable in that regard, then I'll probably enjoy it. Thanks for the info.

Same here. What are your opinions regarding Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune? I already bought them as I assumed it was necessary since Chapterhouse supposedly leaves the story unfinished. It seems a little odd that Hunters and Sandworms span longer than any other Dune book yet they're supposed to be a single story, Dune 7. Did Frank Herbert plan on producing two books for Dune 7?

Thanks, Andrew, I saw that link earlier and read some of the articles. Definitely has some interesting stuff in it, but the model I want to see most is just an authentic continuation or exploration of the Dune universe. The House Trilogy and Heroes of Dune appeared to naturally fit this bill, but I heard so many crappy things about them. At least you mentioned the House trilogy was bearable. Obviously I've accepted that Frank Herbert is gone and can't write any more books, I was just hoping to hear that the legacy left behind him hasn't been completely tainted by the necessity to maintain a cash cow simply for it's production. What a bitter thought. Regarding the Butlerian Jihad, what do you mean by the "second book?" I thought there was only one Butlerian Jihad book. Along with Machine Crusade and Battle of Corrin.

At first I was really excited at the prospect of other Dune books. I'm on Heretics of Dune and I'm loving it. I'm really pumped to read the books by Brain Herbert and KJA... ...until I read reviews from people like SandChigger. Then I think of Wicked and how everyone sat on Gregory Maguire's dick because the play was phenomenal and then bought the book and convinced themselves it was prose out of this world. SandChigger, I was reading some of your blog (and the post in here) and I have one simple question to ask you: if I love Dune---love everything about what Frank Herbert represents in that universe---will I really hate the books from BH and KJA that much? I want to convince myself otherwise. I want more of Dune. I don't want it to stop after Chapterhouse.