Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The one where the main character is a giant worm with arms.

God Emperor of Dune (Dune, #4) by Frank Herbert

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I keep going back and forth on this rating. Reading this series has been a truly weird experience. The first book is a straight up classic that I enjoy reading, despite some issues with it being dated and gross in places. I will read it again! I will see the movie. The second two books I appreciated on an intellectual level but they did not engage me emotionally at all. I was very much dreading the rest of the series after reading those books. And […]

Herbert’s style gets in the way of a cool story, in Dune #3.

Children of Dune (Dune, #3) by Frank Herbert

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Very rarely do I finish a book and go questing after the TV miniseries adaptation of it, hoping it will be better, but that is what happened here. I haven’t yet sat down and watched the miniseries, but only because it’s super hard to find. I think my local video store might have a copy. I’m certainly not buying the DVD from Amazon for $46. But anyway, my point is that though I remain fascinated by the overall story, and it engages me intellectually, and […]

Afflicted by a hero.

Dune Messiah (Dune, #2) by Frank Herbert

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Hoo boy, talk about conflicting thoughts and feelings. This book (at least my edition) starts with an introduction by Frank Herbert’s son, Brian, who has shepherded the world of Dune since his father’s death, co-writing books with Kevin J. Anderson and making sure his father’s stories and legacy are safe. This is nice of him! He clearly admired his father very much. Anyway, in the intro, he posits that Dune Messiah wasn’t nearly as well-received by fans and critics because Herbert does something unique to […]

“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert

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I probably should have continued on with this series sometime between now and first reading Dune about eleven or twelve years ago. There are elements here which I would have much more easily glossed over in years past, but which stick out terribly now. Still, I feel you have to read a book within the context of its time. I can much more easily overlook or ignore some of the stuff in here since it’s fifty-six years old at this point than I could in […]

DUNE

Dune by Frank Herbert

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  This is a difficult book to write a summary for. It’s been around for nearly 60 years, has been adapted multiple times already, has another adaptation coming out this year, and yet before first reading it in 2013, I had no idea what it was about. So what kind of scope do you give a synopsis for something like this? I really don’t know. Also the last time I wrote more than 100 words at a time was many years ago so excuse the […]

Hate at first sight #Adaptation

Dune by Frank Herbert

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This might be the first review I’ve ever written for a DNF (I got about 20% through). My fantasy book club chose Dune because of the adaptation that was originally coming out later this year (even though it’s actually sci fi). (I’m going to skip the blurb because at this point, I think everyone knows vaguely what it’s about. If not, I’m sure there are many more lovingly written reviews here that can blurb it for you.) I have possibly never hated a book so […]



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