Battle of Corrin disappointment (SPOILER WARNING!)

[vegtabill]

Greetings all.

I hate to appear on the scene with a complaint, but after finishing this book I am so disappointed (angry, even?) that I had to vent it somewhere.

I'm sure this has been brought up and discussed in other threads, but I haven't found it yet, so here's my take. Basically, I am absolutely appalled at the "reason" given to us by BH/KJA for the epic feud between the Atreides and Harkonnen. Honestly, this was the single most important piece of information I was looking for in the LoD trilogy, and I simply can not believe that they (BH/KJA) really thought their explanation was satisfactory (let alone "good"). I have a ton of problems with the BH/KJA books, but this one, to me, is unforgiveable.

We're supposed to just accept that Abulurd waits until the last moments before THE FINAL BATTLE to develop a weak stomach for human sacrifice? And that, after being put in his place, he's just going to cripple the entire fleet as they roll into battle? Where in the world did this come from? I literally could not believe it as I read it.

But of course, that's not the worst of it... oh no, not by far.

Vorian Atreides, one of the most honorable characters throughout the trilogy, suddenly becomes petty and shallow? He's ready to throw away his desire to restore Xavier's name, throw away everything he and Abulurd had done together, and worse yet, declare that all Atreides from that day forward would "spit on the name of Harkonnen"... all because of one man's moment of weakness? And he does it in dramatic fashion, in front of all the nobles... exactly the kind of thing we've been led to believe all along that he despised? Well, it must be because Abulurd's actions cost them the war, right? Ummm, no... in fact, not only did they "win", but due to the shift in battle plans, they did not scorch Corrin as they had intended to do. The 2-3 million slaves made it (for the most part).

Now some might argue that, if they HAD scorched Corrin, Omnius Prime might not have had the chance to blast himself out into the ether. But that has no bearing whatsoever on the events of the book. Those consequences would not become apparent for millenia, and could not have influenced Vorian's decision.

I have been very forgiving of the prequels up until now... but I can not abide by this. The Atreides/Harkonnen feud is one of the greats in all of fiction, not just sci-fi. These charlatans (there, I said it) chose to tell us the story of how it began, and they failed miserably! If they only got one thing right in LoD, that should have been it. Unfortunately, they chose to focus on the same kind of bubble gum sci-fi that got them through the previous 5 books. It's a real tragedy.

I have Hunters, and I'll read it. And I'll read Sandworms as well. And probably the HoD books as they come out, though the reasons stated for writing these are the weakest yet. We don't need any gaps filled in between Dune and Messiah, nor do we need any filled between Children and God Emperor. I agree with others... these are cash cows, no more.

Simply stated, I wish they'd just left the feud alone. I'd rather the feud be wrapped in intrigue and mystery rather than have it played out in this way. They should be ashamed.

Well, that's it, I guess. Sorry for the rant, but after reading posts from others, I think I'm probably in good company here.

Thanks,

veg

[SandChigger]

I think I'm probably in good company here.

Nah, it's basically the Amen (God o' Taters: I yam what I yam!) to the Laodiceans round here. Need something to fire them up, but no idea what it might be.

The Legends books are simply awful. I would rather shove pointy sticks into my own eyes than read them from cover to cover again. The whole source of the feud arc just sucked. Loudly. Like a cheap porno actress.

Which is probably as it should be, seeing how they are prostituting and raping Frank Herbert's legacy.

And it looks like it's just going to keep getting worse.

About that feud again, though. Don't you find it a little incredible (in the original sense, unbelievable) that two families could remain enemies and at each other's throats for TEN MILLENNIA? Just a wee bit pathological, no? Decidedly unhealthy. And very unlikely to last even a fraction of that time.

But that's why it's fiction, eh! ;)

[vegtabill]

About that feud again, though. Don't you find it a little incredible (in the original sense, unbelievable) that two families could remain enemies and at each other's throats for TEN MILLENNIA? Just a wee bit pathological, no? Decidedly unhealthy. And very unlikely to last even a fraction of that time.

But that's why it's fiction, eh! ;)

Indeed, well said. I suppose I was always able to reconcile this detail for two primary reasons: 1) the scope of the original 6 was so huge that it fit, and more significantly 2) FH's writing made it believable to me!

As I have often said to anyone interested, reading Dune changed my life. I was in my late teens the first time I read it, and the mark it made on my mind had an effect that persists to this day. It changed the way I think about the world I live in (plans within plans). True, I was primed for it by then, and it fell into place perfectly at the right time. I suppose it could have been something else, though I can't imagine what that might have been.

The point is, Dune has always occupied a deeply personal place in me, as I know it has for so many. You are absolutely correct; the LoD books are awful (pointy sticks... a Python reference, perhaps?). The A/H feud was such a driving force in the originals... seeing it perverted like this, well, it's painful... on a personal level. My wife is already sick of hearing me complain "how could they do this?"!

Ah well... that's the way of things, no? I never expected the prose itself to be nearly as good as FH's, but I had hoped they'd at least add something meaningful to the story. Should have known better!

[gunner154]

I've not read those books, but I'm not intending to do so anytime soon, so I don't mind the spoilers.

I'm not surprised they expected us to believe this kind of thing. 'Nuff said.

[Egeides]

You haven't seen everything, they also try to control what actually follows Frank's legacy:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-dune-fanfilm

Enjoy your stay and learning, vegtabill

[MrFlibble]

reading Dune changed my life. I was in my late teens the first time I read it, and the mark it made on my mind had an effect that persists to this day. It changed the way I think about the world I live in (plans within plans). True, I was primed for it by then, and it fell into place perfectly at the right time. [...] The point is, Dune has always occupied a deeply personal place in me

Could say the same thing myself. And this is exactly the reason why I don't read the prequels (except for House Harkonnen which was awfully mediocre), and I'm not going to read the sequels or any other books BH and KJA might write in the future.

[DragoFire]

I agree the Corrin final battle and the way the Atreides and Harkonnen feud started could have been done better. But it does go on to say that as the Harkonnen's go through generations the reason of the dishonor gained by the Harkonnen house due to the actions of the Atreides gets changed by each generation.

As to Abulurd's actions, well you have to remember his brother voiced his view on the subject about crossing the line and made sure he covered himself, by telling Vorian it was his decission and know that if things turned bad Vorian would be the one everyone point their finger towards and call the "Butcher or Corrin" (my little thought on the subject as I read it), and Abulurd tried to protect Vorian from falling for his brothers own gains if the Thinking Machines treat was true.

And Vorian had the right to do what he did, as Abulurd was his most trusted XO and he treaded him like a son, only to feel like he'd been stabed in the back.

This view may differ from others, but I'm looking at it logicaly and also from the point of view of each character. You need to look at who was involed and what was said. There are a few well hidden sub-plots running.

But other than this debaitable point, the novel gives an interesting insight in to how the Bene's, Femen, the Navigators, and First Emporer were brought into being.

[SandChigger]

Yes...such interesting insights. ::)

A feud that lasts for 243 Duniverse generations (that's over 10,000 years) should have had a more substantial origin, I would think. But the ultimate problem of these "Eternal Hatfields & McCoys in Space" is FH's and not something to be blamed on the Hack Frank Spawned and the Hack Who Hikes.

Vorian Atreides (and his father the Titan Agamemnon) are simply K&B's attempt to switch things around for dramatic effect. Ooh, look, the Atreides, who are the essential heroes of the original books, were actually THE ULTIMATE EVIL in ancient times. And the Evil Harkonnens were really the Good Guys then! Wow, imagine that! Blow me away!

Yawn. Such simplistic drivel...and yet hidden within are subtle, interesting insights! What MASTERY! Truly K&B are brilliant, are they not? To be able to extrude such drool and yet pack it with meaning!

[ErasOmnius]

I liked the part where Erasmus started the Mentats, by being the adopted father of Gilbertus

[Mahdi]

Thread locked, for the same reasons as the other.